Pokémon chief says approach to games needs to change if brought to Switch

The Pokémon Company confirmed in September it would be supporting the Nintendo Switch, and in a new interview, CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara said the company would need to rethink how it handles titles on the system if it decides to incorporate the new technology.

Ishihara sat down with Japanese business and technology website Toyokeizai Online to discuss the future of Pokémon, including Pokémon Go, and new games on the Switch. When asked how The Pokémon Company was looking to get involved with Nintendo’s new console, Ishihara suggested that the way the company approaches designing its main title games — like Pokémon Sun and Moon — would have to change if the new console was incorporated.

“Pokemon has been about being portable, but now there is the Switch, which is a portable home console, so it has a bigger screen and higher specs than we’re used to,” Ishihara said, as translated by NeoGAF user StreetsAhead. “Apart from main games, we make stuff like Pokkén [Tournament] and [Pokémon Mystery] Dungeon, so I am thinking we should make games that suit the Switch, but at this time I cannot confirm any projects.”

Ishihara added that if they were to develop games primarily for the Switch, it would have to be different from the way they’ve handled making portable games in the past, but wouldn’t elaborate. It’s still unclear if the company intends to release a game like Pokémon Sun or Moon for the console. The Switch may act like the GameCube, Wii and Wii U, which became the go-to consoles for offshoot Pokémon titles like Pokémon Rumble, Pokémon Battle Revolution and PokéPark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure.

It was rumored last year that a game codenamed Pokémon Stars, which would act as a third iteration of Pokémon Sun and Moon, would be released by mid-2017, but The Pokémon Company hasn’t confirmed those rumors. More information is expected to be released from The Pokémon Company throughout the year about what its plans are for bringing Pokémon games to the console.