Pokémon Day is becoming an annual tradition, it seems. For the last few years, February 27 has been declared Pokémon Day by The Pokémon Company, and the date has always been accompanied by a Pokémon-flavored announcement. A recent announcement has made clear 2023 will be no different, and we’ll seeing a new Pokémon Presents next Monday, February 27.
There’s been no indication as to what will be announced at the event. Last year’s Pokémon Day announcements included the reveal of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the starter Pokémon, and the open world environment. Since Pokémon Scarlet and Violet only launched in November of last year, it’s unlikely there will be an announcement of a new game at this year’s Pokémon Presents. So what is it likely to be?
New DLC for the aforementioned new Pokémon games seems like a strong possibility, but other fans have much higher hopes. Specifically, that this announcement will be revealing the older Pokémon games coming to Nintendo Switch Online.
Nintendo’s Switch Online subscription service offers a wide range of video games, and contains both older, nostalgic games and much newer games, like Tetris 99. What it has so far not included, is any of the old Pokémon games. Even the oldest games, Pokémon Blue and Red, haven’t seen time on the subscription service, leaving fans with few ways to play these pieces of gaming history.
There are a number of reasons it makes sense for Nintendo to finally release a number of the Pokémon games on the Nintendo Switch. Firstly, it’s getting harder and harder to access those older games. Pokémon Blue and Red came out in 1996, and you’ll need a Game Boy or Game Boy Color to play an original cartridge. Even the remakes are 19 years old now, giving fans few options but emulation if they want to sample older games.
Sure, Nintendo could offer the games for sale on the Switch Store, but doing so now could spark a riot. Fans have been waiting for the old Pokémon games on Switch Online for years now, and it’s about time Nintendo and The Pokémon Company delivered.