Source: The Pokemon Company

What you need to know

  • Nintendo has released a new trailer promoting Pokémon Sword and Shield.
  • Starting with the first generation of Pokémon games, all the way to the soon to be released games, this trailer is full of nostalgia.
  • This trailer further enforces the growing thought that Nintendo is moving away from having separate handheld consoles.

Nintendo's UK Youtube channel just released a new trailer for the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games set to release in just a few weeks. Unlike previous trailers and videos concerning the games, this trailer didn't showcase new Pokémon or new features. Instead, it jumped back to the very first Pokémon game and the classic Nintendo Gameboy. Showing the orignal Pokémon juxtaposed in the real world, the trailer continued through each generation of both Pokémon games and the handheld consoles on which they were released. For those of us who have been playing these games since the days of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, the nostalgia was certainly quite pointed.

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While this trailer could be brushed off as simply that: appealing to the nostalgia of 30-somethings who first picked up the classic Gameboy versions of these games, there was another, more subtle message by the end of the trailer. The trailer concludes with four players, each holding up one of the previous handheld consoles, from the classic Gameboy to the Gameboy Advance to the DS. Then, in a spectacular moment, their handhelds are all replaced with Nintendo Switch consoles and all of the pixelated Pokémon that had surrounded them are transformed into 3D rendered creatures much like the ones in Pokémon Go.

While subtle, there is a clear message to takeaway from this video and that is this: Nintendo no longer needs to maintain separate consoles and handhelds. The Nintendo Switch serves both roles. You can view the trailer on Nintendo's UK Youtube or linked below:

Do you have thoughts on the latest trailer? Are you just counting down the days until Pokémon Sword and Shield? Leave us a comment below and be sure to check back often!