We are only a month away from the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, and yet the majority of Pokemon games are no longer available to play. Given how much money the Game Freak franchise brings in, it’s truly baffling that fans of the ‘gotta catch ’em all’ RPGs don’t have many options to play the classic titles.
Where Are ‘Pokemon’ Games on Nintendo Switch Online?
In 2025, most players still don’t have a way to access the Gen 1 through Gen 7 Pokemon titles. That’s nearly two decades’ worth of gaming history unavailable! And this is no exaggeration either—Nintendo literally shut down the 3DS eShop in 2023. So, if you want to play the majority of Pokemon titles, you either need to own classic consoles with the physical games themselves or have been lucky enough to download digital copies on the 3DS before Nintendo shuttered its online store.
I understand that Game Freak has historically re-released classic titles in remake form. Trust me, HeartGold and SoulSilver and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are some of my favorite Pokemon games of all time. Still, at the current pace, it could be another decade before we get proper remakes of Unova and the Kalos region. Plus, some players want to go back and revisit these beloved titles in their original form. Plus game preservation aside, it just doesn’t make sense why they’re leaving so much money on the table.
‘Pokemon Home’ Is The Secret Sauce Nintendo Isn’t Using
One of the most groundbreaking releases from Game Freak was the Pokemon Home app in 2020. No, seriously. The service allows you to transfer any Pokemon you’ve ever caught into a literal living Pokedex. Pokemon Home made the franchise actually matter, as you get to keep your pocket monsters with you and even use them in future games. I can’t stress enough how important this app was to the series.
And yet, Nintendo is missing the most obvious opportunity ever. Imagine, if you will, that Pokemon Red and Blue were available right now on Nintendo Switch Online. Now imagine those classic RPGs had modern features like online trading and the ability to instantly transfer all of your Pokemon to the Pokemon Home app. Seriously, any Pokemon fan would go rabid over the chance to play Gen 1 through Gen 7 and be able to move their caught Pokemon into their living Pokedex.
In fact, I genuinely think Nintendo could charge $60 for the classic games with these features, and players would gladly eat it up. I know I would. Okay, maybe disregard what I just said—I don’t want to give Nintendo any ideas! But all jokes aside, these versions of the classic games would make The Pokemon Company so much money. I genuinely don’t understand why they aren’t doing this.
Pokemon Is Being Gatekept From Future Generations
As a lifelong fan, I understand the desire to look toward the series’ future. I mean, my most anticipated game in years is Pokemon Legends: Z-A. But at the same time, I think it’s pretty tragic that newer generations will likely not get the chance to experience the epic story campaign of Black and White, or the beautiful tropical island setting of Sun and Moon. I know we’re only a few years removed from 2019’s Sword and Shield, but I can already feel Gen 8 slowly slipping through my fingers.
Thankfully, the Nintendo Switch 2 is backwards compatible, so the Galar region RPG should be safe for another six years. But I genuinely believe Nintendo should make the entire Pokemon franchise widely available so that future Trainers can experience how incredible each generation was before the current one. If not for the fans, do it for the money! Classic Pokemon games would literally print money—we all know it. Why doesn’t Nintendo?
The post Alright Nintendo, It’s Time to Finally Bring Classic Pokemon Games to Switch Online – Do You Not Like Money? appeared first on VICE.
