Gotta catch ‘em all: all the updates for Pokémon Let’s Go – The Verge

Poké Ball Plus review: a cute but pricey way to catch Mew

2018-11-16T09:00:06-05:00

Pokémon: Let's Go launches today for the Nintendo Switch, but the tablet's Joy-Cons aren't the only way to play. Nintendo is releasing a special peripheral called Poké Ball Plus as a standalone and a bundle with Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!. The handheld poké ball is adorable, but is it worth an extra $40 to $50?

The Poké Ball has a lot to offer in the way of features, starting with rare pokémon Mew. Connecting the peripheral for the first time will gift you with a level 1 pokémon to add to your lineup. As a controller, the Poké Ball Plus is limited to two buttons - confirm and cancel - and a joystick. Like the …

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Pokémon: Let’s Go simplifies the series without losing its soul

2018-11-13T09:00:01-05:00

Since Pokémon: Let's Go's announcement, Game Freak director Junichi Masuda has hammered home a single point: this is not your typical Pokémon role-playing game. Instead, it's a softer, more approachable version. The kind of game meant to capture the attention of younger audiences who never experienced the original games, new fans drawn into the series by Pokémon Go, and older players whose nostalgia will win them over.

The most surprising thing about Pokémon: Let's Go - which comes in both Pikachu and Eevee varieties - is that it nails that Venn diagram perfectly.

Let's Go is a mashup of series favorite Pokémon Yellow and Niantic's breakou …

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Pokémon: Let’s Go is a ‘starting point for the next 20 years of Pokémon’

2018-10-15T09:00:02-04:00

Years ago, during a Pokémon autograph session, a mother approached Junichi Masuda with her son. These games had changed her child's life for the better, she said. The sentiment stuck with him. "Through Pokémon, you can enrich people's lives and have a positive impact on them," he says. The idea had never occurred to him before. "But afterwards, I definitely tried to focus on keeping the series positive, playing and making sure we don't let people down."

For more than 20 years, Masuda has worked on Pokémon at Game Freak as a composer, programmer, and director. He was heavily involved with Niantic's Pokémon Go and is directing Pokémon: Let's …

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Pokémon: Let’s Go-themed Switch turns Eevee and Pikachu into Joy-Con

2018-09-10T10:05:54-04:00

Nintendo is releasing a special Pokémon: Let's Go-themed Switch for the games' upcoming release. The pokémon-stamped Switch includes Pikachu and Eevee-themed Joy-Con, a Poké Ball Plus, and a dock featuring both mascots. Two different versions of the bundle will be available, one with Let's Go, Pikachu! and one with Let's Go, Eevee!.

Nintendo hasn't announced a price for the new Switch yet, though a previously revealed bundle with the Poké Ball Plus and either game is $99.99. The special edition Switch will be available when the game launches on November 16th. Given Nintendo's history with supply shortages, it seems unlikely they'll be avail …

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Pokémon: Let’s Go’s pokéball controller costs $50, but it comes with a free Mew

2018-06-12T18:38:35-04:00

Pokémon: Let's Go, the new game that's out to bridge the gulf between types of Pokémon fans, can be played with regular Joy-Con controllers. But based on our actual gameplay experience so far, the real way to play the upcoming adventure for the Switch will be through the new Poké Ball Plus controller. At E3, Nintendo announced pricing information for the controller along with the news that each Poké Ball Plus will come with a free Mew.

And in addition to working as a functional controller for the game, there's the added fun of being able to transfer a pokémon to the controller, where it can make noise and vibrate the controller for a truly …

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Pokémon: Let’s Go is a simple game improved by its pricey pokéball controller

2018-06-12T17:58:46-04:00

Game Freak has been adamant that Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! are not an addition to the mainline, "core" Pokémon series - the one that kicked off with Pokémon Red and Blue (or Green, in Japan) back in 1996. Instead, they're a soft reboot to the beloved Pokémon Yellow, a revisiting of the original Kanto region and the first 151 pokémon that made the series so popular. It's an improvement on the original gameplay, but players only need to spend a few minutes with the game to understand just how simple it is by modern Pokémon standards.

There's a soothing, familiar rhythm to Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's G …

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Pokémon: Let’s Go is a turning point that could change the future of the series

2018-06-06T09:30:08-04:00

The tremendous success of the mobile game Pokémon Go changed everything for the monster-collecting video game series. After 2016, there were suddenly millions of new fans willing to spend millions more dollars to raise digital battle monsters. Despite its popularity, however, Pokémon Go seemed to linger in an ambiguous space, separate from the core Pokémon games and their deep role-playing systems, as well many of the fans devoted to them. Pokémon Go mined "real" Pokémon titles for gameplay ideas and monster compendiums, sure, but otherwise, the two worlds hardly intersected. Until now.

Last week, developer Game Freak surprised fans by prop …

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Eevee’s starring role in Pokémon: Let’s Go was inspired by fan art

2018-05-30T09:00:02-04:00

Over the last few years, the Pokémon series has gingerly offered the mostly Pikachu-occupied spotlight to a handful of other characters. Slowpoke and Magnemite got their own theme songs; Magikarp was granted not only a track, but a mobile game. With Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!, a new pair of Switch games coming from Game Freak, the series's creators are giving another old face, Eevee, a fresh chance to impress. And according to longtime Pokémon developer Junichi Masuda, it's all because of fan art.

As a callback to the old days of Pokémon, Pikachu is an obvious choice. Let's Go, Pikachu! is already a nod to Pok …

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The Pokéball Plus will help you catch monsters in Pokémon Go and on the Switch

2018-05-29T21:57:31-04:00

As a supplementary experience to Pokémon Go, Niantic released a watch-like Bluetooth sensor it dubbed the Pokémon Go Plus. The wearable vibrated when pokémon and pokéstops were near as a way to enhance player experience, and now it's making a comeback - sort of. Developer Game Freak announced today that in addition to new Switch titles Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! the company and Niantic have plans for a new peripheral called the Pokéball Plus.

The Pokéball Plus will serve as both a joycon for the Let's Go games and the new version of the Go Plus. In addition to motion controls, it also lights up, vibrates, and makes noi …

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Two new Pokemon RPGs are coming to the Switch this November

2018-05-29T21:56:57-04:00

The Pokémon franchise is expanding its presence on the Nintendo Switch with two new role-playing games: Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! When both games launch on November 16th, players will get the chance to experience many firsts for the series: couch co-op, mobile integration, and big-screen play, all in the style of Pokémon's traditional RPGs. It's a step forward for Pokémon that begins with a look back.

The Let's Go games draw heavily from the handheld Pokémon titles, but they're also as close to a reboot as the game series has ever come. These new games focus primarily on the Kanto region, home to the original …

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