Nintendo has just announced that the highly popular "Pokémon" franchise will now be coming to its recently released gaming console, the Nintendo Switch. The first appearance of the hit franchise for the new console comes in the form of the hit fighting video game, "Pokkén tournament DX."
Official announcement
Nintendo officially revealed the arrival of the fighting game for the Switch at its Nintendo Direct live stream today, June 6. A lot of fans were surprised that the company decided to announce the game during the live stream event, which is only evident of the importance the company has placed on its arrival.
Fans have been waiting for "Pokémon" to arrive on the Switch since the console was first announced. Nintendo did confirm that the franchise was going to be appearing in some form on the new platform, but they didn't really confirm what specific games would be released.
Game details
"Pokkén Tournament DX" is a deluxe version of the original game that was released for the Wii U back in March of last year. The game is developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by The Pokémon Company. The game interestingly utilizes the same gameplay elements as the Bandai Namco's "Tekken" fighting video game series but with Pokémon fighters instead of "Tekken" characters. The deluxe edition of the game takes advantage of the various modes and multiplayer options of the Nintendo Switch, which includes local, tabletop, team battles, and online play.
All 20 playable Pokémon and 30 non-playable assist Pokémon are expected to be included.
The game has been announced to become available on Sept. 22. Interested players will, however, be able to try out a playable version of the game during the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) event next week.
Not exactly the game that was expected
A huge majority of "Pokémon" fans had hoped that a new version of "Pokémon Sun" or "Pokémon Moon" was going to be announced for the Switch. However, Nintendo has just recently confirmed that they will instead release the updated versions, called "Pokémon Ultra Sun" and "Ultra Moon" for the 3DS.
The original titles were released for the same portable console back in November and have since sold more than 15.4 million copies worldwide. There is, of course, some hope that the updated versions would still be making it to the Nintendo Switch, but the company has kept details regarding it a closely kept secret.
