A Pokemon fan and artist has created a stunning concept for a "New Pokemon Stadium" box art, imagining the return of the classic spinoff. The Pokemon Stadium games were among the most popular games on the Nintendo 64 combining the franchise's trademark turn-based combat with tournaments, mini-games, and more. The spinoff franchise recently returned to the spotlight when Nintendo announced Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon Stadium 2 would appear on the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack next year. Now, a fan has imagined a modern follow-up to the classic games.
Pokemon fan account PKMNLeak shared the concept image created by HypnosConcept for a potential revival of Pokemon Stadium, titled New Pokemon Stadium. The box art for the return of the Pokemon battle simulator features the Mega Evolutions of Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise as the game's cover Pokemon. A new Pokemon Stadium would be the first time the spinoff has seen a new game since Pokemon Stadium 2 released over 20 years ago. The franchise would later see a spiritual successor on the Wii with 2006's Pokemon Battle Revolution.
New Pokemon Stadium would be the most recent entry in a trend of classic Pokemon revivals throughout recent years. Last year saw the launch of New Pokemon Snap as a follow-up to the massively popular Nintendo 64 game, with Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl also remaking the franchise's fourth generation. Pokemon has also made a return to puzzle games with recent spinoff games like Pokemon Cafe Mix. Nintendo's Expansion Pass for Nintendo Switch Online recently brought back another classic Pokemon game in Pokemon Puzzle League.
A potential New Pokemon Stadium would come in a wholly different environment for the franchise than the original games. The rise of online gameplay has seen Pokemon's main-series franchise introduce online gameplay. The franchise has also transitioned to fully 3D gameplay for its main-series games, with one of the main draws of the original Pokemon Stadium games being their 3D Pokemon battles. New Pokemon Stadium would likely also feature a collection of mini-games, with mini-games being a popular feature of the original Pokemon Stadium games.
Pokemon has set itself up for a busy holiday season with the franchise preparing to welcome its next generation of games. With the launch of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet just over a month away, Game Freak and The Pokemon Company have already released several trailers showing off new Pokemon, new gameplay, and more. Rumors have also persisted around a new Pokemon Legends game, following the success of Pokemon Legends: Arceus earlier this year. A potential New Pokemon Stadium would look to be a popular revival for a fan-favorite spinoff.