Pokemon Sun and Moon are finally out today, but it now appears that it won’t be a Nintendo 3DS exclusive.
Instead, the game looks set to make its way to the Nintendo Switch console in 2017, and is under development under the name Pokemon Stars.
The name suggests that the game will be a combined version of Sun and Moon, in the same way that Yellow was a combination of Red and Blue and Platinum was a combination of Silver and Gold.
A Poke-first
This will be the first ever time a full Pokemon game will appear on a home console. Pokemon characters have appeared in versions of the Super Smash Bros games, and the Nintendo 64 received a Pokemon game called Pokemon Stadium.
Eurogamer, which first reported the news, is claiming that multiple unnamed sources are stating the game has been developed in parallel with the handheld versions, and as such is already a long way into development.
The game will also apparently feature connectivity with the handheld versions, allowing you to transfer Pokemon between the two via the Pokemon Bank app.
The news tallies with previous comments from Game Freak which suggested that they were looking to develop games for the Switch (then known as the NX).
Apparently the game is expected to launch late next year after slipping from its early 2017 planned launch date.
We have contacted Nintendo for comment and will update this piece when they respond.
- Check out everything we know about the upcoming Nintendo Switch release date, news and features.
