New Pokemon Snap release date revealed as pre-orders open up

Last year, The Pokemon Company and Nintendo revealed that after a 20 year year wait, Pokemon Snap is finally getting a sequel. Dubbed simply New Pokemon Snap, this sequel was revealed for the Nintendo Switch, but at the time of reveal, we didn't get confirmation of a release date. That all changed today, with The Pokemon Company and Nintendo finally announcing a release date for the highly anticipated game. We even got a new trailer for New Pokemon Snap to go along with this announcement.New Pokemon Snap will be out on April 30th, so just about three and a half months from today. The trailer that was published today is more or less what you'd expect from a trailer for a new Pokemon Snap game, as it mostly just shows Pokemon hanging out in their natural habitats as the player character slowly moves through them, snapping pictures along the way.

In other words, it looks a lot like the original Pokemon Snap game for Nintendo 64, only with better graphics, more Pokemon, and more lush environments. A press release accompanying today's trailer suggests that there aren't going to be any major changes to the Pokemon Snap formula in New Pokemon Snap – players will still explore different areas in an auto-driving vehicle, leaving all of their focus on taking pictures. Pokemon can be drawn out of hiding by throwing Fluffruit, and players will have their photos judged by the region's resident Pokemon professor, in this case Professor Mirror.

In fact, we're heading to an entirely new region in this game, as New Pokemon Snap takes place in the Lental Region. Apparently, the Lental Region is home to the Illumina Phenomenon, which causes Pokemon and plants alike to glow. We catch a glimpse of this in today's trailer, as the player encounters a glowing Meganium in a field full of illuminated flowers.

In the end, if all you wanted was more Pokemon Snap, it sounds like that's precisely what you're getting here. New Pokemon Snap will cost $59.99 when it launches on April 30th (here's hoping the game is long enough or replayable enough to warrant a price tag like that), and pre-orders are opening up today.