© Nintendo LifeSurely enough things are happening this year to mark the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise, including games, merchandise, and even music, but it’s fair to say Nintendo and The Pokémon Company haven’t revealed this everything that will happen in the coming months – which means people are looking forward to each hint regarding other Pokémon-related festivities.
Take Nintendo Life reader Ash, for example. He sent an email to point out that a new search category has been added on the Nintendo UK site mentioning the Pokémon Mini handheld. In the “Originally for” section, Pokémon Mini now has its own list, in addition to the Game Boy, GameCube, and Super Nintendo.
What’s interesting is that there is also a “Other Systems” category, and you would be there too expect Nintendo to place the Pokémon Mini – unless, of course, there are plans to revive the device in some way.
See, we realize we’re making a pretty big assumption here, but think about it – the Pokémon Mini is ripe for rediscovery, especially when you consider that a lot of younger fans haven’t been there to experience it the first time.
Given that it is listed in the “Originally Before” category, we would suspect that some sort of digital re-release would be very likely. Nintendo may have plans to release a Pokémon Mini app for Switch or smartphones that is free to download, but allows you to purchase individual Pokémon Mini games for a small fee, such as Capcom Arcade Stadium
In case you don’t know what Pokémon Mini is, it’s a small Tamagotchi sized device released in 2001 that allowed you to insert small cartridges containing mini games. Costing around $ 40 (£ 30 in the UK) and with software costing around $ 20 / £ 15 a pop, it had the potential to be a massive success, but it may not have sold as well as Nintendo had hoped and quickly faded from view – something that could possibly be attributed to it being launched the same year as the Game Boy Advance.
Only ten games have been made for the Pokémon Mini, each with a Pokémon theme, so it would make an ideal digital collection for Switch.
Is this wishful thinking on our part? Let us know what you think by commenting below.