Over 20 years since the original launched on the Nintendo 64, Switch owners finally got their wish with a brand new Pokemon Snap. Developed in collaboration with Bandai Namco, this New Pokemon Snap has already seen impressive sales numbers after its release back in April. A month after launch, the game has more than doubled the lifetime sales of the 1999 classic, landing in the third spot of the April NPD sales charts behind MLB: The Show 21 and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Since then, New Pokemon Snap has been fairly quiet, making fans wonder if Nintendo or Bandai Namco had any further plans for the photograph game. Many first party Nintendo games have enjoyed post launch support, with Animal Crossing New Horizons quickly becoming the poster child for post-launch content. Not only has the game continued to release new events and updates, but Nintendo recently promised that more Animal Crossing updates were in development. After months of silence, Pokemon Snap fans finally got a concrete answer.
In a surprising, out of the blue announcement, Nintendo reveals a sizable free update coming next week to New Pokemon Snap. Releasing on August 3 for all players, the update adds in 3 new areas, with both day and night versions, to explore as well as 20 Pokemon to photograph. Mightywide River takes players on a ride downstream placing a focus on water Pokemon, Barren Wilderness features the badlands of Voluca Island with an emphasis on ground, poison, and fire types, and finally the Secret Side Path of Florio Island Nature Park, which shrinks the NEO-ONE to a tiny size, making the Pokemon found there appear gigantic.
Along with the reveal came a 2 minute trailer highlighting many of the new aspects as well as tons of community produced photographs. New Pokemon Snap players should be on the lookout for Pokemon with new baheviors as well as those who may be hiding either underground or inside of the rocky cliffs in areas like Barren Wilderness. The trailer also shows off the Secret Side Path's massive Pokemon, including a Wurmple, the flying Emolga, a Snorlax waking from a nap, and more.
With an emphasis on creativity and player expression for how photographs are taken, New Pokemon Snap has been a popular game for fans showcasing their talents. In fact, one Snap fan even created a parody of Nickelback's famous, or infamous depending on how an individual feels about it, song called Photograph. Comedy musician Il Neige created their own version of the song, changing certain lyrics like "LOOK AT THIS POKéSNAP" as well as switching out scenes from the music video such as holding up a framed photo of Bulbasaur.
New Pokemon Snap is available now on Nintendo Switch.