The late '90s and early '00s were arguably the best time to be a Pokémon fan, with the world awash with Gameboy games, trading cards, TV shows and more. But a close second might be right now, thanks to a new influx of games for the Nintendo Switch. And if new rumours are to be believed, things could be about to get even better with the surprise return of an old gadget.
Released in 2001, the Pokémon Mini was a tamagotchi-sized device capable of playing Pokémon games (and only Pokémon games) from swappable cartridges. And curiously, it just reappeared on the official Nintendo website – sort of. Check out the best Nintendo Switch deals if you want the most cutting edge Pokémon experience available right now.
The tiny Pokémon mini in all its nostalgic glory (Image credit: NintendoLife)
As spotted by NintendoLife, the search section of Nintendo's UK website was recently given a tiny tweak, with Pokémon Mini added as a selectable console when searching for games. Given that only 10 games were ever released for the device back in 2001, it's strange to see it suddenly appear. But then again, 2021 isthe 25th anniversary of the franchise – could Nintendo have a nostalgic treat up its sleeve?
Nintendo has already announced two brand new Pokémon games for the Switch, and last year it revealed a (rather unpopular) logo to mark the 25th anniversary in 2021. We wouldn't be surprised to see a new limited edition run of the Pokémon Mini to mark the occasion. Or perhaps Nintendo could be planning a virtual version of the console for smartphone or the Switch.
Of course, it's a rather grand assumption to make based on a tiny website tweak (which could well have been a mistake), but hey – it's fun to speculate. And of course, after the year we've all had, nostalgia is very much the order of the day. From this delightful SNES-themed Apple TV cover to the ultimate Nokia 3310 iPhone 14 widget, retro gaming is very much in vogue right now.
However, it seems Nintendo has already removed the Pokémon Mini category from its website. Does this prove the listing was an error? Or that the company trying to cover up this special, nostalgic surprise? We'll just have to wait and see. Thankfully, there are plenty of brilliant Nintendo games available to keep you busy right now – check out our list of the best Nintendo Switch games for our Pika the bunch (sorry).
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
