Nintendo has some big Pokémon news to announce. And its Switch console is likely involved.
Nintendo announced today that it’ll be hosting one of its Direct broadcasts focusing on Pokémon. It’ll start streaming at 7 a.m. Pacific tomorrow and only last 8 minutes. Pokémon is one of the biggest brands in gaming (and in entertainment in general), so this is likely to be big news.
While we don’t know what Nintendo is announcing, the news is likely to be significant if it warrant its own Direct. It could be that the Japanese gaming company is planning to announce a version of Pokémon Sun and Moon for the Switch, its new home console/portable hybrid system. The latest entries in the series came out for the Nintendo 3DS in November and have sold over 15.44 million copies.
Whatever the news is, Nintendo didn’t want to wait until next week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Many publishers use that show as a way to announce new projects. Sony and Microsoft like to hold stage events where they show off new games and more, but Nintendo instead streams both prepared videos and live from its booth on the show floor during E3. Nintendo will host is popular Nintendo Treehouse streams during the show focusing on Super Mario Odyssey and other Switch games.
The Switch has been selling well since its debut in March, but getting its own Pokémon game could be a big boost. The main series of monster-collecting and fighting games have stuck to Nintendo’s portable systems, while the home console got spinoffs. Now, the Switch is blurring the lines between portable and home consoles. That could give Nintendo reason to bring Pokémon Sun and Moon to it.
That and the fact that it would make a ton of money.