New Pokemon Snap director talks about how Pokemon were chosen for the game

The original Pokemon Snap had just 63 creatures to catch. For the series’ first new entry in more than twenty years, that number has increased substantially. New Pokemon Snap on Switch will feature over 200 Pokemon.

It’s worth noting that when the N64 title originally debuted, there weren’t nearly as many Pokemon back then. There have been several generations over the years and we’re not very far away from 1,000 designs in total. So how did the New Pokemon Snap team go about choosing Pokemon for the new title?

Speaking with Game Informer, director Haruki Suzaki admitted that the selection process was “truly hard.” The team ultimately went about creating a game where players would be able to encounter Pokemon “thriving in their natural habitats and ecosystem”, and choosing ones that would be a good fit in interesting areas to research. 

Suzaki explained:

“The selection of Pokémon was truly hard. My vision was to create a world where you can actually imagine wild Pokémon thriving in their natural habitats and ecosystem. At first, we thought about Pokémon’s natural habitats and fascinating landscapes and climates to research. Then, we narrowed down our choices by balancing out how different Pokémon would live in these habitats and their relationships within each environment. As a result, there are more than 200 Pokémon, rich in variety, appearing in this game.”

New Pokemon Snap launches for Switch on April 30.