- Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are coming to Switch next week
- They’ll be available via the eShop as opposed to Nintendo Switch Online
- Both versions are sold separately at $19.99 / £16.99 each
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the Game Boy Advance remakes of the original Gen 1 games, are being re-released on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
The announcement seems to have been made prematurely, as Pokémon Day (and an accompanying Pokémon Presents showcase) is happening next week on February 27. These ports are also set to launch on the Nintendo eShop on that very same day.
And yes, you read that right. In a rather interesting move, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen won’t be made available via the GBA Classics library for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Instead, they’ll be full eShop releases, costing $19.99 / £16.99 apiece.
Users on the r/NintendoSwitch subreddit do seem to be a bit taken aback by the announcement.
“Literally just saw this and was baffled that the rumor was true,” wrote one user, referring to rumblings of the ports before the official announcement.
“Even more baffled they didn’t just wait a week to announce this on Pokémon Day,” another replied.
It’s definitely a little bizarre, as an announcement and shadowdrop during the Pokémon Presents showcase would have been a nice surprise. Though announcing a week ahead of time does seem to have been the intended plan, as music from the games has also been uploaded to the official Nintendo Music app.
Some users have expressed confusion as to why the Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen ports are full eShop releases. Right now, it’s speculated that they’ll have compatibility with Pokémon Home, an official mobile and Switch app that lets you transfer Pokémon between compatible games.
Others have expressed frustration at the price. And yes, I think it’s a bit cheeky that we’re paying $19.99 / £16.99 (each, mind you) for 20+ year-old GBA games.
Plus, if you have a GBA, physical boxed copies aren’t quite as eye-wateringly pricey as their Pokémon HeartGold / SoulSilver DS counterparts on second-hand marketplaces like eBay. But if you don’t have original hardware, these Switch versions will at least be a decent and readily available alternative.
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