The Nintendo Switch's 'Pokemon' venture will reportedly be an "innovation".
Pokemon mascot Pikachu
Gamefreak and The Pokemon Company are believed to be working on a new mainline game for Nintendo's hybrid console, and after seeing the success of games such as 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' and 'Super Mario Odyssey', the developers are reportedly keen to be just as "disruptive" with their next venture.
A source explained on the 'Easy Allies' podcast: "Gamefreak was very nervous about doing any kind of radical departure for Pokemon, they sell so well why would you mess with that? Apparently, Breath of the Wild's reception and the reaction to Mario at E3 was so overwhelmingly positive that it convinced them that they need to make the next Pokemon game as disruptive as those two games were. That it's going to be as big of an innovation as those two games were."
This year, both Zelda and Mario received rave reviews for their ability to turn the world of their classic franchises on its head, primarily by allowing open world exploration.
Nothing else is known about the planned 'Pokemon' venture as of yet, but it could be set to follow the same path, and allow players to enjoy a less linear plot.
It comes after Tsunekazu Ishihara, the CEO of The Pokémon Company, admitted he didn't believe the Nintendo Switch would be successful at first.
He said: "I told Nintendo that Switch wouldn't be a success before it went on sale because I thought that, in the age of the smartphone, no one would carry around a game console. It's obvious I was wrong. I came to realise the key to a successful game is quite simple: software with absolute quality leads sales of hardware. Playing style can be flexible if the software is attractive enough."