Pokemon Stadium will be joining the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack lineup beginning Wednesday, April 12. Pokemon Stadium first released for the Nintendo 64 in the late 90s and was notable for being one of the first games to feature 3D models for the Generation 1 Pokemon. Many fans are still calling for an updated entry in the Pokemon Stadium series, but they can revisit the original in the meantime.
The original Pokemon Stadium game focuses almost entirely on Pokemon battles, with Pokemon fans able to transfer their Pokemon from the Game Boy games to the Nintendo 64. This feature will not be available in Pokemon Stadium on the Nintendo Switch, but players will still be able to "rent" Pokemon for use in battle. Players can fight the AI or compete against their friends, plus check out a variety of fun Mario Party-style mini-games.
Anyone looking to revisit Pokemon Stadium or play it for the first time can do so with their Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription starting April 12. Pokemon Stadium was never released on any of Nintendo's Virtual Console services for its previous consoles, so for those that didn't own a Nintendo 64, this may very well be the first chance they've had to play the game. Luckily, anyone that comes away impressed with Pokemon Stadium and wanting more should know that the sequel is on the way as well.
When is Pokemon Stadium Coming to the Switch Online Expansion Pack?
- Wednesday, April 12
While it currently lacks a release date, it was previously confirmed that Nintendo is bringing Pokemon Stadium 2 to the Switch Online Expansion Pack at some point down the road as well. Pokemon Stadium 2 is very similar to the original game, but with a focus on the Generation 2 Pokemon instead of the Generation 1 creatures. Pokemon Stadium 2 features new mini-games and other fresh content as well, though it too is expected to be lacking the Pokemon transfer feature.
There were some rumors pointing to Pokemon transfers potentially coming to the Pokemon Stadium games at some point, but it's not possible at the time of this writing. Right now, none of the classic Pokemon games are available to Switch Online subscribers, despite the fact that Nintendo recently added Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games to the service. If the classic Pokemon games ever come to the Switch Online Expansion Pack, perhaps the Pokemon transfer feature could be restored for the Pokemon Stadium games, but nothing official to that effect has been announced at the time of this writing.
Pokemon Stadium is available now for Nintendo 64 and is coming to the Switch Online Expansion Pack on April 12.