Feature: Why Pokémon: Let's Go Is The Perfect Entry Point For Pokémon GO Players

I'm READY !
On December 2018.

Is it just me or do those joycon colours look like they're supposed to be yellow but one is badly discoloured?

I'm a longtime player of the series, and I'm very much looking forward to these games.
Solely because I'm the kind of person who likes to have a variety of fun.

EDIT: Maybe it isn't the mainline series games that are daunting to new players, but rather the 'fans' that will belittle anything Pokémon related that is less than a max IV shiny Arceus.
I've spent years avoiding tournaments and the like because I've always found the fanbase my age to be majorly toxic.

@chardir The one on the left is supposed to be brownish to represent Eevee. The right joy-con is traditional yellow representing Pikachu.

@chardir it contrasts the background and afaik there are limited evee and pikachu editions

the normal games are already super approachable and casual-friendly though. I love Pokemon, but its like Baby's First RPG. There is no need for a more simple version of an already hand-holdy series

@Mando44646
There is NOTHING Wrong for adults to play "Baby" games.
I still like to play BABY NDS games such as Hi Hamtaro Ham Ham Challenge, Cooking Mama series, Imagine series, Ochaken no Heya series, My Sims series, etc.
Yes, Baby games but COOL for adults.

@Serebii nice article, and I agree with you on how Let's Go can be a good entry point for Pokemon Go players. However, to play Devil's Advocate, I really don't think the main series "core" games are as daunting as you described in the "It's Not Daunting" section. You mentioned that "Pokémon currently has 808 known monsters - some of which have alternate forms - with each Pokémon having many of 735 currently known attacks, 233 abilities, 25 natures and hundreds of items." Which is a good point ... however, unless an experienced player tells a newcomer about this, the newcomer will almost certainly have no idea of this. The "core" main series games do not present all Pokemon and all abilities/natures/items at once; it instead presents a set of Pokemon (which often numbers no more than 300 or 400 or so) over the course of the game, so the player is not necessarily overwhelmed (considering Pokemon are introduced over the course of the game and in the end the game only has 300-400 or so of the total Pokemon).

In addition, while I haven't played any of the Gen 6 or Gen 7 games, from what I've heard the games already do an excellent job of teaching new players the basics (in fact they seem to do a "too" excellent job of that judging by the numerous complaints of hand-holding). And new players are barely required to understand natures, abilities, or items in a playthrough. They can easily beat the game without even being aware of natures, abilities, or items. And the game already does an excellent job of discussing aspects such as type effectiveness, how to catch a Pokemon, and the necessity of having a diverse team that IMHO it's not overwhelming at all.

But regardless, Let's Go will definitely help to attract Pokemon Go players. The mechanics brought from Pokemon Go will help ease those players in due to familiarity (even if the "core" mechanics aren't necessarily complex) and having only the original 151 (not counting Meltan) set in Kanto will attract many people with nostalgia who haven't played Pokemon since Red and Blue.

TLDR; I'd argue the "core" main series games are not daunting since you are only presented with 300-400 or so of the total Pokemon, and not required to understand items/abilities/natures to beat the game. However, I agree with you that Let's Go will be a great stepping stone to bring lapsed players back in due to its similar mechanics with Pokemon Go and having only the original 151 Pokemon (not counting Meltan) set in Kanto.

Just cancelled my preorder...

Open up your editorial space to advertisement, they said.
It'll be the same, but more convenient to the readers, they said.

@Anti-Matter I didn't say there was anything wrong with it. In fact, I specifically said that it doesn't prevent me from playing them

I’m looking forward to a Pokemon game for the first time since Gold/Silver.

It’s back to basics: collect/train/battle. And that’s pretty much it. No beauty pageants, no TV stations, no secret bases. I like that idea.

I can play it co-op with my youngest son who is Poke-mad but only 5 and struggles with the 3DS games his big brother plays. Council co-op adventure games for kids to play with their parents with some decent depth are few and far between since Skylanders folded.

I’ve been saving my old team from Yellow in Pokemon Go to transfer over to the Switch. It’s a shame there is no ‘Stadium’ release to transfer Pokemon from Go also.

This game is just a warm up before the real game hits in 2019. Still looking forward to it though.

I've played every generation since the first, and I'm still excited for this game. To go back to Kanto in HD and be able to play with my fiance who has never played a Kanto game, it's incredibly exciting. I don't mind the game being simple compared to the last few, Pokemon games have never been hard and anyone who thinks so are kidding themselves. Time consuming to grind your Pokemon to an appropriate level maybe, but once you've figured out the battle system they're like the easiest RPGs out there. That's okay, though. My favorite aspects of the series have always been exploration, collecting, and breeding.

I'm looking forward to this; ordered the Pikachu+Pokeball set after E3. After an absence since Diamond/Pearl, I wanted to pick up a new pokemon game earlier this year. I grabbed Ultra Moon since it was the newest, and after about 2 weeks I got sick of it. I wasn't interested in fighting juiced up mon in place of gym battles, and the Z move idea felt like a gimmick to me. The online plaza just felt out of place, and I ended up with shops that did the same thing because I didnt really take the time to care about it.
All that isn't to say that the mainstream games are bad, as that's just my experience. But I'm looking at Let's Go as a product for someone like me; I want to experience the pokemon world again like the 'good ol days', without the enhancements and such that more involved fans have adapted to.
@RadioHedgeFund I'm looking forward to it for the same reasons.

Casual gamers are 100% the target audience to serious video game companies. Whiny fanboys on Twitter and NintendoLife forums don't matter to them

@shadow-wolf Before last year, I would have 100% agreed with you.

Then I saw my 7 year old nephew trying to get into Pokémon Y and struggling because of the vast amount of stuff. He has finally got to grips with it but it took a lot of time and only because he was persistent, which many casual players are not.

I am really looking forward to Pokémon Let’s Go. Hopefully, we won’t have any more doom mongering silly comments from the so called ‘hard core’ fans.

The reality is that these games are going to be great. In some ways, I think they will be more competitive than the other mainline series games as people will have to catch tons of Pokémon and keep grinding to level up their team. I also like the lack of held items as it means that a Pokémon’s stats are entirely reliant on how you raise it and how much effort you put into the game.

I also love the fact that the Legendaries have been set up effectively as raid battles – the old system where you had to try to reduce their health to a slither and then catch them was pretty awful, repetitive and frankly, unenjoyable.

Despite what many people think, I believe Pokémon Let’s Go will outsell the traditional core games. The reality is that the usual games are catering to an ever dwindling audience – and Gamefreak is right to seek to appeal to more children, casual players and Go players.

I played the original Red and Blue games 20 years ago and I am seriously hyped for these games. Can't wait to pre-load on my Switch later this month.

I should add that the Core series up to date has been very well done. But, it is time for a change. Seriously - people who complain about the lack of wild battles should get over themselves. It was a means to an end - wild battles were invented for the 8 bit Gameboy which couldn't handle individual sprites very well. We are now 20 years down the line - if not a change now, then when?

At the end of the day, Gamefreak preserved the battling system which is the most important thing. As for wild battles, they were never that fun in the first place and got tedious very quickly.

@Yoshi87 The core game sales haven't been dropping though. Yeah, adding new people into the fold easier is great, but let's not act like Pokémon was on a precipice

Also I disagree about hold items being removed makes it more competitive. It removes options and strategies by having none

Still on the fence.

I don't think any of these things are good. The games were simple enough, and not difficult at all to understand. I mean, if we start sacrificing anything the last bit complicated about games in order to make it where no one has to learn to play them then we end up with games with no gameplay at all.

I get that diehard fans want to give these games coverage. It's understandable. It's also understandable that many of the actual fans of the games, myself included, see this and know if it's successful that this will be the future of Pokémon.

I don't care what mouthpiece they get to sprout how great it is, I don't have to and won't believe it. Typically, I would complain and still buy it, I'll admit, but I won't be doing that this time either because that will only encourage this approach.

I like the colors of the Pokémon Special Editon Switch. Reminds me of ice cream I ate during my Italy vacations when I was a child. Delicious ice.

This will be my first Pokemon title.

@Serebii Thanks for replying to me and I think your website is brilliant. I've been a fan of yours for many years, so please do keep up the good work.

Just to clarify, I didn't say that core game sales had been dropping, merely that the core games are appealing to an ever shrinking pool of people as most us that played the original Red & Blue games are now in our 30's and we first became addicted to the games as children. I think anything that appeals to the younger generation of gamers is a good thing.

I obviously put great weight on your opinion as you have actually played the games and must have got a good feel for them.

For me, I enjoyed Sun & Moon and have played the core series from the beginning. However, I never liked wild battles, so I just don't know why people have a problem with them going. Frankly, making the Exp share mandatory took away any challenge from grinding anyway (which was actually genuinely hard in Red & Blue as you had to balance levelling each Pokémon.

I love the competitive scene but I am just tired of how people cheat to get an advantage and think bringing the games back to basics, such as removing held items, helps remove that element.

That said, again I really appreciate you responding to me and all the best with the site. You really do a great job!

Will this game have online coop?

@saintayu,

Your one sale will make no difference to the future of the franchise,and GameFreak have allready said they are making a more mainline game for next year.

When the people who post on here and other forums state this game is not what anybody wants,they really mean it's not what they personally want,there is a difference.

These games will fly off the shelves on release and over ther holiday period.

I wasn’t too sure about this game at first and just thought about skipping it until a main game came around. But I kinda got interested after keeping a closer eye on it. I think I’ll go with the Pikachu version.

After countless hours of egg hatching, IV training, and 'catching em all' back in Crystal for the 2nd generation, I was pretty heartbroken when I learned that you couldn't transfer over to 3rd Gen games. I haven't touched a mainline pokemon game since, until Pokemon Go came out.

While I'm really not wanting to get back into an obsessive completionist mindset, I'm definitely more comfortable with a 3D remake of Yellow. My girlfriend has only ever played Go, so the multiplayer feature might be enough to drag her in.

Calling it now... about this time in a year or two we will both have been sucked into the 8th Gen Pokévoid entirely. This was Gamefreak's master plan from the start.

I'm really curious whether there will much in the way of added story elements compared to Gen 1 - hopefully not. I already can't muster the enthusiasm for a replay of Sun knowing that I'll have to spend half the game eating ice cream with Hau or whatever.

If they can get back to basics and recapture the straightforward adventuring of the early games, I'll be on board.

@chardir "Is it just me or do those joycon colours look like they're supposed to be yellow but one is badly discoloured?"

I assume you mean the left joycon attached to the switch? I agree, the colours are a bit crazy. The yellow and brown is supposed to represent pikachu, the brown being his/her brown stripes I guess, but I would have thought red to represent his/her cheek patches would have been a much more attractive colour combination. Even just both yellow would be more appealing to me.

...or red and white with black trim to represent the pokeball. That would be ace.

Everything in the new games seems generic and bland. I am tired of the franshise to be honest. After White/Black the series is not as good as it used to be. Sun/Moon have very slow unskippable cutescenes, the worst framerate I have seen on an AAA title, hold your hand way too much and look like a pixelated mess. Surely if you make it in the end or post game the game is more enjoyable but still... Anyway I am not interested in Lets go, I will wait to see what they will offer next.

We are getting the Switch bundle. I can’t wait to play this game with my kids. Plus it’s a fight every time on who gets to play the Switch we currently have. I am excited for this and the game next year.

It’s lacking features... but is still full priced. I’m not sure why that would be an awesome start?

Just wait for the main entry. Which will be priced the same and is a complete game.

I don't want to buy a whole new Switch even though it looks really nice as a Pokémon fan (and a lover of Pikachu). But I'd definitely love to buy the Pikachu & Eevee Joy Con. I hope they're sold separately from the console bundle.

@The_Mysteron It's yellow for Pikachu and brown for Eevee, which kind of makes sense, but out of context just looks like a really bad colour match.

The problem with point 1 is sure, it will reduce the shock.

But for the people who were overwhelmed by the jump from say, Gen 2 to 3? They couldnt cope with that. How will they manage going from 1 to 8?

As for the controller thing, given you can hold the player two controller and player one controller on your own in the same way many games are played normally...this can snap the game over your knee.

This all seems accessible but it doesnt answer the question of getting those fans to cope with the sheer jump

@chardir Sorry, you are correct. I was getting mixed up with the colours on the joycon strap, which is an awful brown to go with pikachu yellow. It was that which I think should be red.

What a piece of (casual game-) junk. Really, guys; you want to play this?

Pokemon For Babies. I will wait for the real Pokemon RPG

Sure, it is an 'easy entry point', but so was every game before it! The more I hear about this the more I am disappointed. I am a long time Pokemon fan, and Pokemon in my opinion, was already the right mix of casual and competitive. Everything has been dumbed down to the point that it is completely uninteresting to me. Hopefully the 2018 games are not such a disappointment.

Pre-ordered Let's Go Eevee for my son and me. He would always ask to play Pokemon Go when it first came out and he's never played any of the handheld games, so you can bet he's super excited for this. My wife is even interested in giving it a try and she's never played a Pokemon game before either.

I hope that this sells well enough that they make a Gold and Silver version, AFTER next year's gen 8, of course.

I’ve still never even downloaded PoGo and this game has zero appeal to me. Easy pass, honestly.

Now if I had a kid this would probably be what we hypothetically play together after completing Labo and getting tired of Mario Kart.

@johnvboy I don't understand why people feel the need to belittle others who don't want this game. It's groupthink at its finest. If multiple people are saying they don't want something, maybe there's more to it then just me, unless of course you meant to imply that the massive amount of negative feedback, which is mentioned in the article, is simply all mine?

I fail to see why you're so invested in just smearing high sales figures in people's faces. If you read my whole comment, you would see I mentioned that it's possible the games sales high. I just don't see how that does anything but push this further.

The fanbase reacted badly to SM and their ultra versions for basically the same thing, that they simplified an already simple game. It makes sense to suspect that using the same logic as displayed there and in this article that this game could impact the future of the franchise and the way it plays.

If you gave insider information please share or kindly stop dismissing people for saying things you don't want to hear.

@saintayu,

It's a small internet minority at best,most people that game weather it's on the Switch or Ps4 do not post on internet forums.

GameFreak want to grow the franchise so the best way to do this is to make a game that will appeal to a wider audience,then when they release the mainline game everybody is on the same page.

You tell me to dismiss what I do not like to hear,then yourself dismiss anything which is not what you personally want.

Reads like a zergnet article.

@johnvboy no I didn't tell you to dismiss it. I said you should stop dismissing people just because you're convinced it's a small internet minority. Reread my comment friend.

Lots of gamers post online, there's huge overlap between online forums and gaming and has been since the late 90's.

Gamefreak isn't attempting to expand anything, they're attempting to cash in on the success of Pokémon GO. They'll make much more money off this game then it, I'm sure, because PGO was made by a third party.

We know nothing about the mainline game yet. It's not a huge leap to think that they will let this influence it, especially if it makes a bunch of money.

Getting Pokémon Go players into the main series isn’t something needed to begin with and will probably fail regardless.

@saintayu,

It's still a small vocal minority..you can choose to believe this or not.

@johnvboy since you have proof of this, please show it. If not, stop saying it.

No core pokemon game was hard to get into. To use that argument is redundant when pokemon isn't that hard.

But whatever I'll just wait for the 2019 game, hopefully it doesn't end up like Let's Go.

@saintayu
Once again I completely agree with you, but as usual people are going to defend this game and attack your comments and say your words have no meaning because "the game is going to sell well anyway" (even though that point isn't even what we're arguing against).

@saintayu,

You don't need proof,Neogaf one of the biggest video game forums only has around 350,000 members,so can hardly class this as everybody.

I'm looking forward to this game, but I wish they added more Pokémon from other regions. It would be cool to use non Kanto Pokémon in these games.

I'm willing to give this a chance. I've been playing the core series since Gen 2 (but have owned/played Blue and Yellow) but never have played Pokemon Go due to a couple of reasons that aren't really related to the game (namely an unsupported phone platform until recently, plus the data usage). I'm willing to give these a chance since they do some things differently.

Y’know I’m all for making things simpler but if it’s one thing I see bought up on this that I’ll NEVER understand is the notion of Pokémon being daunting. Players are NEVER inundated with so much information at once, let alone the total Pokémon count because GF always spoon feeds features to you over the course of the game. They’ve even gone so far as removing the national dex. The only people who care anything about the abilities of the Pokémon beyond just keeping a mental note of what your team is capable of are the hardcore players. Who out here is throwing around information about how many abilities and items they are if they aren’t talking to the hardcore. I have 2 nieces and nephews who grew up with the games from gen 5 going into the Megas in gen 6. Why do we keep assuming our children are so dumb they can’t figure out the simplest things

Gamefreak literally told you we were getting a core game in 2019 and you guys still can't get over this game.

Just another lazy title from Nintendo. At least we will have one good 1st party title this year, and it comes out in December.

Pokémon already wasn’t daunting. Sun and Moon literally forced you through a tutorial aimed at fetuses.All you really need to play the game outside of competitive play is a pre-school level education. I was playing the originals before I was in school and those games were not nearly as forgiving as the modern titles.

@HollowGrapeJ I think the worry is that Masuda is talking like he thinks this is the direction the series should go in the future. Otherwise these games are harmless even if the concern leading to their creation was kinda silly.

@HollowGrapeJ Doesn't make this game not a waste of time and resources. And also it could've been good, without being a core game, too...

@Mew Honestly, this fanbase is pretty toxic. It's almost as divided as the Sonic fanbase.

Well yeah, if someone's only experience with playing Pokemon has been through Pokemon Go, then of course Let's Go will be the easiest for them to play.

But is it really the best entry point? None of the Pokemon main series games are complicated from a casual playing perspective, and I'd argue a good game is a better point to get into the series.

@RadioHedgeFund I think this is the first time I've ever seen someone say they are happy that a Pokemon game doesn't have secret bases. I'm honestly shocked.

@Fuz Preach.

I'm excited for this one, maybe not as excited as a new mainline title, but this game looks fun enough. My first Pokemon title was Yellow back in 1999, so this will have some nostalgia attached to it for me. I've played all the Pokemon generations since and I'm not too bothered that this is more of a casual game.

To me, Pokemon has never been a hard RPG series, for those who played Red/Blue/Yellow as kids, we remember it being hard but those original games were unbalanced.

@greengecko007 you’re not the same greengecko that used to haunt the BTmusic forums circa 2000-2004 are you? Along with Carlos, Elitegoalie and BlissfulBubbles?

Pretty much any Gen 4, Gen 5, Gen 6, or Gen 7 main game is 'the perfect entry point' for the series, if not an infinitely better entry point. And I still don't think as many people are going to go from a free-to-play game to a $60 game on a $300 console as Nintendo/Game Freak thinks.

I don’t understand why people act like Pokémon is so hard to pick up and understand! I hadn’t played a Pokémon game since Yellow’s original release before jumping into Sun/Moon. Wasn’t really much of a learning curve. My 6 & 4 year old boys first Pokémon games were Sun/Moon. They didn’t find it difficult to understand and play. This isn’t rocket science. Don’t think there was a real need to simplify the game any more for new comers. If a 1st grader & pre-schooler can pick it up, anyone can.

@HollowGrapeJ And like Sonic, Pokemon has been wildly inconsistent in its gameplay, adding and removing features as the developers see fit. Is it any wonder why the fanbases are so toxic?

I know this was a guest article, but jeez, it read like a sales pitch. That's supposed to be Nintendo's/TPC's job. No thanks, I will wait for the true mainline entry next year. And no, Let's Go is not mainline. The way some interpreted the English translation of the E3 Let's Go presentation was based on a misunderstanding of how Japan perceives the franchise.

That said, I'm sure that many newer players will be able to enjoy Let's Go. I'm sure it will also sell very well. However, there are a couple reasons why Let's Go may not have the same impact as the mainline series.

1. Switch costs $300

A true mainline Pokemon series entry has never debuted on a console costing $300+ throughout the world (outside Japan). It's always been on a console costing closer to $100 for the baseline SKU. There's no way that many parents who would be buying Pokemon for their children would also be willing (or perhaps even economically able) to pony up $300 for a device dedicated purely to gaming. Especially in cases with multiple children who each want their own console.

Until a cheaper, portable focused SKU of the Switch is released, most likely next year leading up to the release of the next mainline Pokemon entry, the cost of the console is out of reach for a significant portion of the young target audience. However, this leads into the next point...

2. Let's Go uses the JoyCon motion controls

This reason isn't important for the way that motion control naysayers present it. I've enjoyed motion controls since the Wii, and frankly, I think they still have not been utilized to their potential even to this day. However, the use of motion controls in Let's Go may yet present a potential conundrum to future prospective players.

If the 2019 portable focused Switch SKU does away with the JoyCons as part of cutting production costs to bring the price of the console down to under $200, the controls for catching Pokemon will be broken. This is corroborated by the explanation of how catching Pokemon works in portable mode:

“In handheld mode with both Joy-Con attached – you are still required to move around to aim, but you press a button to throw the Pokéball. It is not touch screen like on a smartphone because the Switch is quite a bit heavier than your smart phone.”

Now, one may ask, why would JoyCon functionality be removed in a portable focused SKU? Look to their standalone MSRP: $80. They represent the most expensive mandatory controller tech in a mainstream console. Replace them with normal controls in a revised portable console version, and voilà, the initial MSRP of the console can be dropped by at least $50. Chuck the dock and perhaps make other sacrifices, and the MSRP of the Switch can be dropped to under $200. A much more accessible price point for Pokemon's target audience.

There's just one problem. You need the JoyCon tech to properly play games like Let's Go. This presents one of two paths: either make the portable focused SKU more economically accessible to mainline Pokemon players and relegate full functionality in games like Let's Go into add-on territory, or keep the JoyCons as part of the full package, and potentially alienate the lesser off among the target audience.

I'm guessing Nintendo will choose the former option.

Those are the two big points, but I will also throw out a third point which is more subjective:

3. Pokemon 1st gen was actually a LOT easier than some people seem to think, even for children

Just think about it. Back in the day, 80s/90s kids were hardened by the 3rd and 4th generations of consoles having many rather difficult games. Even the ones which weren't terribly difficult could still require trial and error, and a gradual learning experience.

By the time Pokemon released outside Japan in 1998, I and many others who were between 6-16 years of age at the time breezed right through it. Pokemon Red/Blue was a total cakewalk compared to the Final Fantasies, Dragon Quests, Phantasy Stars, et al.

The capturing and battle mechanics were straight forward, and explained on a basic level without holding your hand. Without any self-imposed difficulty rules like Nuzlocke, Set turn style only, no healing items in battle, no grinding above the next Gym leader's highest level Pokemon, and saving only at Pokemon Centers, the game mechanics were incredibly forgiving. It was only marginally more difficult than FF Mystic Quest, and that's saying something.

And yet, there is at least more than zero challenge throughout even a basic "handicapped" run of the mainline series. To reduce the difficulty by making changes like turning wild encounters into non-battles, just simply capturing Pokemon after seeing and running into them (which has the side effect of killing Nuzlocke), doesn't simply ease newcomers into the series. It coddles them to the point of protecting them from experiencing challenges. That doesn't encourage growth in the player, but rather just going through the motions.

Challenges and problem solving are a big part of what makes games memorable. The more those elements are cut down, the less potential they have to stick in the player's mind. (Though there is a balance to be struck, depending on the player.) Just look at the derivative Pokemon Go. Tons of people played it at first due to nostalgia, then most of the user base dropped it like a rock after they tired of it's shallow mechanics. Pokemon Go didn't stick in players' minds like the mainline series did.

So... I dunno, who knows, maybe Let's Go will branch off into a long running parallel series. But if it's going to stand the test of time in peoples' minds, it needs to... Evolve, from it's current state.

Speaking of evolution, Eevee is the Evolution Pokemon, but in Let's Go... Your starter can't evolve! It's like they have an Everstone implant! WTF?

@NIN10DOXD LMAO! The tutorial was too easy and boring even for babies, so they had to start tailoring them for people who aren't even born yet... XD

@HollowGrapeJ ..I.. are you implying I'm being toxic?

@Mew You aren't. I'm mostly referring to people making a huge uproar about this game.

@HollowGrapeJ If people can make a huge uproar about Nintendo's mediocre online, why can't the same be done for GF's mediocre pokemon??

@HollowGrapeJ I had no idea the fan base was divided. At least on this topic. Most people simply either aren’t that excited for this entry or are worried about the changes. I think some people go a little too far to hate on a game they probably won’t even play, but to a degree a developer should be held accountable if the fans don’t like what they are making.

@Mew Because this isn't replacing the core game releasing next year. I really wouldn't like if this was the only thing we got, but they've confirmed the Pokémon most of us do want is already in the works.

Once I got that confirmation, I was alright. But some others still hold a grudge against this game. Like, who cares? Let the Let's GO players do their thing while we get ours next.

@NIN10DOXD Like I said, this fanbase is divided. I guarantee you the core game is not going to satisfy some of the same people complaining about this. Whether it's the new Pokémon designs, the region, the story, Mega Stones, etc.

I’m still on the fence about this one, it looks great (I like the cartoony style), but not being able to use the pokemon i have had for years and lovingly transferred from game to game is a bit of a downer, of all the daunting things to new players i doubt the number of pokemon is a big issue...

I think lots of people are bitter about the “Let’s go”-games because it took resources away from the mainline games to make it, and let’s be honest here: the main reason “pokemon go” got so popular was because pretty much everybody already has a cellphone, spending €360 or so on a Switch and game just to “take the next step” will be too big an expenditure for lots of them...

@iLikeUrAttitude thanks and yeah I don't really understand. They also act as though only 5 people feel this way despite most of the comments being negative even here on a site that is almost always mostly positive about anything Nintendo.

@johnvboy you realize no everyone is going to a member of every site right? I don't have an account there and many many others don't as well.

@saintayu,

I will say it again,although I do feel I am wasting my time,the wider video game market does not post on video game forums,so saying we on here and other forums is representative of the whole video game market is false.

Our concerns are no less legitimate,but I will guarantee you that it will make little difference in what GameFreak end up doing with the franchise,and any sales as a result.

@johnvboy and I will say it again. Gamers are involved on the internet in a larger concentration than many many other focus groups. There is an obvious overlay between gaming and computers, duh, but also one between online forums for expression and gamers. It's not hard to see.

Your ridiculous and, until the game is released, unfounded claims of massive success are false. We have no idea how it will do and all I've said is that I personally won't buy it. You're claiming everyone else will so the burden of proof is on you.

@saintayu,

Lets wait and see fella.

I disagree with this approach. Nintendo will never get the mobile gamers to spend 400$ for the switch+the game so they can play a "real" pokemon game. Ok many new people discovered pokemon thought the AR game but i seriously doubt thats the core audience the mainline series needs to target on. Doesn't matter what i say, or even what executives or other users say. Only sales will tell if its the right or wrong approach.

@RadioHedgeFund Sorry, but no. Don't know what that is, or who those users are.

@Lizuka : I bought my sister a 2DS with Pokémon Sun and she's been able to play it without my assistance.

She suffers from numerous impairments, including physical, mental, and intellectual (I would use the medical terms in order to be more specific, but there are certain imbeciles out there keen on destroying our ability to communicate) as well as strabismus. Due to her spasticity (resulting in her poor hand-eye coordination), she has always struggled with analogue controls (as she is frequently entering the wrong menu or input by mistake), but I am quite proud of her for managing to get as far as she has in the game, and I emphasise, without my assistance. She is past the halfway point now.

She also hasn't played a main series game since Pokémon Silver (and she is one of those people who threw her Master Ball at a Rattata in Tin Tower ).

If she can play a main series game without issue, then there is NO excuse for Game Freak dumbing down the series to the ridiculous degree that they have. I'm looking forward to the games and all, but I am also extremely disappointed.

@Bolt_Strike You’re proving your point with the toxicity

@Entrr_username Again, it's more Game Freak's fault than the fanbase's fault. Most of the complaints against the modern Pokemon games aren't exactly unreasonable or contradictory, Game Freak is just too incompetent to balance the fans' expectations.