Did Nintendo just reveal a pair of new Pokémon games?

By Mike Epstein February 26, 2016

pokemon sun and moon trademarks — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Nintendo may have inadvertently revealed the names and logos for a new pair of Pokémon games, Pokémon Sun and Moon, Thursday, ahead of the games’ scheduled reveal. The publisher filed trademarks for the two games in the European Union Thursday, which featured what appear to be logos for each.

Meanwhile, Nintendo announced it will broadcast a Pokémon-themed Nintendo Direct livestream Friday morning. The announcement said fans should “be sure” to visit Pokemon.com after the event.

Catch the new Pokémon Direct on Feb. 26 at 7 a.m. PT! https://t.co/sVsqDLWp43 pic.twitter.com/N4PoQgwU5Z

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 24, 2016

A Nintendo of America parody Twitter account with similar name and image tweeted that Sun and Moon would be released in 2016, causing some media outlets to incorrectly report that Nintendo confirmed the game ahead of schedule. (The parody account has been suspended.)

The broadcast comes just a day ahead of the original Pokémon’s 20th anniversary. Nintendo has rolled out a long list of promotions to commemorate the anniversary, including a Pokémon-themed New 3DS console, and upcoming ports of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow coming the 3DS eShop Saturday, Feburary 27.

Rumors that Nintendo would announce new Pokémon sequels in 2016 intensified earlier this month when the design for a new Pokémon called Magiana was published in Japanese magazine Coro Coro. According to Eurogamer, the magazine article said Magiana would appear in an upcoming Pokémon film, Volcanion and the Exquisite Magiana, but would not appear as DLC in the latest Pokémon games, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. While past reports have referred to the upcoming sequel as “Pokémon Z,” a presumptive sequel to 2013 game Pokémon X and Y, the new trademarks make Sun and Moon a more viable possibility.

We’ll find out what the new Pokémon games are called when (and if) they’re announced at the February, 2016, Nintendo Direct, which begins Friday at 10am Eastern. You can check out the livestream on the Nintendo website.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Michael is a New York-based tech and culture reporter, and a graduate of Northwestwern University’s Medill School of…

Gaming

How to mine Silver in Hades 2

Art for Nemesis in hades 2.

Silver is one of the most important resources you can find in Hades 2. Unlike most others that drop after clearing a room, this precious metal must be mined from deposits around the map, leading to the question of how you can gather it. You may come across a glowing stone with the "Collect?" prompt, only to be told you cannot gather it without a special tool. That tool is none other than the Crescent Pick, but unlocking it is a bit obscure. It won't take you many runs to get what you need, so just follow our lead so you can start collecting Silver to make new weapons with.
How to mine Silver

Silver deposits will pop up around the environment as you navigate the randomly generated rooms, so you will need to keep an eye out for these glowing silver rocks. To gather that sweet material, you first need to unlock and acquire the Crescent Pick, which takes two steps.

Gaming

All Rockstar video games: full list of developed and published games

Michael from Grand Theft Auto V.

It might seem like a boastful name, but Rockstar Games really are rockstars in the gaming world. The developer is responsible for arguably the most important and lucrative gaming franchise of all time with the Grand Theft Auto series. While the open-world crime series is what the studio is best known for, it has dipped its toes into a wide range of genres and styles as a publisher since its first game in 1997. While the studio's output has certainly slowed, with an over eight-year gap between Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 6, there's a backlog of over 40 games in its portfolio. That's a lot of history to digest, but it's important to understand the entire scope before we decide which games are the best.
All Rockstar games released

Originally called DMA Design, Rockstar has been developing and publishing games since 1997 and shows no sign of stopping any time soon. Not counting any remasters or rereleases, here is every game Rockstar has developed and published. We split this list based on whether a studio with Rockstar in the name developed or co-developed the game in question.
All Rockstar-developed games

Gaming

I want more approachable Soulslikes. These new games show that it’s possible

Stellar Blade STALKER fight.

One of my favorite copypastas on the internet comes from someone complaining about a player using mods to make a FromSoftware game easier. "You cheated not only the game, but yourself," it reads. "You didn't grow. You didn't improve. You took a shortcut and gained nothing. You experienced a hollow victory. Nothing was risked and nothing was gained. It's sad that you don't know the difference."

The infamous post was made in response to a PC Gamer article about mods that made Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice more approachable for the writer. It's funny to see someone get that angry over another's personal experience with a game they own, but it also addresses a question that's loomed over the gaming community ever since Dark Souls took the world by storm: Should FromSoftware's games and the Soulslikes inspired by them have options to make them more accessible?