There’s a big difference between making a game for a handheld gaming unit and then a full-on console. Not just in terms of graphics, but in terms of memory, size of game gameplay, and more. That’s why the Pokemon core series has always been rooted in the handhelds, and never truly on the consoles of Nintendo. Nintendo has made attempts to make games in the style of the core handheld titles, but they were very much pale comparisons to the core titles.
This changed though with Pokemon Let’s Go. True, the game was very much a “casual” version of the core games, and played more like the GO series in some aspects, but it was a true title in the series. But according to team president Tsunekazu Ishihara, it was much harder to make this game than he thought. And not for the reasons you might be thinking.
He told Dime:
“The main entries in the Pokemon game series have always been on handheld systems – from the Game Boy all the way to the 3DS. For this next entry, the Nintendo Switch has a variety of playstyles. While you can still play in handheld mode, you now have the option of playing on a bigger TV screen while in docked mode. Given this new hardware, I’ve found it harder to make a new mainline Pokemon game than I had originally thought. Even as a Pokemon game on the Switch, does it still work? Is it possible for me to make all of those playstyles interesting? I think it’s probably about five times harder than any of you could imagine! (laughs)”
If this is truly the case, then you have to wonder what the next game will be like on the Switch. For that title (which doesn’t have an official name yet) is going to be the next true core RPG for the series, a first on Nintendo consoles.
