Summary
Pokemonfans are calling on The Pokemon Company and Nintendo to revive the long-dormantPokemon Pinballspin-off series. While the main seriesPokemongames tend to get most of the attention, there have been dozens ofPokemonspin-off games over the years, some better than others.
While somePokemonspin-off gameshave been poorly received, others have proven to be quite popular, like thePokemon Stadiumgames,Pokemon Snap, and of course, the monstrously successfulPokemon GO. Whereas new main seriesPokemongames are released on a regular basis, fans have often had to endure longer waits to get their hands on sequels to some of the spin-off games. For example, there was a 22-year gap between the release of the originalPokemon Snapon the Nintendo 64 and the launch ofNew Pokemon Snapon the Switch in 2021.
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ThePokemon Pinballspin-off serieshas similarly remained dormant for over two decades. The originalPokemon Pinballgame was released in 1999 for the Game Boy and earned mostly positive reviews, successfully translatingPokemon’s “gotta catch ‘em all” mentality to pinball. Four years later,Pokemon Pinballwas followed up withPokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, which just recently celebrated its 20th birthday. The Pokemon Company acknowledged this in a tweet, kicking off an avalanche of responses from fans begging to seePokemon Pinballmake a comeback in some capacity.
Another possibility would be to create a brand-newPokemon Pinballgame. Since bothPokemon Pinballgames were well-received by fans, it’s a bit puzzling that a new one hasn’t surfaced in over 20 years.Hundreds of new Pokemon have been introducedto the franchise since the last game hit the market, so a newPokemon Pinballwould have a ton of material to work with if it were ever made.
