@FishyS You think the people who contributed to Legends: Z-A's sales were people that liked the game, rather than people who didn't end up liking Z-A?
If you asked that question for Scarlet/Violet I would have said unequivocally yes - I suspect most casual players made some jokes about the performance but otherwise had fun and most kids probably barely noticed the performance issues.
As for Z-A, it's a little more experimental and I have heard less about kids playing it so I have less sense of how kids like the new combat system (plus the age rating is higher). But given most reviewers liked it and a lot of people on this website like it, and most people I personally have talked to like it, I assume most people have enjoyed it. Most of the big complaints I have heard about the game are from serial-complainer YouTube and social media accounts.
From a personal point of view, I'm not a huge fan of the new combat system and I think the multiplayer is chaotic spam, but I still quite enjoyed the game.
As an outsider who doesn't really care much for Pokemon: Why would 80 dollars not be reasonable? Don't people get hundreds and hundreds of hours out of these games?
Most of the recent ones take around a 100 hours to 100% ( less for the Legends games). Of course people can mess around with multiplayer forever if they choose to; not sure what is average. I tend to play Pokemon games 50-100 hours personally.
Regardless, the main issue is you go to the store and see many $70 games and just 1 $80 game. There is a psychological impulse to not want to pay the extra $10 - we already saw that with Mario Kart even from people who were only actually paying $50. Perhaps if the new Pokemon game showed it was the most amazing Nintendo-AAA masterpiece it would get an exception because everyone would know it was so amazing the price was deserved (think: TotK ), but I am a bit doubtful a Pokemon game will quite reach those heights.
@FishyS
But, like… what would make the next Pokémon a “masterclass” game?
I don't know. I'm skeptical it could happen. Even if it was super polished with great art and story, there are too many people who want too many different things from Pokemon so it's hard to imagine what a consensus for a top-tier Pokemon game would look like.
I think there is a decent chance the gen 10 game will be excellent, but I still expect lots of complaining. At this point, large numbers of people will complain no matter what the combat system looks like which makes it especially difficult.
If Gen 10 has no glaring flaws to complain about and turns out to be an excellent release, then, mark my words, people online will just start saying "well, it isn't GTA 6."
"well it appears I am upside down. what ever will I do?"
Currently Playing: Hollow Knight: Silksong, Pokémon LeafGreen
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One of the biggest sources of complaints behind the modern Pokemon games seem to be the performance, any sign of laziness in the graphics or performance and fans seem to hyperfocus on it and act like it's the worst game ever. Flat textures (see: the trees in SwSh, the windows in Z-A), lifeless animations (I see this a lot with the Pokemon attack animations for example), they seem to think that if it doesn't look like a Hollywood blockbuster it's garbage. And honestly I do think it's pretty hyperbolic, while those are definitely flaws and it'd be nice to see them improve those kinds of things, I hardly consider them a dealbreaker. Most of these issues you'd need to freeze frame and hold up a microscope to notice in the actual gameplay, I haven't noticed these things at all when actually playing.
If there's anything I'm actually worried about it's the quantity of content in the game and the QoL features they've cut over time. If the game world isn't a decent size (I did have some concerns about this with Lumiose in Z-A, but when I actually played it it felt sufficient if not totally mindblowing), if there's not enough to do in the game (side content has been continually cut over time so this is an issue), removal of convenient QoL features, that's the kind of stuff I would be concerned about. And overall, I would say they've been passable on that front if not great. And yes, I am worried about an $80 price tag or a GKC release too. Anything short of those kinds of issues and I'll likely enjoy the game.
@Grumblevolcano MAR10 would be a good opportunity for Mario Kart update, also help stack the presentation if they dont have enough to make a presentation (MM3, LM4, 3dMario, another sports title, wonder DLC, Yoshi release date, etc.)
I would highly doubt Gen 10 would be $80. They would lose a lot of double sales (people buying both types) and family purchases.
I suspect it will be cross-gen. It is probably a year too soon for Pokemon to be switch 2 exclusive (especially without a lite model).
However, if a switch 2 lite is released beforehand, there is a chance it might be exclusive.
I suspect it will be cross-gen. It is probably a year too soon for Pokemon to be switch 2 exclusive (especially without a lite model).
However, if a switch 2 lite is released beforehand, there is a chance it might be exclusive.
I doubt a Lite model has anything to do with Gen 10's exclusivity, that doesn't seem to matter much to them because millions of people buy Pokemon regardless of what they do. What I think is the determining factor, and the reason why this is most likely Switch 2 exclusive, is how they end up utilizing the Switch 2 upgrades, particularly the non-performance related upgrades like Mouse Mode and Gamechat. Game Freak seems to love taking advantage of new hardware features to make the new generations on new hardware more distinctive, if you look at past hardware jumps they loved utilizing the touch screen and Wi-Fi of the DS, the 3D and to a lesser degree Streetpass on the 3DS, and the local multiplayer of the Joycon for the Switch. Now Mouse Mode and Gamechat aren't exactly the most innovative hardware features so it is possible they struggle to come up with anything that justifies exclusivity and make it cross-gen, but I suspect they have ideas so I think most likely it will be exclusive.
@skywake the thing is - it doesn’t have to make logical sense. Value is a very personal and subjective thing. Despite everything in your post, many people are going to see £16.99 (or equivalent) as good enough value for money when it comes to these games. And they might not see value in cheaper games, or more modern games. I don’t think there are many retro 2D games that can get away with that price point, but I think Pokemon surely can.
Although I see your point regarding this justification as part of a broader “corporate greed” narrative. But at the end of the day, a game company exists to make money. And Nintendo is doing a hell of a good job at it when you compare it to its competitors, so maybe they’re making the right decisions.
@Bolt_Strike Maybe they lean more into expanding the co-op like “with the power of the Switch 2 it is now possible to experience the full game in local or online co-op”. Perhaps in the new region it’s tradition that all battles are double battles which allows a second player to be a part of the story adventure.
@Bolt_Strike all i can say is i think you're being hyperbolic about what some people are expecting from pokemon. they're not expecting blockbuster quality, they're expecting... most other nintendo things quality. mario quality, perhaps. maybe you don't notice the windows, but you sure do stare at a lot of buildings for most of z-a, so i couldn't blame some people for noticing.
but yeah, there is more things to polish about a pokemon game that are more important than textures.
remember; your chicken parm is not safe around me!
Off the top of my head I don't think they've ever aired a Direct on the same day they release a game, and there's no reason to have another Friday Direct, so because Pokémon Pokopia comes out on the 5th next week and the Mario Wonder Switch 2 Edition comes out on the 26th, my bet is on March 12th, at 10 AM EST. That'll give people room to breathe after Pokopia comes out, and I can only assume Pre-Loads for the Wonder Upgrade will start on the 19th, a week before release, so not having to think about both that AND a Direct in the same day would be nice.
I may have called March 12th as my prediction, but there's still a LOT to learn about Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, so (despite what I JUST said about the Wonder Pre-Loads) I think having a 2nd Dedicated Direct for that on the 19th would be pretty great. If not, then maybe on April 2nd. Or nothing at all. Nothing works too.
And as for predictions for said Direct... Devon Pritchard appearance, the Zelda game/re-release for this year, aaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's it. That's all I've got, I've never been good at Predicting Direct content. But I do have games that I want made so... Ever Oasis HD. That's all I truly want from them lol.
@Bolt_Strike Maybe they lean more into expanding the co-op like “with the power of the Switch 2 it is now possible to experience the full game in local or online co-op”. Perhaps in the new region it’s tradition that all battles are double battles which allows a second player to be a part of the story adventure.
I can't really see them doing much more with co-op than what they already have in SV. I don't think they're forcing double battles all of the time, they need to make it playable if you already have one player and that would overcomplicate things.
@Bolt_Strike all i can say is i think you're being hyperbolic about what some people are expecting from pokemon. they're not expecting blockbuster quality, they're expecting... most other nintendo things quality. mario quality, perhaps. maybe you don't notice the windows, but you sure do stare at a lot of buildings for most of z-a, so i couldn't blame some people for noticing.
but yeah, there is more things to polish about a pokemon game that are more important than textures.
I definitely did not notice and don't really notice a significant difference between Pokemon and other Nintendo games. It kinda feels like everything's looked largely the same in terms of quality since like, the jump to HD (so since 360/PS3 for Microsoft/Sony and Wii U for Nintendo) and it's been a long plateau for the last 10-20 years. If it's gotten to the point where you need to hold up a microscope and do all of these deep dive graphics comparisons frame by frame and pixel by pixel, that really is being hyperbolic.
if you describe the graphical screwups as only being spotted if you go "frame by frame, pixel by pixel" then yeah, you're being hyperbolic right back. i'm not explaining it again, i feel like that's already pretty obvious.
remember; your chicken parm is not safe around me!
The only really major screwups I've noticed have been collision related, and yeah, those should definitely be ironed out. Nothing graphically looks like a legit "screwup" (screwup is harsh language here because that implies something is broken or not functioning properly and there's nothing graphically that fits the bill), it's just people having high graphical standards.
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