In a few weeks Pokémon is landing on the Switch with Let's Go Pikachu! and Let's Go Eevee!, but Game Freak also has another game in the works, which is more of an old-school RPG game that's set to launch next year. For that game, it seems that the Japanese studio is thinking of taking a different approach, getting closer to an open-world experience just as we've seen in the likes of Breath of the Wild.
In response to a question during a recent interview - in which games such as Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey were cited as comparative examples - Game Freak's game director Junichi Masuda stated the following (as reported by Nintendo Life):
"Well you know in general, I always want to be kind of facing new challenges and trying to you know, do new things with Pokémon. You know it's a different matter whether players will actually enjoy that kind of playstyle, but really you know, things like setting up an AI so that you know real world Pokémon appear, or different ways to appreciate the game, I'm always kind of thinking how to approach the Pokémon series from a different aspect so, in that sense, it's still on the cards.".
Do you like the sound of this approach?