Pokémon CEO on the Future of Pokémon and the Switch

Pokemon in HD Open World, please.

I'm not a Pokémon fan but I would imagine this is music to the ears of many. I'm away to work, have a good day... 😴

If you think the Switch is in demand now, just wait until it gets a proper HD Pokémon RPG. Those games print money.

When I hear things like "More expressive", it leads me to believe facial expressions, which means more story... Sounds like Pokémon is going to get really story heavy...

Sun/Moon drove me absolutely nuts with all the plot and talking... I think I'll be dropping Pokémon now...

I'm concerned about if we'll be able to have multiple files on one gamecard. And about how there's always at least two versions of the game. My brother and I share a Switch, and we probably won't want to buy multiple copies for $60 each.

The Switch is a handheld so it'll get plenty of Pokemon games. The End.

Edit: Actually, if you read what he says on Bloomberg, he didn't have faith in it and he sounds very much like he still doesn't.

"I told Nintendo that Switch wouldn’t be a success before it went on sale, because I thought that in the age of the smartphone, no one would carry out a game console. It’s obvious I was wrong. I came to realize the key to a successful game is quite simple: software with absolute quality leads sales of hardware. Playing style can be flexible if the software is attractive enough. Currently, it’s popular among the early adopters, but there needs to be one more step to attract a wider audience. I see more potential in Switch, but one shouldn’t overestimate its potential."

Not sure if this is the change I'm looking for in the series, but what I thought were big changes in Sun & Moon were really not that different. So change seems to be a good thing to hear for Pokemon. We'll see where they take the next game.

Colosseum and XD were exciting departures from the norm, even if the games aren't as easy to go back and play as the handhelds.

As much as I love Pokemon, I do think that the mainline series could really benefit from change, or evolve in some way... Exciting to think about for sure!

@Neon_Blues I like story in game.but I hope even if it does bring a heavy story it will not make gamers like you go away.
But still I think more story is good

I want something like Pokemon Colosseum except with the gameplay mechanics of regular Pokemon games

I'm a big fan of that shady atmosphere and character it provided

Interesting words.

I wonder what they will come up with. But please, PLEASE don't make a game that has seldom post-content.

I'm still salty about not battle frontier (and the stand they took that people find it cheat, whereas the current battle tree/maison is filled with cheapness)

Also it will be cool to have a 2P mode where you can battle with someone locally with the pokemon you have.

Honestly, I haven't been a fan of the series' direction since the 3rd entry back in the 90's. The only thing that would get me hyped for a Pokemon game again is if they either remade the red/blue versions from the ground up with just the original 150 pokemon and more realistic, adult like asthetics like Pokemon GO, or entirely scrapped the regular formula and did a Pokemon Online MMO.
Ultimately, the series is in desperate, desperate need of an overhaul.

Is it too much to ask for an M rated, darker, more violent, plot-driven pokemon reboot? Imagine the pokemon formula but with more of a terror feel of Jurassic Park with team rocket being a corporation like INGEN who kill and steal pokemon for thier own benefit. Pokemon battles could be like the T-Rex vs Indominous Rex...a guy can daydream...haha

@Neon_Blues "more expressive" translates to "better graphics".

I wonder if they can make a big whole new game in HD, open world, new pokemons, many changes to make the saga evolve... In just 2 years. Sun and Moon came out last year. If it's true that is coming out in 2018, I don't think the game will be anything impressive... Better than in the 3DS of course, but not at the level we could expect.

The first ever main Pokemon game on a home console? That's something to look forward for.

@Athalias There's a lot in gaming that's chasing me away, one of which is story in Pokémon. I'll still give this new one a shot, but if it's as story heavy as Sun, or more, then I'm dropping Pokémon... I find it intrusive, and uninteresting, and unnecessary.

If I may ask, why do you like story in Pokémon? I'm not gonna slam you for your opinion, I'm just curious.

@ECMIM Then why not just say better graphics?

@the_beaver The games are never developed AFTER the previous one was realeased, franchises are started long before. Announced games are usually about 2-3 years deep in development. So, most likely they will spend the usual 3-5 years to develop new Pokemon game (and that is, if they don't move the date, which they quite possibly do). Moreover, most assets (that is high poly pokemon models) have been in development for much longer, they probably did this work while preparing for pokemon go and might have considered a wii u game at some point as well. The assets in new 3ds games are already quite well done, and most likely, will not see massive overhaul. From this standpoint, they actually need to do LESS work, than they did when they moved from 2d to 3d (BW to XY).

@thesilverbrick Yep, the sales are going to go absolutely mental. This game alone could shift millions of consoles.

@invictus4000 a mainline Pokemon game is never going to have real adult themes in it. It's going to stay as something that is marketed for children and the whole family.

I'm actually a fan of the storyline in Sun and Moon. X and Y nearly killed me with its boring plot but Sun and Moon actually was kind of touching and sweet to play. Since I doubt big changes will come in the form of gameplay mechanics, I think the story is the only area where they can really differentiate between games so I hope they are able to create something amazing again for the Switch. I think everyone will have their eyes on this title since it's such a big step for Pokemon to move to HD so they really will want to showcase something they are proud of. It will all be alright.

@Neon_Blues it could be a few reasons, but I'd imagine part of it is that the phrase in Japanese translates more directly to English as "more expressive", rather than "better graphics".

I mean, you can see it from the story quoted that it's exactly what he means:

"Right now we’re using 7 to 8 inch screens, but on a high-definition TV you can express a whole different world with graphics and sound."

I'd also add that lots of Japanese devs use this exact phrasing when talking about 'expressing' better graphics and sound--read enough interviews or speak with them enough (via translators) and you'll notice they use it all the time.

Until now, games were made as one for one person, but now you can go home and play with everyone — so how do we tackle these themes, and how do we make sure it’s not complicated?

Sounds like multiplayer elements, where another person can jump in.

Dude, we just want to play Pokémon as we've had before but on Switch. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. I mean it's awesome if you figure some cool stuff out, but we were happy with the idea of a port of Sun & Moon already!

I have only two wishes for Pokemon Switch

1) It's an open world

2) Route 10 returns! I love the music in there!

Pokemon has so much potential, but I'm not expecting the Switch games to be a vast improvement. Pokemon games seem to evolve very slowly and gradually.

When they reveal a new HD pokemon for switch. Sales will go crazy again!
im not a big pokemon fan but i would buy it for sure because i love RPG and pokemon is among the best in my opinion.

Evolving and the Pokemon franchise are two things that ironically don't go well together in my head. I would honestly say that I have little faith in the next Pokemon game, but I'm open to being surprised.

@Neon_Blues Sun and Moons story was so good! Although it does decrease the repeatability for me. Replayed X/Y numerous times because if the light story.

My wish would be having the ability to travel to all of the existing regions to revisit them and such, but I'm definitely excited for this game either way.

I hope people can keep their expectations realistic. Too many let their imaginations run wild for the follow up to Sun and Moon and many felt Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were a let down, which I don't understand.

@invictus4000
Ehem...
How dare you for asking rated M for Pokemon games ?!
This game for KIDS & EVERYONE, You know !
You CANNOT expecting Rated M for this game !
That will DESTROY, RUIN the Pokemon brand image !
STOP , Please STOP !!

It is as if GameFreak has never seen a home console before...

Oh yes, no open world please, we've had enough of that already.

Sounds to me like it won't just be singleplayer, not sure how I feel about that. I'm just hoping for something similar to the current games, but with better graphics.

I'd like the ability to see the battles in real time with your commands influencing how they move. Speed stats could actually influence their movement.

@invictus4000 Maybe not M-rated; but perhaps 12 rated equivalent to some JRPGs going a bit deeper into themes of loyaly, friendship, hopes, dreams, etc.

Going to skip Ultra games, because at this point, I really want to play an HD mainline Pokémon game that I can also play from TV.

Bringing Pokemon to the Switch is a dream come true. Whether it be something like the Gamecube games (which I hope so much end up on the Switch VC) or a true "main series" game. Both have the potential to be outstanding! I want my HD Pokemon! I want Pokemon on a screen that's actually bigger than my cell phone... from 5 years ago. Bringing Pokemon to the a modern console like this gives them sooooo much potential. They can do so much with it. I can only imagine where they will go.

I keep pointing it out, but people are still jumping to conclusions about this game's relationship to the existing games... they have never said it will be part of the same series... they've never even referred to it as being part of any series.
What they have said is that it will be a 'core RPG Pokemon title'... just because it will be a core game does not mean it will be part of the existing series... a franchise can easily have multiple series/sub-series at it's core.
Also the fact that they felt that they needed to specify that it was an RPG supports this... if it was part of the existing series, being an RPG would be a given, so this implies that it's something else.

All I want is a standard Pokemon adventure, just like handheld ones, on the big screen. Surely they can't mess that up...?

Here's to hoping they make it something good, as they cannot afford to muck this up.

All really encouraging comments, it's going to be interesting to see what happens. I'd be surprised if we saw this game in 2018 though.

I'd like an open world Pokemon RPG.

As a series it's such a natural fit to be an open world RPG. Want to train water Pokemon? Great - there's a beach South of your town and you can surf to some islands off shore. Want to train rock Pokemon? Great - there's a mountain full of caves to the North - go knock yourself out. Maybe there could be dozens of gyms in the world - pick up any 8 and go challenge the elite 4.

From the beginning they've teased the idea of freedom and role playing in Pokemon but never really delivered it. The (mostly) strict order of the gyms provides a natural obvious route through the game (and largely dictates Pokemon selection). It's old fashioned and completely un-neccessary. It's not even as if there's a big narrative focus in Pokemon so the big weakness of open world games wouldn't affect it.

They won't do it though. They're more likely to give us a very traditional Pokemon game in HD that moves towards a tighter more linear storyline. It'll be more like an interactive anime - which has its plus points (and will be mega successful) but it's not what I'd personally want.

I've really been sick of the direction the series has gone in lately, there's been too much dumbing the games down for the sake of pandering to mobile and the quality of the games has taken a nosedive as a result. The regions have gotten more linear and been less fun to explore, the games have gotten easier, they've been stripping features away, and the content has decreased. I'm done supporting this series until that changes, especially with the transition to console. A home console carries the expectation of a large scale, deep gameplay experience with plenty of content that you could get lost in for hours and hours, pretty much the antithesis of Game Freak's current design philosophy. Making 8th gen like 5th-7th gen but in HD is not going to fly here. I can live without full on BotW style open world for now, but they should at least take steps in that direction with 8th gen, maybe something a little closer to Mario 64 or OoT would be acceptable. But certainly by 9th gen this series should most definitely go the open world route. BotW style open world is pretty much the standard for any kind of exploration focused gameplay style now.

I love Pokémanz, but they need to speed up those battles. More like Shin Megami Tensei. Everything feels so sluggish.

Well. Now I'm nervous about what they're going to do to the franchise.

@KTT I sincerely hope you're kidding. Sun/Moon had the most amazing storyline I've seen so far in Pokémon games. It was truly a blast to play, and pretty intense too at times.

If anything, I'd be happy if they turned towards more story and new formulas instead of the old tried-and-true "evil team took over the region, time to fight back against team ro- err team blerghmasplergh in this brand new pokemon game that is the same as the last one".

@KTT
But for me, Rated M is Rated M.
Rated M are Strictly Prohibited for me no matter what is inside. I don't care with blah blah blah philosophy or any defense.
When I see Rated M, BAMMM !!!!
I Condemn that Damn things immediately.
Period.
I don't need those garbage / toxin.

@KTT I definitely disagree 100% on the forced and rushed part. It isn't even close to the same story as ever either... Not sure if you're trolling.

Your real deal suggestion is great though, but sadly unrealistic because they gotta cater to kids (as in THEY feel like they have to cater to kids, not that they actually do, coz all us die hard fans are older now). Definitely a great idea, and one I wish would be employed by Game Freak at some point, but I don't see it happening.

@Anti-Matter That is stupid though. An M rating can be necessary for multiple reasons. It doesn't have to be because the game is full of murders and torture, but can be necessary because the story has deep meaningful story concepts that are hard to understand for young children. Or another just as valid reason. Don't condemn it just because it is often necessary for a reason which you find deplorable.

@PlanetaryNebulae Switch game cards are read-only. All saves are on the console's internal memory.

I'm just hoping this do this right because it's their big chance to make a great home/portable hybrid Pokemon game, and if they nail it then it could be HUGE.

@Octane I've honestly never played a mainline pokemon game, but why is it that open world isn't wanted for a game like this?

@Blizzia
Sorry, mate.
I have extreme strict rule for my gaming area.
When I said No Rated M allowed, that means my games are 100% Free from rated M games. I don't care with the story or contents inside. I Only accept Everyone & Everyone 10+ (95%) and few Teen games (5%).

@KTT
Like I said long time ago.
When I SEE Rated M, No Matter what contents inside, I Will CONDEMN That games Whatsoever reason !
Period.
I don't even want to know or got involved in such disgusting circumstances like that.

Less chat, more work.
Aside from the competitive characteristics, pokemon is way behind a lot of other games. And I'm talking about 3DS.

@KTT First off, don't worry about the wall of text. I know it all too well when I start a reply intending to sum it up in 5 lines and end up writing 40

While I agree that the godawful smile of the protagonist had many a moment of immersion completely eradicated, I don't think the story was silly or lacked suspense. But I guess it depends on whether you treat the landmarks as spoilers for impending minecraft story or build up to the next epic part of the story. I also went about it another way when I was spoiled to the villains, by taking the "I think they're the bad guys, but how bad are they?" approach, and it was actually satisfactory when the game proved me right in my assumptions, rather than anticlimactic. But again, I guess this all depends on the individual's approach to the game.

I won't go much into BW other than tell you that I agree with you on them being the pinnacle of Pokémon. If I go any further, I'll be forced to spend an hour writing a reply longer than any university paper I've ever written...

I guess we can only hope that they go more for your approach with the games on Switch, seeing as Nintendo has finally realized that teens/adults buy their hardware more than kids nowadays.

@Anti-Matter Pokemon was ruined a long time ago, guy.

@KTT
Oh, I will tell you something about me.
When I want to know or buy games, these things are I should look first :
1. Age Rating
I check the Age rating first, sometimes I have to check from 3 different Region (ESRB, CERO & PEGI). Age Rating is the Most Important aspect that determine I accept or reject the games. My rules like this for same games with different Region:
ACCEPTED>>>

E / CERO A / 3 or 7
E 10+ / CERO A / 7 or 12
E 10+ / CERO B / 12
Teen / CERO A / 12
Teen / CERO B / 12

Teen / CERO B / 16* ( Final Fantasy XII case. I still allowed this game despite of PEGI 16 is not approved by me)

Teen / CERO C* / 12 (The Sims series case. I still allowed this game despite of moderate Sexual theme & CERO C is not approved by me)

REJECTED >>>

Teen / CERO C / 16 (Sorry, I don't think this game is safe enough)

Teen / CERO C / 18
M / CERO B (???!!!) / 16 or 18
M / CERO C or D / 16
M / CERO C or D or Z / 18 (ABSOLUTELY BANNED !!!)

2. Cover
I prefer Cartoonish looking or Nice looking cover than Fierce looking. Any Adult pics / Horror / Evil looking will be Banned immediately.

3. Titles
Negative or Abusive words will be Banned completely such as Blood / Dead / Corpse / Zombie / etc.

4. Theme / Genre
I will never allowed Criminal games / Demonic worshipper / Horror / Strong Violence / Dark theme / any Explicit Adultery things / Foul languages !

5. Developers & Publishers
I will NEVER want to play games from Developers or Publisher who Oftenly publish Rated M too much, with Offensive and Controversial themes.

Well... that's my RULES OF GAMING.

@KTT haha, I know the feeling! But yeah, I'm honestly hoping we get something epic next time. Alola WAS a bit too laid back for me in general, what with actual "gyms" being gone and stuff. It was fun, but I need myself a good Pokémon game with an epic story and a great post-game.

Yeah true. Well, hopefully Game Freak soon realises that they need to give us an experience befitting of a franchise that should have evolved much more during its 20+ years of existence.

Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon should have been on the Switch. Period.

I would hope that they continue evolving the series while keeping the core elements, bringing back some ideas/extras that actually worked (PSS, Battle Frontier-ish facilities, Join Avenue).

I'm currently in the middle of Sun (just made it to the third island), and while I feel the game is a step forward in some ways, there are a few ways where it's more of a step back. I'm still enjoying my playthrough, but the game is by no means perfect.

@Anti-Matter How is the word ''blood'' negative or abusive? It keeps us all alive, it's like a life fluid!

Also, what if they slapped an M on a E-rated game just for fun, you know, just the label, would it also be a bad game?

@Nintendoforlife Because 1) open world is overrated anyway. It feels like everything needs to be open world these days. More importantly, 2) Pokemon is a game that benefits from progression, a game that gets more difficult as you progress. It requires some form of linearity. You can't have a build up to anything if you can do anything from the start, in that case everything, every event, every fight needs to be in own contained thing that can always be activated or completed. That takes out any sense of progression by default.

@Octane
Oh, about that.
If the "Blood" words as the title, I will reject the games if the games are bloody hunger or showing intensive bloods. I have Hatred with Red Splats that looks like Blood splats for some reasons.

But if the "Blood" words as the Explanation of game contents, especially with ESRB ratings such as Mild Blood , I still accept (Example Final Fantasy III NDS, FF XII , Street Fighter II)

Another acceptable "Blood" in games is Ka or Mr Mosquito from PS2. I know it was a Mosquito which is really hungry with Blood. Also, Zelda Breath of the Wild has "Bloody Moon" as places references.

And... Never ever starting a Fire by pasting a M rated on E Rated games. I will Extremely Upset for whoever create that stupid things. It looks like Tainting the Innocence of E rated games.

@RyanSilberman Seriously, Colosseum and XD (the former being my favourite) were fantastic games.
Those two are darker, the story doesn't get in your way like sm and they are harder (limited team selection, shadow pokemon having broken moves )
Oh yeah, the starter is an eveevolution and the game story mode only has double battles... what's there not to like?!!!!
(I know, the game has flaws but...those are tolerable xD)

@KTT Don't worry, I'm just trying to figure out the rules! It's like Death Note (pardon the language, no pun intended).

@kotag Always good to hear when someone else likes Colosseum too, it's actually one of the better Pokemon games I think. I'm also a big fan of double battles.

@Octane

1. I wouldn't say it's overrated, I like level based games as much as the next guy. But you can't create the same feeling of immersion through level gameplay, as you can through Open-world in my opinion.

2. So what type of level system do you consider the "best" when it comes to Pokemon?

Open-world or not, there's one problem with Pokémon on Switch:
the console is also a home console.

Translation: a handheld is always cheaper than its contemporary home counterpart. It's not like everyone can afford a home console, even if it also works as a handheld. Thus, this game will have to break the "no multiple saves" stigma in order for Pokémon's strong multiplayer component to work. If people share a home console, they'll also want to be able to share their game too (and make Save 1 VS Save 2 matches/trades, in case you're wondering where my reasoning is going).

Or maybe Nintendo and/or The Pokémon Company will think of me as some kind of idiot for even suggesting this, who knows.

@Nintendoforlife Anything pre-gen V. Those games had plenty of freedom (especially the first two), but they weren't downgraded to a linear, on-rails, hand-holding story mode.

The only problem is that when the main story is linear and there's plenty of optional side content, people don't count that side content as part of the game, because it's not optional. But when a game allows you to do whatever you want, it's essentially all side content, and it suddenly matters again.

We've seen what happens if you allow the player too much freedom in gen 2, a huge level stagnation after the fourth gym and a big difficulty spike right before end. It could've been worse, but it's my biggest criticism of gen 2. Those games kinda proved that progression is important in a Pokemon game. If the levels are all set, you can decide how you want to tackle them, under-leveled, over-leveled, it's up to you. Any sort of scaling system would remove that freedom.

I also don't think Pokemon needs immersion, at least not more than it currently has. For me it's all about the battles, Pokemon designs, and metagame.

@Octane Thing is that Pokemon's always been a game about player choice and freedom. You design the player to be an avatar of you, you choose your first Pokemon at the beginning of the game, and you go out and catch whatever Pokemon you want to fill out your team and bond with them. It's a very self-driven experience. So keeping the progression so linear and scripted just goes against the spirit of the series. It only makes sense to let you go around the region however you want, battle gyms in whatever order you want, and find your own way through the game.

As for the level progression, they can always do level scaling. Wouldn't exactly be a foreign concept to them either since they've done it before with the Vs. Seeker.

I would be cool to have Pokemon on the switch at the same level as final fantasy or like Zelda:breath of the wild. Make it huge, endless possibilities.

@Bolt_Strike Level scaling is a pretty awful concept if that means that every Pokemon on every route is level 40 as soon as you get to the league.

@Octane It doesn't. They could keep them low and keep the EXP system like 5th/7th gen so you can get them up to speed fairly easily. Alternatively, they could determine wild levels by what level your party is at the time.

Please, make a LE Pokemon-themed Switch.

Please, make a LE Pokemon-themed Switch.

Please, make a LE Pokemon-themed Switch.

I would love a full open world Pokemon. With the first 151 Pokemon...I accept that's has to be progression but just imagine this...the start town in the middle of the world like botw. With each direction n.s.e.w. is a different area with different Pokemon the further you go on that direction the better lvl Pokemon you find...you will have progression plus the freedom to do it you way...wanna train rock Pokemon first head north water Pokemon head south ect ect.....does that make sense