During a press conference in Tokyo today, Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company, presented a glimpse into how the globally popular Pokémon brand will continue to be a trendsetter in gaming. Mr. Ishihara unveiled a broad range of offerings including mobile games, apps, and innovative connected hardware to show the variety of new ways Pokémon Trainers will be able to experience and enhance their Pokémon gameplay.
The world of Pokémon games is more diverse than ever, with a range of titles for Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices. Now, Trainers can bring all their Pokémon together with Pokémon HOME, a new cloud service app that enables them to continue their Pokémon adventures beyond a single game system and manage their collection of Pokémon across many of their games. Smartphone users can also trade with friends or others around the world directly from Pokémon HOME. Pokémon HOME connects with Pokémon Bank as well as Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games, and also Pokémon GO. Pokémon HOME is expected to launch in early 2020 for iOS and Android devices as well as Nintendo Switch.
Soon, Trainers will be able to wake up with Pokémon every morning with Pokémon Sleep, a mobile app from The Pokémon Company. Pokémon Sleep aims to turn sleeping into entertainment by having a player’s time spent sleeping and the time they wake up have an effect on the gameplay. While more details about the app’s functionality will be revealed at a later date, it was announced that a new peripheral device from Nintendo, Pokémon GO Plus + will connect to Pokémon Sleep and launch with the app. The device will use an embedded accelerometer to track a user’s time sleeping and send this information to their smartphone via Bluetooth. This new device also has the same functions as the original Pokémon GO Plus, so Trainers can use it with Pokémon GO during the day and with Pokémon Sleep at night. Trainers can look forward to Pokémon Sleep launching for mobile devices in 2020. To celebrate this early look at Pokémon Sleep, beginning today, Trainers around the world will have the chance to encounter Snorlax that are lying down and deep in sleep in Pokémon GO.
A new Pokémon mobile game called Pokémon Masters is on the way for iOS and Android devices from The Pokémon Company and DeNA. Pokémon Masters enables players to experience a new type of Pokémon battling on the go and features many famous Pokémon Trainers from the long history of Pokémon video games. Gameplay will be optimized for smart devices for a casual but uniquely Pokémon experience. Fans can expect more details about Pokémon Masters in June.
A New Detective Pikachu game for Nintendo Switch
The release of the “POKÉMON Detective Pikachu” movie has left fans wanting more of the famous Pokémon sleuth. The Pokémon Company announced today that Creatures Inc. has plans to create a new entry in the Detective Pikachu video game series, this time for Nintendo Switch. The original Detective Pikachu game for the Nintendo 3DS ended on a cliffhanger and this upcoming game will be a conclusion to that story.
Pokémon Comes to China with Pokémon Quest
Earlier in May, it was announced that the popular mobile game, Pokémon Quest, will be coming to China via NetEase, the second largest game developer in the world and a new partner for The Pokémon Company. Since then, more than 1.7 million players have pre-registered for the game in the country. Today it was revealed that Pokémon Quest in China will be an enhanced version of the game with new player vs. player and social features. While Pokémon Quest marks the first mobile Pokémon game in China, it was also announced that NetEase is working with The Pokémon Company to bring more Pokémon games to the country.
Pokémon Shirts
In addition to gaming news, Mr. Ishihara announced that Pokémon Shirts, a service currently available in Japan that creates made-to-order original clothing designs featuring the first 151 Pokémon, will be coming to the U.S. and Europe.
The full press conference will be posted to the official Pokémon YouTube channel.
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