The story of the Detective Pikachu video game that inspired the blockbuster movie will be reaching its conclusion on a new platform, as it’s been announced that it’ll be receiving a sequel on the Nintendo Switch. Detective Pikachu was originally released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan in 2016, and it wouldn’t see an international release until 2018.
The announcement of the Detective Pikachu movie was likely a catalyst for the English localization of the game, which explains why it took so look to be released overseas. The story of Detective Pikachu follows the same beats as the movie, as a boy named Tim Goodman teams up with a sleuth Pikachu to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Tim’s father & Detective Pikachu’s owner. Detective Pikachu ended without explaining the disappearance of Tim’s father, which was a mystery that was resolved in the movie.
It was revealed during the recent Pokémon Business Strategy Announcement event that a sequel to the Detective Pikachu video game is in the works. The Pokémon Company president and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara revealed that the sequel to Detective Pikachu is currently in development for the Nintendo Switch, and that it’ll feature a different ending to Tim & Detective Pikachu’s story than what was seen in the movie.
Ishihara didn’t reveal any other details about the game, nor did he give any potential release date. It’s possible that more information about the game will be revealed during Nintendo’s upcoming E3 2019 press conference, as the next Pokémon-themed Nintendo Direct is going to be focusing on the upcoming Pokémon Sword & Shield, which is also in development for the Nintendo Switch.
The reveal of a sequel to Detective Pikachu on the Nintendo Switch means that there will likely be a revamped version of the original game ported to the system in the future, as a lot of fans may have missed the original when it was first released. It’s surprising that this wasn’t already done in order to capitalize on the success of the Detective Pikachu movie, as Nintendo has started to phase out support for the Nintendo 3DS and isn’t likely to promote games on an older system when it’s trying to push the Nintendo Switch.
The existence of the Detective Pikachu movie could’ve easily supplanted that of the Detective Pikachu video game, but it seems as if Nintendo and The Pokémon Company aren’t done telling the original story that inspired the movie. It looks like the fans will discover a new ending to the mystery of the disappearance of Harry Goodman in the future.
Next: Detective Pikachu: 5 Pokémon That Look Great in Live-Action (& 5 That Don’t)
Source: The Pokémon Company
