E3 hasn’t even begun yet and Nintendo is already dropping some game announcements. In a surprising eight-minute Direct on Tuesday morning, the big N revealed that Pokkén Tournament Deluxe, the Pokémon/Tekken hybrid, will be launching on the Nintendo Switch later this year, on September 22, 2017. This port will of course allow you to play on-the-go and even share Joy-con for multiplayer fights with friends. Catch the clip for a demonstration of Pokémon battles on the go.
Tune in on June 6 at 7am PT/10am ET for #Pokemon news in a special, 8-minute Pokémon Direct. https://t.co/sVsqDLEOcv pic.twitter.com/6zq0vTnHmy
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) June 5, 2017
The game looks great, of course, and will include five new playable characters: Darkri, Scizor, Empoleon, Croagunk, and Decidueye. The game will also include Ranked Matches, Friendly Matches, and Group Matches. These additions are the Deluxe part of the title. Interestingly enough, the Switch will now boast two strong exclusive fighting games in ARMS and Pokkén. And it’s not hard to imagine that a Smash Bros. game will eventually make its way onto Nintendo’s latest console. I can only hope that the unique, almost impossible-to-find Pokkén specific pad that was released on the Wii U will also be making the transition to the new hardware.
With the Wii U’s lack of popularity and poor overall sales, Wii U ports making their way to the Switch has a good chance of becoming the norm. Considering how many folks skipped on Nintendo’s last console, it’s actually a great strategy to port some of the best games from the Wii U, since so many missed out on them originally. I will still make the argument that despite all the gate the Wii U got, it’s exclusives compare favorably to the PS4 and Xbox One’s library.
The latter half of the Nintendo Direct was dedicated to announcing the new versions of the Pokémon Company’s latest titles: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon. Aside from the fact that the games will be featuring an alternate story from the original Sun and Moon, we don’t know much about the games at the moment. And for all those retro fans out there, Pokémon Silver and Pokémon Gold will be coming to virtual console this September. If that’s not enough for you, just hold on for a few more days. Nintendo probably has a few more surprises up their sleeves!
Are there any other Wii U games you’d like to be ported over to the Switch (other than Smash Bros)? Do you like this port? Is there anything you’d like to be added to the game? Drop your thoughts in the comments section below!
Featured image: Nintendo
