What type of game did Nintendo call Pokémon Pokopia the Pokémon franchise’s first?

Nintendo called Pokémon Pokopia the Pokémon franchise’s first slow-paced life simulation game. The description highlights a gentler style built around crafting, creating, building, and caring for a Pokémon community.

That classification distinguishes Pokopia from the mainline role-playing games, where exploration, battling, collecting, and progression through a region are usually central. In Pokopia, players rebuild a desolate world, create homes, cultivate land, decorate spaces, and spend everyday time with Pokémon friends. The game still uses familiar Pokémon characters and abilities, but its primary rhythm is restorative and creative.

The term can be confused with “sandbox,” which describes the game’s freedom to shape environments, or with “cozy game,” a broader modern label. Nintendo’s more specific franchise description is “first slow-paced life simulation game,” making that the canonical answer to this question.