And believe it or not, one is available right now!
UPDATE: The 2018 Pokémon Video Game Conference is now available in its’ entirety via the official Pokémon YouTube Channel
The 2018 Pokémon Video Game Conference just concluded where three – that’s right, three – new Pokémon games were announced for the Nintendo Switch!
First up is the heavily rumored Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu! & Let’s Go Eevee! Here’s some quick facts:
- This reimagining of Pokémon Yellow is set in the Kanto region and will be available November 16, 2018 worldwide
- Professor Oak makes a return
- There are multiple controller configurations: local one player mode using one Joy-Con and local two player mode using two Joy-Cons
- You catch Pokémon very similarly to how you catch in Pokémon GO using motion controls
- There is a new Pokéball inspired peripheral called the Pokéball Plus that can be used as a traditional controller, and for motion control capturing in Let’s Go. It can also be used to bring your Pokémon around IRL (similar to the Pokéwalker from HGSS), connecting to Pokémon GO as a Go Plus device.
- You can also send Pokémon originally discovered in the Kanto region from GO to Let’s Go! Pikachu & Let’s Go! Eevee via the Pokémon GO Park
- These games will contain atleast one brand new, never before seen Pokémon (Hinted at the end of the trailer). However, other than that, only the original 151 and the Alolan Forms will be available in game
- Although there are trainer battles, there are no wild Pokémon battles
- Both the protagonist, as well as your partner Pikachu or Eevee can be dressed up using different, customizable clothing
- When you encounter a Pokémon it displays both the Level and its CP
- Since the promised “core RPG” is coming in 2019, and despite the fact that these games will unveil a brand new Pokémon, Let’s Go are considered part of Generation VII
- Despite some incorrect translations, online battling and trading is confirmed to be in Let’s Go, Pikachu! & Let’s Go, Eevee!
In a surprise move one of the new games, Pokémon Quest, is available in the Nintendo Switch eShop as a free-to-start game right now! Quest takes you to Tumblecube Island where your team of three Pokémon must gather treasure and recruit Pokémon! It takes advantage of the Switch’s touch screen capabilities and will be coming to mobile devices June 2018! This game marks the first time Game Freak has created and worked on a spin-off game.
Along with these two games, the “core RPG”, main series game that TPCi and Nintendo promised us at E3 2017 has been slated for a 2019 release! These games will be similar to Pokémon X & Y, and Sun & Moon – appeasing to the competitive, hardcore fanbase – while Let’s Go appeals to a more broad audience.
What do you guys think of these new games and the big reveal? Worth the wait?
