While there is a new Pokemon game on the way for the Nintendo Switch games list, another new release was recently confirmed for the 3DS handheld.
Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon are revamped titles being launched this year, but will only be available on the Nintendo 3DS.
It was easy to see why some Switch fans were left a little perplexed by the announcement, guessing that the new hybrid console could do with all the games it could get for its first year.
But Nintendo have now revealed why the Pokemon Sun and Moon remake was chosen as a 3DS exclusive only.
Developers Game Freak revealed why they ruled out bringing the new Pocket Monster project to the Switch.
While it’s easy to see how the game would probably sell well on the new gaming device, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon producer Shigeru Ohmori confirmed that they had unfinished business on the 3DS.
“We’ve been working with the 3DS hardware since Pokemon X and Y,” Ohmori told GameSpot.
“Even then we wanted to get the maximum power and maximum potential out of the 3DS, and ever since then we’ve continued to try [to do] that. With X and Y we thought we’d got as much as we could out, but then Sun and Moon came along and we pushed even harder and got as much as we could out of the system at that time.
“And now, again, with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, we’ve tried to make this the pinnacle of our work with the 3DS system and make it a culmination of all our efforts to get the absolute most out of the system that we can.”
This would suggest that the Pokemon Ultra series will be the last on the 3DS, although Nintendo have yet to confirm when they plan to slowdown releases on the older handheld.
It was announced at E3 2017 that Nintendo was working on a core Pokemon RPG (originally thought to be called Pokemon Stars) for the Nintendo Switch.
The upcoming Pokemon game was expected to have a 2018 release date.
However, fans might end up having to wait longer for the game based on the Nintendo launch schedule.
The Pokemon Nintendo Switch RPG is now being advertised for “2018 or later”.
The suggestion is that the Pokemon RPG could end up launching in 2019, or perhaps even later.
It’s a blow for Nintendo Switch fans who want to enjoy a core Pokemon game sooner rather than later.
Little else is known about the new Pokemon game, except for a few comments made by the people behind it.
It was revealed by The Pokemon Company’s Tsunekazu Ishihara during Nintendo’s E3 Direct conference.
Ishihara said that Game Freak was working on the game, and that it might not release for more than a year.