We've not heard much in the way of details about the next generation of Pokémon games since Nintendo announced them in February.
We do know that Pokémon Sword and Shield will be set in Britain and introduce a new generation of Pokémon for us to swoon over and now, thanks to Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa, we know a key difference between the upcoming games and last year's Pokémon Let's Go.
According to comments made by Furukawa during Nintendo's March 2019 Financial Results Briefing (via Nintendo Life), Pokémon Sword and Shield will focus on utilizing the Nintendo Switch's handheld mode.
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“Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, which were released in November of last year, are designed to highlight the fun of Nintendo Switch in TV mode, for example by waving the controller at the TV screen to capture Pokémon,” Furukawa stated. “Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are being developed to emphasize the fun of playing Nintendo Switch in handheld mode.”
“We want these games to be played not only by longtime Pokémon fans, but also by consumers whose first encounter with the series was on a dedicated video game platform with Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!”
Recapturing the magic
Image credit: Nintendo
By developing Pokémon Sword and Shield with the Switch's handheld mode in mind, it seems Nintendo is trying to recapture the portable fun that's made the Pokémon games such a success.
This is the first time the core Pokémon titles have made their way to the Nintendo Switch, so it's promising to see the company does not want to lock players onto their sofas by prioritizing the Switch's TV mode. After all, on-the-go gaming is a huge part of what's made Pokémon Go such a success…
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