As one of the more exciting announcements during Nintendo's E3 2017 showcase, many people were surprised to see an official confirmation that a core Pokemon title is en route to the Switch so early in the system's lifespan. Even then, very few details about the Pocket Monster project have been revealed so far, leaving gamers wondering just when more information will be arriving. Despite this position of uncertainty looking to be the norm for the foreseeable future, Game Freak co-founder Junichi Masuda has stepped up to talk more about how the design of the Nintendo Switch hardware will impact the experience.

Speaking in a recent interview with Game Informer, Masuda touched upon his own curiosity about how consumers will end up playing the Switch – namely, whether or not it will be primarily used in its handheld or docked mode. Given the unique design of the system, it's clear that Masuda and the rest of the team at Game Freak are curious to see how this will impact the way fans play Pokemon. “What I’m really curious about, and really excited to see, will be the main way that people play the Switch,” said Masuda.

“Will it be home for the most part? Will it be out and about? I think that is really going to depend on where the person lives, maybe. Depending on the country, maybe the main style of playing will be different. As we’ve been saying a lot, we always focus on, when designing the games, thinking about how the player is going to play the game – how they’re going to enjoy it, and what kind of experiences they are going to have. I’m really just kind of excited to see where the main style of playing is going to land.”

No details were shared in regards to how the home/handheld mantra of the Switch will alter the way the next Pokemon title(s) will play, but Masuda did confirm that the experience would have to be different – much like the hardware itself. “It’s definitely different this time. Just playing it at home is kind of a little bit different than the portable systems we’ve made games for up until now,” he clarified.

Junichi Masuda went on in that same interview to temper expectations of the new installment, expressing concerns that perhaps anticipation for a Pokemon game on Switch shouldn't be as high as they are. This is likely directed at fans hoping to see a spectacle on par with the long dreamed of Pokemon MMO for consoles, which seems less and less like a priority given the prominence of the real-world focused Pokemon GO.

The current and wide release window for Pokemon on Nintendo Switch is also a indicator that there's a lot of time left in development before Game Freak will be ready to showcase the project. On the bright side, fans have Pokken Tournament DX to look forward to in the very near future.

Source: Game Informer