Unearthed magazine shows Nintendo laid the groundwork for the Switch 27 years ago with Pokemon Stadium and a failed N64 add-on

GamesRPGPokemon StadiumUnearthed magazine shows Nintendo laid the groundwork for the Switch 27 years ago with Pokemon Stadium and a failed N64 add-onWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. GamesRPGPokemon StadiumUnearthed magazine shows Nintendo laid the groundwork for the Switch 27 years ago with Pokemon Stadium and a failed N64 add-onWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Nintendo) It seems that Nintendo’s original plan for Pokemon Stadium was even wilder than what we got, according to a recently unearthed speech from the late Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi. Pokemon Stadium was originally intended for the 64DD, an N64 add-on that gave the console a number of new features, including a floppy disk drive, a real-time clock, and additional creative capabilities. The peripheral was delayed multiple times, ended up receiving only a handful of games, and sold just a few thousand units before it was discontinued without ever being released outside of Japan. “The initial proposal for Pokémon Stadium, which is planned for simultaneous release on the 64DD,” Yamauchi said, “was to transform a home console only game into a portable game with the Game Boy, so that you can play it anywhere you want. And then once you return home, you can connect it to the 64DD for another form of fun.” That sounds a whole lot like what the company would end up doing with Switch decades later, so you can mark this down as one idea that was well ahead of its time. Ironically, the Pokemon Stadium we got in the end worked as an opposite to what Yamauchi described here - instead of letting you take a home console game on the road, it served as a new way to interact with the creatures you’d captured and trained on Game Boy while at home. Nintendo would keep experimenting with the idea of console-to-handheld connectivity for years, notably with the GameCube-to-GBA link cable, but it wasn’t until the Switch arrived in 2017 that the combination really came together. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more It’s 2024 and there’s never been a better time to play thebest N64 games. 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adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5 Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2 Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5 Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' 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a swashbuckling twist” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4 Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5 Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”