Detective Pikachu Coming to the West This Year

Last year saw the rise of an interesting sensation when Nintendo launched Detective Pikachu in Japan. Until now there’s been no real indication of when or if the game might come to the west. Today, Nintendo revealed that western fans will get to play Detective Pikachu, and that they’ll get to play it even sooner than people thought.

According to a press release from the Pokemon Company, Detective Pikachu will arrive in both Europe and America on March 23, 2018. That’s just a few short months now, which means fans won’t have long to wait before they get to experience this new mystery adventure for the first time in the west. It’s an exciting time right now for Pokemon fans, especially considering that Nintendo just revealed a new Pikachu themed New 2DS XL. You can learn more about it in our original news report.

In Detective Pikachu players take control of a human detective named Tim Goodman who must work alongside his Pokemon partner, Pikachu. In the game you’ll need to talk to witnesses, hunt for different clutes, and uncover the secrets hidden in Ryme City. Unlike regular entries in the Pokemon series, though, Pikachu can speak English and he talks in a gruff voice. Pikachu also drinks coffee in the new title, which is definitely something Pokemon fans haven’t seen before. On top of the game releasing in March, fans can also purchase a Detective Pikachu amiibo as well, so be sure to keep a look out for more details on that as we grow closer to the game’s release date.

Pokemon fans will recognize that this isn’t the first time that Pikachu will have spoken English, as we heard the iconic Pokemon speak English for the first time in last year’s Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You. It will be interesting to see how well Detective Pikachu does in the west and we can’t wait to dive into the game ourselves and see what it’s all about.