Nintendo announced its developing a new pair of Pokémon sequels, Pokémon Sun and Moon, during a Nintendo direct livestream Friday. Sun and Moon, the first proper sequels in the series since 2013’s Pokémon X and Y, will come to the Nintendo 3DS worldwide this holiday season.
The announcement came at the tail end of a video celebrating the series’ 20th anniversary: The original Pokémon was released on February 27, 1996. The new games are the latest and largest in a series of promotions related to the anniversaries, including re-releases of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow coming to the Nintendo 3DS eShop Saturday, and a special ‘edition New 3DS.
Though Nintendo was light on details in the announcement, it said that players would be able to transfer their Pokémon from the upcoming ports to Pokémon Sun and Moon using Nintendo’s Pokémon Bank, a series-specific cloud storage app for the 3DS. Players can also transfer their Pokémon from the most recent Pokémon games, including Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon X, and Pokémon Y. As Kotaku pointed out, the concept art in the trailer included an image of a Blastoise riding on the back of a fire truck.
The announcements follow reports yesterday that Nintendo filed trademarks for the names and logos for Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon in the European Union. A parody account impersonating Nintendo of America accurately predicted the games would be released in 2016. Rumors that Nintendo had a proper sequel in development shifted into high-gear earlier this month when Nintendo unveiled a new Pokémon in Japanese magazine Coro Coro, though many speculated the game would be called “Pokémon Z,” following the pattern established by X and Y.
Pokémon Sun and Moon will be available in late 2016. Until then, The Pokémon Company has plenty of ideas for how you can celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary.
Related Posts
Your Xbox ecosystem just levelled up across every device
Gaming Copilot is now live in the Xbox mobile app (beta), offering real-time AI help for gameplay, achievements, tips, and more.
I’ve played every major Zelda game, here’s what The Legend of Zelda movie needs to get right
In terms of iconic pop culture heroes, Link is up there with Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, and Superman. While Benjamin Evan Ainsworth has proven himself capable enough to lead The Legend of Zelda's cast, adapting Link’s character for the big screen is a challenge. For much of the Zelda franchise, Link is depicted as a silent protagonist who serves as a stand-in for the player. However, that doesn't mean Link isn't a unique character. Each version of Link has a distinct story, but they are all known for their incredible courage, loyalty, and dedication to protecting the innocent. However, he has also shown many times that he can be silly, reckless, rageful, guilty, and tempted by greed. Link doesn’t necessarily have to speak in the film to appeal to audiences. However, he just can't be a one-dimensional fantasy hero. We have to see how multifaceted a person Link is as he grows and reacts to everything, carrying such a heavy burden as the Hero of Hyrule. Zelda should share the adventure with Link
PlayStation 5 can technically be a CD-player, if you’ve got a tinkerer’s heart
But a creator behind the YouTube channel Will It Work? decided to test that limit with a clever workaround. Using an unusual optical drive, he managed to trick the PS5 into reading CDs as if they were USB storage devices.