Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu / Eevee director on the graphics, major changes, GO mechanics, lots more

“And what about the new Pokemon game slated for a 2019 release!?”

Let’s talk a little bit about Pokemon GO itself, first. It has been about two years since the game was first released, and it has significantly changed since then; Mr. Masuda, how do you view that progress?

Masuda: The sheer massiveness of the public’s response really shocked me, I think. I feel like a lot of people even discovered the Pokemon series through Pokemon GO. I’d imagine a lot of people became particularly acquainted with the Pokemon native to the Kanto region! And as they were released, people eventually became familiar with Pokemon from the Johto and Hoenn regions too; even now, a lot of people still play the game!

The Friend List and trading were added to the game the other day as well!

Masuda: We had been thinking about those mechanics for a long time but were finally able to implement them! I think that it’ll be a lot easier for people to connect with each other, now that those mechanics are in place. I feel like it was a good approach to release those features around the two-year anniversary.

The Pokemon GO Summer Tour is also happening this year, isn’t it? It’s coming to cities like Dortmund and Chicago, and there’s a lot to be excited about!

Masuda: At last year’s event in Chicago, the communication network was unstable and caused quite a bit of trouble for everybody… Even still, the event was incredibly exciting! The city was absolutely filled to the brim with trainers playing Pokemon GO – you could really see how games can bring even strangers together!

Chicago brought a really unique feeling to the event! Do you think this year’s event at Yokosuka will meet Japanese players’ expectations?

Masuda: By all means, look forward to it! Everybody, please take the train if you can; it’d be pretty bad if everybody came by car! (laughs)

All right, let’s switch gears now; about the 2019 Pokemon game – can you tell us anything about it in its current stage?

Masuda: As I’ve already mentioned, the Let’s Go games were pretty challenging to develop. The 2019 title will truly be a game for those that are already fans of the core Pokemon series. Expanding the series onto the Nintendo Switch has definitely presented new challenges.

The Pokemon Company’s president – Tsunekazu Ishihara – announced that the 2019 title will have more of a hands-on playstyle; can you tell us anything about that?

Masuda: For the Let’s Go games, we imagined that they’d be the kind of game that you’d play at home on your TV; the 2019 title, on the other hand, is the kind of game that one would play with their friends on their own Nintendo Switch systems. Those who are familiar with the series through the handheld titles will feel right at home – it’ll be more closely aligned to a traditional Pokemon game.

Will you be able to bring Pokemon over from the Let’s Go games to the 2019 title?

Masuda: There have been times where you couldn’t bring Pokemon over from previous titles – and I imagine that created some bad memories. I want to try and change that, if I can.

Great! Now, do you have anything to say to the fans who are eagerly awaiting the release of the Let’s Go games?

Masuda: The Let’s Go games are a true reworking of the Pokemon formula; you can see Pokemon moving about on the map and can even walk with a partner Pokemon of your choosing! We really wanted to rework the game to capture the experience of being with your Pokemon – it truly captures a feeling we haven’t been able to before, and I hope everybody enjoys that. We’d also love to see how people play this Pokemon game differently from past entries in the series. Again, you can play the game without having played Pokemon GO, but we’ve found that Pokemon GO really increases the scope of the experience. Please enjoy the game as much as you can with your family and friends. If you’re saying to yourself: “I don’t have anybody to play games with!” – don’t worry! The games are still fun to play alone, so please, enjoy!

Translation by provided by Nico Thaxton on behalf of Nintendo Everything

If you use any of this translation, please be sure to source Nintendo Everything. Do not copy its full contents.