Fair Warning: this post is about 3.3 years old, so some of the information might be a bit dated. On the other hand, this post was last modified about 3.3 years ago, so maybe it's up-to-date after all. In any case, please keep all this in mind while reading. Thanks for understanding!
A Quick Diversion:  

The Actual News:

Why does all the cool stuff have to happen when I’m out and/or trying to go to bed??

See, as a way to convince myself to finish my Unity Certification Final Project on time (instead of being a lazy butt and waiting until the last second),  I promised myself to get a copy of New Pokémon Snap upon release. So what do I see when searching for “New Pokémon Snap”? A new Pikachu-themed printer for the Switch! Like, a Pikachu-themed Game Boy Printer, but… well, new.


(Left image sourced from yutan-5604 on eBay)

Left is the old one, right is the new one. I mean… new as in, it’s the most recent one, not necessarily because of “New Pokémon Snap”. Besides, you can tell the other one is the old one because Pikachu is fat. But yeah, unlike the original Game Boy Printer which was a Nintendo-produced product, this is actually just a special cross promotion between Nintendo and FujiFilm via their Instax mini-printer line.

Actually maybe the better analogy here is with those Pokémon Snap kiosks they had at Blockbuster Video where you could print out an entire sheet of photos from your Pokémon Snap game… via your N64 save file downloaded from the cloud… or something, I dunno, I never used them before.

I download this video about the Pokémon Snap Blockbuster Video kiosk from the cloud… does that count?

Anyways, the FujiFilm Instax mini-printer line is part of an emerging market of other mini-printers, like the HP Sprocket and the Polaroid Zip; the idea is that they all connect to your cellphone or other mobile device and print out little pictures which also double as stickers. Neat! But what’s really driving the mini-printer market is the always perennial idea being about have a physical copy of your photos produced as a moment’s notice. Frankly they’re simply the modern version of the classic instant film cameras like the Polaroid Land Camera Model 103, where you can get your pictures in a literal jiffy (sorry, but no Pikachu-powered Polaroids here):

This is honestly a pretty legit idea, because while it’s clear that digital pictures are here to stay, classic physical pictures aren’t going anywhere either. There’s clearly still a market for pictures you can hold in your hands, it was just a matter of knowing how to market it to the mobile phone generation. And what better way to keep a dying market alive than by giving the next generation reasons to enjoy it? I mean, just look at how much fun everyone in this video is having!

The Pikachu Instax Bundle will be out in May 2021 for US$119.95. Specifically the package deal is a plain ol’ Fuji Instax printer with a Pikachu silicone cover. But honestly, that’s not that bad of a deal to get a printer that can spit out physical photos of your favorite Nintendo Switch moments. Afterall, the best way to further kill a dying market—despite trying to make it appealing to the younger generation—is to price it out of their interest. I’m looking at you, Lionel Trains and your $400 Pokémon 25 train set:

Seriously? the Model Train market is dying fast and you’re gonna STILL charge $400 for this? … But I digress.

Anyways, I think the Pikachu Instax printer is a really neato-keen idea, and I might just have to pick one up when it comes out. Good times? Hmmmmaybe… we’ll just have to wait and see how it develops.