Pokémon Director Junichi Masuda Talks Uniting All Fans, Future Of The Core Series

These games are a very clever marketing move and will be a massive sales success, but they just seem so hollow when compared with the main series games up to now. TPC was wise to announce that they’re working on a more in-depth game for next year to reassure the core audience.

I’m a pretty casual player, i like pokemon training and collecting, nothing too in-depth, so the biggest thing i’m missing in the “Let’s go”-games is the compatibility with the mainline games and the six-hundred-something pokemon that aren’t there, and maybe monster battles, but for people like me the “casualized” games seem like a pretty good fit...

I’m getting Let’s Go for my kids but am looking forward to next year’s Pokémon game more.

Makes sense if they wanted people who are new to the franchise with Pokemon Go as their entry point to eventually get introduced to the mainline series. This is just a clever way to reel in more people to Pokemon, which IMO is a win for all.

Not sure what's the point of having different Pokemon between versions if one can just transport Pokemon from Go, which has no version differences.
It's a clever idea, a bit of back to basics, but more in-depth than the mobile version. And sometimes one doesn't want too much mechanics at a time – to use a tabletop comparison, even though chess is superior, I'd gladly play a few rounds of checkers or hnefatafl when I want something simpler. If it wasn't $60 I would consider it. I'm afraid the casual market may be turned off by the price, but we'll see.

I can respect the honesty here. He seems pretty genuine and cares about the fans.

However, Pokemon has always been a simple and casual RPG series for newcomers. It was always a gateway RPG. Why does it need to be simplified further? He says they want to create a new experience for kids. Guess what. The original (and hardest) Pokemon games were played predominantly by kids in the 90s and early 2000s.

All that aside, I hope that Let's Go Pokemon is a success. I appreciate what GameFreak does and I want them to make a boat load of cash. Which I am confident they will.

@SmaggTheSmug it has been confirmed in multiple interviews and Q&A’s that some gen 8 pokemon will make their introduction in the let’s go games. I figured the exclusivity will be around those. Also in the trailer the pokemon go transfered pokemon go to a place called GO park, maybe you can’t use them in battle and they’re part of a side game/side activity? Haven’t seen any confirmation yet about the way of usage of GO pokemon in let’s go.

@NotAceAttorney Because the core games are still much more complex than Go and the idea of throwing a Pokeball yourself instead of just selecting it from the menu while dice roll in the background is simply more exciting. Not to mention dropping 800+ Pokemon on people used to 151 + a few from Gen2 could be overwhelming. Though I still insist Let's Go should have covered both Kanto and Jotho, although going to low-level Jotho after beating Kanto would be strange, as would level 50+ wild Sentrets.

@NotAceAttorney A lot of the reasons gen one was hard was because it was buggy. Also lacking stuff like VS Seeker, so grinding for the E4 was a pain. Later games giving exp share and lucky eggs had fun reactions because it was optional, that and it made keeping my teams during egg runs balanced in level (Spending time grinding in Pokémon is not a challenge).

Masuda really shows he doesn’t understand hardcore gamers at all if he thinks forcing accessibility will bring both audiences together. For that to happen they need a flexible gameplay style where gamers can choose the way they want to play.

For all I know the hardcore Pokémon RPG players just want more of the same, but in new areas and new Pokémon, moves, items, etc on top of what was already there. Exactly what they've been doing with new releases from the start.

I consider myself a semi-hardcore player. I play one game of every generation to it's fullest but don't really care about competitive battling, max IV's, or shiny hunting.

And as a daily Pokémon GO player that appreciates the toned-down gameplay, I can totally see myself enjoying Let's Go more than the 2019 RPG's. Only time will tell.

I feel like they are making two groups of Pokémon fans instead of uniting them with the 'Let's Go' series, and I'm in the middle between them.

As a casual player (like @MysticX), I just want to battle, train and collect Pokémon. I love a good story and I love good gameplay, but I don't give a crap about the whole EV and IV training.

The lack of wild battles (and making your opponent weak enough to catch him), and less stats make me not want the buy the 'Let's Go' games because they just look too easy. Still going to buy it since my girlfriend forces me too.

@Arehexes Older games weren't just about grinding though. They had actual harder NPC trainers. In X and Y, the E4 only had 4 Pokemon each. Also, no one uses Mega Evolution other than yourself and a handful of other trainers. It's unbalanced to favour the player. Compare that to say, Diamond and Pearl. Random trainers had powerful Pokemon. One of the Team Galactic commanders had a Giga Drain Zubat! It was more than just grinding.

@Saego To be fair, EVs and IVs are useless in-game anyway. They're only for people that want to play competitive. I do agree though that we don't need "hidden" stats in an RPG.

@Slaz I can't speak on behalf of others, but personally I don't want more of the same. I want the franchise to evolve forward and continue to build on the mechanics that already exist.

@thesilverbrick where was it said that they are working on a more in-depth game to reassure the core audience? I keep seeing people and reporters say this but I cannot find anything official and everything I do find official makes me doubt the 2019 games will be what I want or what others are expecting it to be.

It seems a lot of additional info has come from this Eurogamer report and then the Q&A that took place after the announcement.

https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-news/pokemon-creators-share-more-details/

I have read the Q&A and while it seems the 2019 game will be gen 8 it doesn’t indicate that it will be more focused on the core audience. It just says this is their take on a console Pokémon and next year will be more focused on the handheld features. Imo this doesn’t tell us anything about the depth or what to expect from a gameplay level and with them being so cautious about not overwhelming the casual player isn’t inspiring confidence that they haven’t forgotten the core players.

I like the idea of going back to basics, so am completely on board for the Let's Go games. It's pokemon, this is supposed to be about folks from all walks of life getting together to train, battle, and trade.

Quite a few pokemon designs from gen3 to present are pretty crappy and they likely didn't get the best feedback from Z-moves in Pk Sun/Moon. Hopefully re-exploring the first couple of generations inspires them to come up with even better Pokemon and mechanics.

Re: Let's Go possibly becoming a series

Now my gut's really telling me "it's a trap, don't buy this"...
I'm all for making Pokemon barebones again, its depth as of now isn't fun, and some solid new features were introduced...but I'm just put off by everything else? Especially by the fact that's a "home console" game only by price. I'm not sure what I'll think of it come November but I know I don't want to regret another purchase like I did with Ultra Moon.

My dream open world Pokemon game where you battle every gym in any order is looking more distant with every milestone this game reaches.

I am afraid he doesn't understand the fans. You'll never unite all Pokemon fans. There is far too much difference in what different players want from the series.

I actually think it would be a good idea to have both series running side by side. Alternating each release. Let's go this year, core next year, Let's go 2 the following year, and core the year again after that...

I do think people need to give Let's Go more of a chance. A lot of people are saying the games seem shallow, but they aren't even out yet and we don't know everything about them. What little we saw of the battles, seemed to imply traditional, real battles. One thing that concerns me, however, is how to grind once you beat all the trainers in an area. Without the ability to battle wild Pokemon, there is no fallback to raise up a new catch. But they must be aware of this and have some alternative method.

I understand appealing to lapsed Pokemon fans. But looking at those fans on YouTube they say they dropped it because the jump from Gen 2 to 3 was too much.

How they hell do they expect to jump from Gen 1 to 8 if they couldnt handle that? Who is this game for really?

Most people who played Pokemon Go on mobile are not going to pay $60 to play Lets's Go on Switch. Just like I won't bother with GO on Mobile even if free. The 2 community are different.

That said, if they can streamline the experience - like Capcom did with Monster Hunter World I am all for it.

I think most do not care if there is a "Lets GO" (just like they didn't care about the Mobile one) because there is still a mainline version like the one in 2019

Seriously wish it was November, haha! I just want to play these games and take a Pokeball Plus to work and freak out my co-workers when the ball starts vibrating and a Pokémon starts talking. HAHA. And I'm just kind of over Pokémon Sun/Moon/US/UM at this point, I'm looking for something new and these games satisfy that with nostalgia at the same time!

The last time they gave us a game with depth was Sun/Moon, so their vision for depth didn't quite translate to fun for me b/c they went in-depth with story and cinematics which would have been fun had the story been interesting. Groupthink at its finest.

@Lizuka The purpose is that for the new-to-Pokemon through Go crowd, regular Pokemon is foreign, but they enjoy Go to a point. Most of them, however, are familiar with the mechanics and concepts of Go, but have never experienced a total RPG and getting lost in an imaginary world. The idea of this game is simple: Make a total console game for the Go players that keeps what they know and like about catching 'mon, but inserts that into a proper RPG world and experience rather than the hollow AR experience. At the same time, it provides a new Pokemon RPG/story for core fans to hopefully enjoy while whining incessantly for Gen8 for another year

Sure Pokemon is simple as it is, but for the Go crowd, it's complicated. Imagine if you had NEVER played an RPG in your life. That's a LOT to take in, and moreso if you're not a nerd by nature Keeping the familiar and pairing it with a more "proper" RPG experience will make picking up the flow of an RPG natural for Go players. It's about catering to both fan bases, but more importantly it's about fusing that Go fanbase into the core fanbase at some point. They're not going to just jump into B&W2 and say "ok this all feels comfortable"

I want this to succeed because more Pokemon is never a bad thing as far as I'm concerned but if this has any affect on the core games I'm out. This is not going to make me pick up Pokemon GO and honestly with these new games I'll probably beat the story and get that new exclusive Pokemon and call it a day. Core games tend to give me tons more replay ability with battle factory type features and shiny hunting.

@Yorumi You're partly right, but that's also broad stereotyping of the mobile gamer. It's like stereotyping XBox gamers as only playing shooters and saying "duuuuudee" a lot, PS gamers as weebs, and PC gamers as snobby rich kids in dark rooms with bad social skills and a funny odor.

Sure the stereotypes are actually true across broad swaths But there's a fringe to all of them. I don't think Ninty aims to convert ALL mobile gamers. But to lure in the ones that may have an interest in a deeper experience. "Hey I liked Go on my phone. I liked it a lot. I wish there were more to it. Hey look, here's ANOTHER device that's also portable, I can use it where I used my phone, and it's all dedicated to all these really cool games I didn't even know existed...nothing like this on phones!" You're right most mobile gamers want quick time wasters and freebies. Many pay way more than $360 on one mobile game....they just don't do it at once. But some fringe of people introduced to games on mobile may be interested in long form gaming if they were introduced to it. I think that's the fringe Nintendo wants. It may be 1% of the phone market. But 1% of a billion is still like 10 million new customers. That's worth something.

Heck, as a core gamer from youth, I got into phone gaming around the iPhone 3 era. I wanted portability. It was fun. For a time. Then got stale. And then I got a PSP followed by 3DS and Vita, and Switch. There's crossover. The audience of GO is HUGE. What are the odds there's some portion of new console gamers there? Especially since children now often play on phones and tablets first......because that's what they're given....and then get older and see ads for "real" games....and want a console. In that case they weren't phone gamers because they wanted time wasters but because thats what they had that exposed them to gaming....then they can beg the parents for the $300 console. (You know you've done it.... )

@Yorumi Not the kids. The kids don't have "baby's first console" yet, they have "mommy's hand me down iphone." Nintendo wants Switch to be the one they want when they want one rather than Playstation.

Plus even if that crossover audience does already have a console, what are they odds they have a Playstation instead? This could give them a kick to buy Switch.

Or lets put it this way, if they CAN'T convert these new potential gamers to buy a Switch, where does that leave gaming? A collective of hipster middle aged people who loved consoles in the 80's and refuse to let go, as the industry spirals and sinks into a casino by way of EA and King? New console gamers have to come from somewhere. That fringe seems like the most likely place. If new gamers don't come from somewhere then the entire business tanks when we die off

As for the .001%, maybe. Maybe those players console game on a battered DS, or an ancient GBC, or an X360 that's losing it's power supply, or a shiny PS4 Pro, and this will convince them to buy a Switch.

But I still wager they're looking to pick up the KIDS for their first Nintendo, moreso than the double raspberry and avocado syrup skinny lattee with an organic fat free free range granola cup iPhone crowd.

@Heavyarms55 I agree with everything you said, but I could also see the Let's Go games becoming the regular paired version. Instead of Red/Blue for example, it would be Red/Let's Go Blue. They could then cater to multiple audiences with the same game.

You're spot on that there's not quite enough info about Let's Go yet, especially about the battling. One way you could grind up a new catch in Let's Go is by transferring it to Pokemon Go, grinding there, then transferring it back. I hope that's not the only method. For all we know at this point though, we might still be able to battle wild pokemon in Let's Go using a button press to leave the capture mini-game. Or they could have done away with experience based on battling and come up with some other method of leveling if there's a leveling system at all. Just not enough to go on yet for me to make a decision on whether I'm excited, ambivalent, or disappointed.

@Yorumi I agree in a broad stroke but I still think that covers MOST phone gamers. Not the fringes. The kids with a handmedown who may want a real console (of which there's a lot, and hooking kids is a priority for the whole industry.) The adult (or lapsed) console gamers looking for more. Fringes. That said, look at the mobile payment models creeping into core gaming. Why is that able to happen in a group that consists of people who have resisted a price hike for 20 years? Because it's a new group who is used to it. Phone gamers.

I agree mobile is a whole other market with whole other interests. I also see the core industry trying to merge the consumer base and spending habits of the two. And I do think that they need to always try to grow the console market. Heck, Sony's done that successfully to a limited degree. The costs in development are so high now, they NEED an expanded market to make it pay. Though I don't see EA and Ubisoft and 2K going aggressively after phone gamers. Why is Nintendo: Again: Kids. When we were kids an Atari or an NES was our first gaming system. Maybe a GameBoy for a lot of kids. Today it's Kindle Fires (blech, the RV of IoT devices....) and iSpends. It's Nintendo. It's Pokemon. It doesn't take (team) rocket science to figure out they're targeting kids, not metros

@Slaz I can't speak for all fans of the core games. What do I want? I do want games that offer the same basic experience. And that includes battling wild Pokèmon. I don't mind some of the mechanics introduced over the years. That includes Z-Moves, Mega Evolution. I love the addition of new Pokémon. I even like the idea of new Pokemon (Ultra Beast ) not necessarily being classified initially as Pokemon. I didn't mind the Gyms, though I did enjoy the idea behind the island challenges.

With all that said, there are some changes that need to be done to refreshen or revitalize the series that go beyond a new mechanic or just new Pokemon.

One thing that needs to go is the corridor style world exploration. It felt constricting and limited. They have the powerful console to create a huge, living breathing world the series has been waiting for.

I'm not sure how you makes.changes to the battle system without changing the heart and soul of the series. But I think they need to figure out something to shakeup that part of the series.

And they need to not skimp on or ignore post game content. You need to have something other than grinding and leveling up Pokèmon for players to do. And with DLC now becoming a regular thing at Nintendo, there is no excuse for the next core games to not have something

@Yorumi But how would we know? If the kids first system is a mobile device, how will they know if they want a real console unless something familiar entices them? If I had a mobile device when I was a kid (if they existed...the OG GameBoy was "mobile" in my day, and Sony only made Walkman! ), and THEN saw a game like Let's Go....that would look AWESOME...so much better a version...I WANNITIWANNIT! If these kids are going to want a console, and were given a phone as a toy, SOMETHING will have to be the thing that pikas their interest (sorry...can't resist the poke puns today.)

@Yorumi No harm in a cash gra...err...trying.

Still Pokemon is too "different" from go for that young demographic. it needs to be something "same" and better yet "tied in" so they're no longer feeling like they're plaing the same Go as their friends if they don't have a Switch. Mario run...well that couldn't convert anyone, nobody bought it, and I swear the FE mobile crowd is already the FE core crowd....I don't think anyone else would be interested much in FE

@UmbreonsPapa Those are fair ideas I can agree on. As for battling mechanics, I’d personally like more changes and additions that can make former ‘weak’ Pokémon more usefull. Mega Evolution felt as one of the more significant and cool additions to me, but I’d say there’s still plenty of Pokémon that could’ve gotten the treatment before they moved on to Z-moves, which I barely used during my playthroughs of Moon and Ultra Sun.

Also, I’d like the next game to have an ultimate form of Unown that combines all different letters into a strong Psychic type. Maybe they can make that a collection quest, where you search them out in 28 places/anomalies or something.

I get it, they want to clam down people who are upset about Let's Go, upset that the Pokemon game fans have been anticipating that they announced months ago that was coming to the Switch in 2018 is an upscaled 3DS Kanto remake meant to appeal to casual gamers who only play games in smartphones.

But this is just PR Nonsense, there is no substance to it.

He just says he wants everybody to be happy.

@NoxAeturnus I cannot imagine them getting rid of the leveling system entirely. How would the game even work without it?

@Heavyarms55 I could see them working out some progressive evolution mechanic that's not based on levels. Look at Pokemon Go for an example. Catch more of the same, convert to candies, use to evolve. It doesn't seem likely, I mean even Pokemon Go has levels, but I'm not discounting even crazy ideas until I know for sure what they're up to with the Let's Go games.

I don’t think he realizes that most Pokémon Go players aren’t Pokémon fans more than they are people who casually enjoy it.

@NoxAeturnus Oh please god not that. That is one of my least favorite aspects of Pokemon Go. I call it throwing Pokemon in the meat grinder, because that is what it feels like.

Yeah right, remember his reasoning for not including battle frontier in oras? Hahahaha, aren't the same people he wants to unite in the pokemon core experience the same people he said that they "get bored and frustrated more easily and they aren't interested in things that are more demanding/challenging"?

I'm losing the hype for gen 8 =(

I'll just wait for Gen 8. (￣^￣)ゞ
Maybe a trailer in this E3?
A Fire Emblem or a Metroid teaser would be good to.