Pokémon: Let’s Go won’t feature online competitive ranked battles, director reveals

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will both feature online battles but will not let players rank up their starter Pokémon.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! are set to launch later this year, serving as the first two new Pokémon releases for the Nintendo Switch. But both titles will not feature competitive online battles when the games launches.

Pokémon: Let’s Go will feature online battling and trading, game director Junichi Masuda told IGN. The game won’t use Nintendo Switch Online either, meaning players won’t need a paid subscription to enjoy online play. Pokémon: Let’s Go doesn’t have any competitive battle modes planned, however, meaning players that want a hardcore player-vs-player multiplayer experience will have to look elsewhere.

Pokémon: Let’s Go will deviate from the traditional handheld Pokémon experience in other ways too. The game will use Combat Power, the same level system used in Pokémon Go, to gauge different Pokémon strengths during battles. Players also won’t be able to level up their starter Pokémon, NintendoSoup reports. This is because Pokémon: Let’s Go is a “simplified” experience, Masuda told IGN, intended instead for casual players over hardcore gamers.

“For our first entry on the Nintendo Switch, I really wanted to do something more kind of simplified, something that really anyone could enjoy,” Masuda told IGN. “I think the reason for this is to get more Switches into the hands of younger kids and more casual players, not just players who are really interested in hardcore games or are really gamers first and foremost.”

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! launches on Nintendo Switch on Nov. 16. Meanwhile, Nintendo Switch Online is set to launch in September 2018 and will provide online multiplayer services in exchange for a paid subscription.

H/T GoNintendo