Game Freak News Articles
Thursday24th Oct 2019
Pixélmon, I choose you!
Nintendo has posted a 30-second teaser for the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Shield that features a whole load of your favourite 'mon from previous generations. We could describe it in detail, but it's only 30 seconds - check it out above. Neat, huh? It's great fun to see all the retro pixel versions of Pokémon from multiple...
Friday18th Oct 2019
Video We've Played Pokémon Sword And Shield On Nintendo Switch And These Are Our Thoughts
Are they any good?
After Luigi's Mansion 3, the next major Switch title arriving is Pokémon Sword and Shield in the middle of November. It's expected to be the biggest Pokémon game ever (in more ways than one) – with Dynamaxing, Gigantamaxing, and a brand new region featuring idyllic countryside, contemporary cities, thick forests, and...
Saturday5th Oct 2019
News Game Freak Considered "Changing Up" The Battle System In Pokémon Sword And Shield
But wanted to express turn-based battles in the ultimate form
One staple of Pokémon is the turn-based battle gameplay. Without it, the series probably wouldn't have been as successful as it is today. While the upcoming releases Sword and Shield for the Nintendo Switch have incorporated a lot of new ideas, there were a few of them that didn't make...
Friday4th Oct 2019
News The Pokémon Company Issues A Statement About The Number Of Gyms In Sword And Shield
The new entries will still offer a "traditional Gym" experience
Earlier this week, we found out Pokémon Sword and Shield would include a "whopping" 18 Gyms, split across 'Major' and 'Minor' leagues in a Game Informer cover story. Although we already knew different Gyms would appear depending on which version of the game you were playing, The...
Thursday3rd Oct 2019
Random Game Freak Had Plans For A Virtual Boy Title But Never Got Around To Making It
Pokémon Red?
Whenever the developer Game Freak is mentioned, you probably think about the mainline Pokémon video game series. That's not the only series it has worked on over the years, though. Little Town Hero is coming to the Switch later this month and there was a point in the Japanese company's history when it had an idea for a Virtual Boy...
Wednesday2nd Oct 2019
News Junichi Masuda Says Cut Pokémon Will "Definitely" Return In Future Games
Gone but not forgotten
Earlier this year, Sword and Shield producer Junichi Masuda shocked the Pokémon community when he revealed some creatures would be left behind. After much backlash from fans, it resulted in him releasing an official statement, saying how it was a "very difficult decision" to make. He also explained at the time that if a...
News Around 1,000 People Worked On The New Pokémon Games For Switch
The biggest team ever!
Pokémon Sword and Shield might not include every pocket monster, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a small game. In fact, it's such a big project, more than 1,000 people were reportedly involved in its development. Speaking to Game Informer, director Shigeru Ohmori explained how the core team who developed the Sun and...
Saturday28th Sep 2019
Video Game Freak Introduces The Characters Of Little Town Hero
Not long to go now
Game Freak might be best known for the mainline Pokémon series, but it also likes to make other games. The next one on the way is the RPG Little Town Hero, previously known as 'Town'. With this digital-only release just around the corner, Game Freak has decided to upload a new clip, featuring all of the "attractive" characters...
Thursday5th Sep 2019
News Pokémon Sword & Shield Will Feature A Pokémon You Can Drink
"Its body is made of tea"
If you thought a "whipped cream" Pokémon was the weirdest possible addition to the Galar region's Pokédex, you were clearly mistaken. In the most recent Nintendo Direct, Game Freak introduced two brand-new Pokémon for your battling (or drinking) pleasure: Cramorant, and Polteageist (the latter of which is apparently...
News Camps, Curry And Customisations Come To Pokémon Sword And Shield
Wild new details appeared! (Yes, we used that one again.)
Among the plethora of announcements made in today's Nintendo Direct were quite a few updates regarding Pokémon Sword and Shield - including character customisations, camps, and... curry rice? Yes, Game Freak have finally answered the prayers of their hungry fanbase and included that...
News Little Town Hero, The Next Game From The Creators Of Pokémon, Arrives In October
The Artist Formerly Known As Game Freak's TOWN
We've had our eye on the upcoming RPG title from Pokémon developers Game Freak for a while now. It's finally got an official name, and it's the one that was hinted at a while back - Little Town Hero. While it's not a massive change from the working title of 'TOWN', it's certainly nice to know its real...
Wednesday24th Jul 2019
News Upcoming Patch For Pokémon: Let's Go Fixes Some Weird Bugs
Gotta patch it all
Update: The patch is now live. Although Game Freak is focused on its upcoming Switch release Pokémon Sword and Shield, it's still working on some minor fixes for last year's title, Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! According to Serebii.net, an upcoming patch for the game will bring the title up to Version...
Sunday14th Jul 2019
News Game Freak Isn't Reusing 3DS Models In Pokémon Sword and Shield
It's not what it looks like
Earlier this month, there was a theory the Japanese developer Game Freak was "recycling" 3DS models and animations in Pokémon Sword and Shield. Despite producer Junichi Masuda explaining how the limited Pokédex was tied to "higher quality" animations - when footage comparing the past and present pocket monster games...
Friday12th Jul 2019
Video Latest Japanese Sword And Shield Commercial Shows New Pokémon In Action
Bigger than before
The Pokémon Company has posted a new one-minute commercial for the upcoming Switch release Pokémon Sword and Shield on its Japanese YouTube channel. This brief clip showcases the many different environments in the Galar region while also showing some of the newer pocket monsters and human characters previously revealed in a...
Sunday7th Jul 2019
News Game Freak Prefers To "Implement New Things Fairly Gradually" In Pokémon
And it will "continue to do new things gradually"
Pokémon fans around the world have been dreaming about a vast open-world 3D entry in the series for far too long now. Just imagine an adventure in the style of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or even similar to the Level-5 title, Yo-Kai Watch 4. Returning to reality, Game Freak doesn't...
News A Sequel To Pokémon Snap Won't Happen Unless There's A "Very Unique Twist"
It's not going to happen in a snap
One of the most requested Pokémon games of all-time is a sequel to the 1999 Nintendo 64 title, Pokémon Snap. Will it ever happen, though? While fans have been hoping for a follow-up for two decades, according to Game Freak's Junichi Masuda, it's going to need a very unique twist. During an interview with Metro's...
Wednesday3rd Jul 2019
News Is Game Freak "Recycling" 3DS Animations In Pokémon Sword And Shield On Switch?
What happened to the "higher quality" animations?
After Game Freak revealed Pokémon Sword and Shield wouldn't include every pocket monster, producer Junichi Masuda was forced to explain how part of this decision was tied to the fact the team was required to create much
Saturday29th Jun 2019
News Junichi Masuda Releases Official Statement About Limiting Sword And Shield's Pokédex
"This was a very difficult decision"
During a Nintendo Treehouse Live segment at this year's E3, Game Freak producer Junichi Masuda shocked fans when he revealed Pokémon Sword and Shield would not include every pocket monster. Before this, long-time players were expecting to be able to catch 'em and even transfer 'em all. In an interview with US...
Tuesday25th Jun 2019
News Tweet Analysis Reveals Controversial Pokémon Cull Has Fans Evenly Split
Hard Pokéscience using AI, language processing and bar charts
Update: It appears that we misinterpreted this data in our original story, specifically the ‘sentiment’ analysis. After reviewing the findings again, the zero value tweets that display “no emotion at all” appear to include the #BringBackNationalPokedex example itself, which we...
Saturday22nd Jun 2019
News Nintendo, Creatures And Game Freak Apply For 'Dynamax Band' Trademark In Japan
Increase the size of your Pokémon
One of the new features in Pokémon Sword and Shield is the "dynamax" ability – allowing trainers to transform their pocket monsters into giants on the battlefield for a short period of time. There are also raids in the game where you can fight alongside other players to defeat these overly large Pokémon. With...
Sunday9th Jun 2019
Random PETA Makes Woolly Statement About Sheep Pokémon Wooloo, Backlash Ensues
Trainers unite!
American animal rights organisation PETA is once again using a video game to make a controversial statement. This time the target is Pokémon Sword and Shield and its new sheep pocket monster Wooloo – which was revealed to the world during the most recent Pokémon Direct presentation. You see, Wooloo has wool and PETA doesn't...
Friday7th Jun 2019
Rumour Is The Grass-Type Gym Leader In Sword And Shield Teasing The Date Of The Next Pokémon Direct?
Some fans seem to think so
Remember the overly buff child-like gym leader featured in Nintendo's recent Pokémon Direct? In case you need reminding, we're talking about the Grass-type expert named Milo, who is one of the eight leaders you'll have to defeat on your path to the Galar Region's Pokémon League. Well, there appears to be a wild theory...
Wednesday5th Jun 2019
Watch Pokémon Direct June 2019 - New Details On Pokémon Sword And Shield Revealed!
Watch it right here, with added chatter!
Guess what? A brand-new Pokémon Direct is set to air today, Wednesday 5th June! The Direct will focus on the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Shield games for Nintendo Switch and will feature "roughly 15 minutes of new information" for us to devour with giddy excitement. <liveblog...
Saturday1st Jun 2019
News Nintendo, Creatures Inc And Game Freak Apply For 'Pokegenic' Trademark In Japan
Gotta trademark 'em all
Update: Serebii.net webmaster Joe Merrick has explained what exactly the 'Pokegenic' trademark is linked to over on Twitter. It's being used to highlight the photo spots at this year's Pikachu festival in Yokohama. Earlier this week, The Pokémon Company made four major announcements during its 2019 press conference. If...
Sunday26th May 2019
News Game Freak's Junichi Masuda Reflects On The Original Yoshi And Pokémon Games
A dose of nostalgia
Game Freak has shared a new video on its YouTube channel featuring director Junichi Masuda talking about the development of the original Pokémon games as well as the puzzle game Yoshi – also known as Mario & Yoshi in Europe and Yoshi's Egg in Japan. For starters, most people to this day still don't know the classic...
Friday24th May 2019
News Famitsu Shares New Screenshot Of The Battle System In Game Freak's Upcoming Switch RPG
Lovely stuff
Yesterday, we found out how Game Freak is attempting to create something "more exciting" than Pokémon in its upcoming Switch RPG, tentatively titled Town. Unfortunately, there's been little to no information about this new project since its
Wednesday22nd May 2019
News Game Freak Is Trying To Create Something "More Exciting Than Pokémon"
Original projects taking priority to keep the team fresh
Game Freak, the makers of a little series of games known as Pokémon, is currently focusing on original projects rather than its flagship brand, according to game programmer and director Masayuki Onoue. Speaking with our friends over at Video Games Chronicle, Onoue gave details about how the...
Wednesday1st May 2019
News Pocket Card Jockey Dev Team Discuss The Chance Of A Sequel
Good odds
In 2016, Pokémon specialist Game Freak released Pocket Card Jockey on the 3DS. Beyond the cute graphics, the eShop title was a dangerously addictive combination of horse racing and solitaire. Here on Nintendo Life, we gave it seven out of ten stars and said it was worth a look. A series of interviews with the game's core members have now...
Wednesday10th Apr 2019
News Giga Wrecker Alt. Is Receiving A Limited Run Physical Release
Pre-orders open later this week
Limited Run has announced it will be handling the physical release of Game Freak's Giga Wrecker Alt. for the Nintendo Switch. Pre-orders go live on 12th of April (aka. this Friday). Below is the official announcement tweet along with a few extra details: The 2D action side-scroller first arrived on the Steam...
Wednesday3rd Apr 2019
News Giga Wrecker Alt.'s Japanese Delay Won't Impact The Western Launch
Still coming to the west on May 2nd
After the Taiwan Digital Game Rating Committee revealed Giga Wrecker Alt. would be released on the Switch, it was then confirmed the Game Freak developed title would be arriving on Nintendo's hybrid platform on 2nd May 2019. Unfortunately, "due to various circumstances" the publisher Rising Star Games has now...
