As a supplementary experience to Pokémon Go, Niantic released a watch-like Bluetooth sensor it dubbed the Pokémon Go Plus. The wearable vibrated when pokémon and pokéstops were near as a way to enhance player experience, and now it’s making a comeback — sort of. Developer Game Freak announced today that in addition to new Switch titles Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! the company and Niantic have plans for a new peripheral called the Pokéball Plus.
The Pokéball Plus will serve as both a joycon for the Let’s Go games and the new version of the Go Plus. In addition to motion controls, it also lights up, vibrates, and makes noises imitating the pokémon inside. According to Game Freak, “when catching a Pokémon in the Nintendo Switch games, players will be able to feel it moving within the device.”
Additionally, players will be able to bring a pokémon from the Let’s Go games into the real-world by porting it into the Pokéball Plus. “One of the things we noticed from the Pokémon plus device with Pokémon Go is that kind of lighting up when you’re catching a Pokémon, having an LED light up and flash, was kind of an exciting element for a lot of players,” Game Freak director Junichi Masuda says. “So we made sure to incorporate that in the Pokéball Plus, so in addition to the HD rumble and the lighting up, it does make it feel like you’ve caught a pokémon and it’s going in the ball.”
Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will be available November 16th on the Switch. The Pokéball Plus is also expected to launch that day, though it will have to be purchased separately. A price has not yet been announced.