Nintendo revealed today that a core entry in the Pokémon series is coming to the Switch in a year or so.
Fans were disappointed earlier this year when Nintendo revealed that Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were coming to the 3DS and not the Switch, but this Electronic Entertainment Expo announcement shows that Nintendo isn’t stupid. It knows that bringing a core Pokémon game to the Switch can make a lot money and help sell consoles.
We usually have to wait about three years between releases in the core series of Pokémon role-playing games. The last ones, Sun and Moon, came out last year for the 3DS.
Since debuting in 1996, Pokémon has generated approximately $45 billion in revenue. That’s from the games, the feature-length films, and the merchandise. It’s one of Nintendo’s biggest franchises, second only maybe to Mario.
The main Pokémon games, which focus on role-playing game battles and collecting and training monsters, have always stuck to portable systems like the 3DS. The home consoles have had to make do with spinoffs like the fighting game Pokkén Tournament or Pokémon Snap, an artifact from Nintendo’s past where you took pictures of the pocket monsters.