Because nostalgia is the most powerful force imaginable, especially when Pokemon are involved.
Once it became apparent that Pokemon GO was becoming an unstoppable force (which didn’t take long), one of the debates we had among the staffers here at FanSided.com was whether or not it would help sales of other Pokemon games, including the forthcoming Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon.
On one hand, the power of Pikachu and company coming back in such a big way could inspire people who skipped some of the Nintendo 3DS games to reconsider diving in even deeper — especially since all of them are deeper experiences than Pokemon GO. The other side of the argument is that Pokemon GO is free, and lapsed PokeFans might not relish shelling out money for a 3DS and games.
Turns out we won’t even have to wait for new games to find out which faction in our office was correct. The Verge reports that Nintendo is touting increased sales of 3DS hardware and older Pokemon titles and crediting Pokemon GO as the impetus.
That’s good news for those who have been dissing the big N for not cashing in as much as possible on Pokemon GO fever since it owns only a stake in Niantic, who developed the mobile smash. It obviously also bodes well for Pokemon Sun and Moon, which are due out in November — or just about the time it will start getting too cold for people to be walking around to PokeStops every day.
Any bad news? Well, if you’re one of those contrary sorts hoping that this current surge in all things pocket monsters would end soon, you’re likely to be disappointed.
Related Story: 5 things we still want in Pokemon GO
Oh, and Santa, if you’re reading this and you’re okay with a legit adult putting a new 3DS and two games on his Christmas list, you know what to do come December 25.