Pokemon Sword and Shield Will Focus on The Switch's Handheld Mode

After the mixed reception of Pokemon Let's Go, fans were pretty pleased to see Pokemon Sword and Shield. From what was seen in the trailer, Game Freak made it clear that this would be a classic game with wild Pokemon battles and a bunch of new monsters to catch. Hopefully, they take a few things from the Let's Go games since not everything from those games was bad (like roaming Pokemon for one thing).

Though Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee focused on being a console game, Sword and Shield will stick to its roots as the developers have stated that these two games are being developed to add emphasis on handheld mode. Obviously, those that want to play the game docked can still do so but there will be a lot of people who will play this on cafes or while commuting to kill the time, just like classic Pokemon games.

Shuntaro Furukawa, the current President of Nintendo, said the following during the company's March Financial Results (via NintendoLife):

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield are being developed to emphasize the fun of playing Nintendo Switch in handheld mode. We want these games to be played not only by longtime Pokémon fans, but also by consumers whose first encounter with the series was on a dedicated video game platform with Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!

Currently, there is still no release date for Pokemon Sword and Shield. Both games will be coming to the Nintendo Switch sometime this year.

Read: First Online Reactions to Detective Pikachu Will Get You Hyped Up