We’ve gotten our share of wonderful Pokemon news this evening, between the debut of two new Let’s Go games for Nintendo Switch; a new Switch role-playing game on the horizon for next year; and Pokemon Quest, which you can actually play right now.
But there’s on question that’s lingering on a few gamers’ minds — what the heck is going on with that Pokeball? “Do you throw it at your television or something?” Thankfully, that’s not the case.
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The official Pokemon Twitter account debuted a first look at the controller tonight, which works with Nintendo Switch and allows you to catch your favorite Pokemon on the go!
You can use the #PokeBallPlus as a Joy-Con in #PokemonLetsGo! Good things may happen if you place one of your favorite Pokémon into the device and walk around with it in the real world. It will be able to connect to Pokémon GO as well! pic.twitter.com/I18Y55odpp
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) May 30, 2018
This peripheral will reportedly take the place of the Pokemon Go sensor that was previously introduced by Niantic Labs, offering a whole new level of interactivity with your in-game characters. It works as a JoyCon of sorts, with motion controller support and the ability to work with both the Let’s Go games and Go, so you can keep it with you no matter what you play. Game Freak says that “when catching a Pokémon in the Nintendo Switch games, players will be able to feel it moving within the device.”
What’s more, the Pokeball lets you bring your favorite Pokemon into the real world. Not to fight in real life, mind you, but in a virtual sort of way. “One of the things we noticed from the Pokemon plus device with Pokemon Go is that kind of lighting up when you’re catching a Pokemon, having an LED light up and flash, was kind of an exciting element for a lot of players,” Game Freak director Junichi Masuda explained during tonight’s press conference. “So we made sure to incorporate that in the Pokéball Plus, so in addition to the HD rumble and the lighting up, it does make it feel like you’ve caught a Pokemon and it’s going in the ball.”
You can get a glimpse of how it works in the GIF below, posted by our good friend Wario64 on Twitter.
Pokeball device pic.twitter.com/k15fIJIdgz
— Wario64 (@Wario64) May 30, 2018
It’ll make cute little noise effects, as if you actually have a Pokemon in there with it. That level of interactivity should make it quite pleasing for a lot of fans out there. Take that, Tamagotchi.
The Pokeball Plus doesn’t currently have a release date, but it’s likely to launch alongside Pokemon: Let’s Go, PIkachu! and Pokemon: Let’s Go, Eevee! on November 16. We’ll let you know once it gets an official price!
(Hat tip to The Verge for the extra details!)
