Developer interview reveals New Pokémon Snap could have been completely different

New details have emerged about the development process behind New Pokémon Snap.

In an interview in the Japanese publication Famitsu and translated by Nintendo Everything, The Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara said the company has considered making a Pokémon Snap sequel during every console generation after the N64. They struggled with the idea that taking photos isn’t as much of a novelty as it was back when the original Pokémon Snap was released.

“There was a lot of debate about how the gimmick would work, which made it difficult to start development,” Ishihara said. “This game was the fruits of many years of trial and error.”

As a result, the development team considered ditching the photo-taking mechanic entirely. Because Pokémon Snap is all about photographing Pokémon rather than catching them, this could have resulted in a completely different game.

The team ended up sticking with what they knew fans enjoyed from the original and updated it, making for a fresh experience that still rings true to the first game. While it’s not clear whether we’ll ever see another Pokémon Snap title, this one is sure to keep fans busy for a long time.

“The more I heard about what happened during development of the last game, the more it reaffirmed our decision to stick with the original game’s concept,” Haruki Suzaki, the game’s director, said.

New Pokémon Snap is available now for Nintendo Switch.