Pokémon Sword And Shield Is Getting An Expansion Pass, And It Looks Mighty

National Dex pokemon and postgame content are now put behind a thirty dollar paywall, and people are going to pony up the money for a part of the game that was always part of the base game before. This is the new EA.

I call ripoff.

Extortionate DLC for a game that many have said is too short, and including Pokemon that should have been present from the start. Dearie me.

Looks like a way to sell us the pokemon they cut from the game under the guise of an expansion to me

@kenyowa After DLC releases you can trade the Pokémon using the free update.

That was...kinda wild and unexpected. I will say this. The optics to this aren't that great looking. But to GFs credit, they are at least allowing those who don't buy the expansion packs to have access to those additional Pokémon.

With that being said, I'll probably buy the expansion pass....

Pokémon: Pay Now
Pokémon: Pay Later

So the reason they prevented the rest of the Pokémon from being available on the main game was for DLC. Not because of “balancing” and other BS reasons. Even then they’re only going to add about 200 Pokémon.

@kenyowa

Right. And there was all that nonsense about game balance. It was to make more money.

So Hyped. Already buying 'em.

Pokemon turned into a yearly edition garbage like FIFA ! Next Gen we even gonna get micro transactions:3

Why bother patching in old pokemon when you can sell them in an expansion pass? GG GameFreak.

I thought Sword/Shield was pretty good. Sort of crappy that we are now going to be getting our pokemon in dlc chunks though.

Irritated. I understand the decision. I get it that the game sold well and there is opportunity there. I didn't enjoy Sword and Shield but gave the benefit of the doubt because they are getting used to new hardware. But to put content that longtime fans are used to getting for free (all pokemon/ national dex debacle) and locking areas behind a paywall seems like a stupid move that is going to divide the fanbase even further. Yes, it's still Pokemon. Yes, people will still pay for it. You could even make a case that this will make the next game better due to the extra work they are putting in. But, how many times can you give them the benefit of the doubt. For a game with trees that look dreadful and pretty average graphics across the board, paid DLC is tough to take

@Hobbesyall Pokémon has been a yearly release since X & Y

It's the end of an era. Kingdom Hearts 3 didn't get a separate Final Mix, now it doesn't look like SW&SH is getting a third version.

Now if we could just get Atlus to follow suit.

I am as big a Pokémon fan as they come, but the only way they can redeem themselves at this point is if they issue a complete physical package with all of the content on the cartridge by the end of the year. I don't begrudge others from wanting a cheaper downloadable alternative, but there ought to be traditional physical releases as well.

In one fell swoop, they have destroyed 20+ years of goodwill.

I have been buying both versions since the DS era, and in the case of Sword/Shield, the double pack, as well as an extra copy of Shield for my sister.

You don't get to sell us what amounts to the same game twice and pull this crap on us. That's approximately AU$45 per pass (in comparison, past physical releases of Pokémon games were typically AU$50-60 at launch, and they were complete games!) And the Direct said that the passes cost US$29.95 each. The other version should damn well cost nothing more, especially as it is not a physical product, and the difference between the two passes are negligible.

Damn you, Game Freak.

People don’t know how to pay attention. These 200 Pokémon are NOT being hidden behind a paywall, they are coming in a free update. You can catch them in the expanded areas or transfer them from Pokémon Home. Same as much of the National Pokédex in any gen.

Yeah, I'd say this amount of content so soon after release date is fishy. This was clearly a finished product that was withheld from the base game.

I'll gladly pay for content that the DEVs clearly made after release, like the Octo Expansion for Splatoon 2, but this makes me hesitate.

Will be purchasing both of them!

Nice! If at the end of this year, I can get the whole experience at once, I´ll dive into this generation. I didn´t buy them yet, I think I did right, I didn´t want to play (and pay) just a part of the whole game...

Plus, those new "Wild Areas" look awesome. This is what I expected from the base game.

I don't mind the idea of DLC in itself but them being set on a area similar to the wild area is a major bummer, still sorta excited to give it a shot though but I doubt the "campaign" portion of the DLC will be longer than a few hours sadly.

Really like the look of the new areas. Still hope multiplayer gets a bit of an overhaul though.

@ShadJV,

Exactly, just like the mass hysteria about the Pokemon sword and shield games in the first place, then it turns out it's not actually mass hysteria as it's only a few whining people on the internet, and the rest of the mass buying Pokemon fans buy the games and enjoy them, just like the masses will love all these new announcements and the extra DLC packs, of course the whingers will then retreat with the whole tried and tested line, that all the mass market Pokemon buyers are stupid and do not realize they are buying rubbish, just so they can feel good when clearly everybody else is having a great time, and of course the sales figures do not back up their lame arguments.

The core Pokemon fans are sooooo predictable, but always a great source of entertainment on internet forums.

@BenAV Oh god! Jeez Louise.

@AlexSora89 I highly doubt that this DLC wasn’t being worked on alongside the games themselves. This was always part of the plan and isn’t there entire Pokedex anyways. They held back 200 Pokémon to release alongside their DLC. But you can fit it to your narrative if you want. I’m sure a lot of people will.

Good: No Third Version, u can obtain the "new" pokemon even if u don't own the dlc, the content looks nice

Con: Its basically the missing post game (and pokemon) from SWSH sold for 30€

Game remains on ebay

Yeah I dunno. I really liked my time with Sword and Shield until I got to the end and realized there was a complete lack of content. We paid $60 for a game that had less content than a $40 Pokémon game, and now that it's been out for 2 months they're telling us we can pay for the rest of it? I just don't know

I was JUST about to finally get on board with Pokemon game too. Oh well, saved myself $60 + $30.

They deliver a half-baked game and then throw an expansion pass at us.

Brilliant.

This is AMAZING!

If the whole National Dex is added in these updates I'll buy the game and all the DLC immediately; what Pokemon has been to me just isn't the same without it.

But failing that, these do look cool for people who already have the game, better than a full price "ultra" game to be sure. Hopefully they FINALLY add back the Battle Frontier.

Why is everyone complaining? Yes the DLC might be a bit overpriced for someone who isn’t a massive fan like me, but Game Freak heard the complaints about Dexit and are now fixing it. And if they were to add new/old Pokémon, it was always going to be through paid DLC; Game Freak aren’t a charity. They’re not going to be giving away hundreds of Pokémon for free! Stop complaining and be happy you actually got your way!

@AlexSora89,

You have won nothing, and in case you are unaware I will spell it out for you, GameFreak do not care about what amounts to a few wingers on the internet, the mass market these games are actually aimed at will love this DLC just like the Pokemon Sword and Shield games themselves, and the moaners will complain time and time again, not realizing that it makes no difference, they would be much better off moving on and not buying a game designed for children that they personally hate.

Everyone here is overreacting. Instead of forcing us to dole out another 60 for a 'third entry 'that wouldn't add much new gf is instead releasing the '3rd entry' to gen 8 as 30 dollar dlc. This is great news and exactly the opposite of what EA would ever do with any of their franchises. Can't believe some people are comparing gf to them.

I'm genuinely disgusted by this. The game is extremely barebones, and now you have to pay extra for what is essentially the rest of the game. I wasn't the biggest Pokemon fan, but any goodwill for the franchise is well and truly gone now.

Should have been free, especially with the increased price of Sword and Shield to begin with but this is better than a third version and the new content does look intriguing.

@TJC04,

Because they like to complain, and the the vocal internet minorities, who hate these new games so much they will never see any good in them no matter what.

@Franz The following is from the article, "If you don't want to buy the Expansion Pass, you'll still be able to obtain these new Pokémon thanks to a free update which will be launching alongside the Pass."
You and a few more commenting here should actually try reading articles before straight up lying about the additional Pokémon being paid DLC.

So that's 60 bucks per game, plus 30 bucks for the expansion pass, one for each game. 180 bucks for the full experience.

And STILL not every Pokémon is in there.

Hahahahaha GameFreak. If I ever still wanted to get Pokémon Sword/Shield, now I definitely do not want them ever. Give them to me for free, and maybe I'll want them. Otherwise, no. I'm absolutely done with mainline Pokémon games.

Thanks for ruining the franchise for me!

200+ Pokemon in each expansion or total? Is the expansion pass $30 usd each or $30 usd total?

Well I don't have the game so yea, but it's Kool to just add expansion passes to the game as DLC . Maybe the dlc will add some more stuff to the base game, aside from new locations and pokemon, like maybe updates in animation, or character interactions, designs, etc. (cause the 3rd games usually do that).

But patches are good too.

@graysoncharles Worth every penny.

@johnvboy
And yet what Masuda swore Game Freak would never do - patching the missing Pokémon in, that is - is exactly what's happening. What even were the odds?

@RainbowGazelle,

Don't buy it then, nobody is forcing anybody to buy a game that they do not like, it's a personal choice, if these games and their DLC does not cater to all your entitled whims, than boycott it, I know I would.

Looks good! Can't wait for my Dragon team to take on some new challenges. Fingers crossed all the previous starters get ported over. Need me some Totodile.

I do find it ironic that a Pokémon game set in a facsimile of the UK gets the same DLC pattern as Fable 2!

So if you own both Sword and Shield, and want the expansion, do you have to buy it twice?

@Silly_G Just to clarify. The pass is $29.99 for whatever game you choose. Purchasing the singular pass, you get both expansions included. That's at least what I took from it. Or did I completely misunderstand and miss something?

@AlexSora89,

The original Pokemon fans have grown up and moved on, well at least most of them have, GameFreak have to cater to the mass market fans.

The dlc expansion packs should be free.

I was joking when I said "can't wait for them to announce stuff that should've already been in the game" but wow, I was actually right

@LegendOfPokemon Do you work for free? I don't ever get it that "dlc should be free". Sure an update is ofcourse free, and they are adding the DLC Pokémn as an update as well. But the DLC also has new gameplay content, which actually need to be developed. So you should pay for that.

About the price, it's € 15 per DLC (2 packs). Not too bad.

@gaga64 yes. Sword & Shield are technically different games.

@BenAV I'd ah rather use that money to uh, eat? But hey, to each their own.

€30 is cheaper than a new game and rather than starting your story all over again you get to carry your current save data over into new story's

On the other hand the game is notably much smaller than many other first party switch games in the first place

Typical Nintendo life praising this but we all know if it wasn't a Nintendo exclusive they would be doing a article in how bad it is

This really looks fantastic. 30 dollars for two great looking expansions, and people are complaining they should be free?
All of this new content looks really great, and will keep me playing this game for a long long time.

Pokémon Live Sevice

@johnvboy Entitled? For wanting a finished game?!

I bought the game at launch, and loved the main story and the new Pokemon. But the experience was far too short for the price they charged. Get off your high horse and accept that some people are unhappy with GameFreak for clearly rushing the game, then charging extra for the rest of it. If you like it, great, but don't try to rile up people who are already unhappy. What's the point?

@johnvboy
Then what would newcomers such as "mass market fans" even know about, say, Xerneas and Yveltal?

This was a nice direct. Much better expansions than I hoped for

...So people got what they wanted (200 pokémon, and I won't be surprised if that number will increase in future updates), and they can transfer them and trade them to their game without the expansions. Even so, they just direct their complains at something else.

In short, I see complaining for the sake of complaining

I don´t feel pity for the people that paid 60 for the base game and complained. I mean, they knew what they were doing.
Well, deal with it now. This expansion included to the whole game experience is what you get when you wait. As usual.

Oh look, content that would have been in the base game if DLC, Gacha, and other scummy practices were regulated.
Don't bother trying to @ me, Nintendo Defense Force.

I'm what quite a few have described as a cynic, but I am genuinely taken aback by the level of nakedly brazen venality on display here from Game Freak.

@johnvboy Yep, shame on us for wanting a finished product.

@RupeeClock you Sir are absolutely correct this is shady at best and GF is proving to be almost as bad as EA and Activision

Notice how they didnt show much gameplay. Yup, thanks for not adressing the issues and making us pay 30 extra bucks for what should have been in the base game

@OldMcGroin You’re wrong, but I forgive you.

I know you can get the Pokémon through trading. I watched the video. But to get the Pokémon YOURSELF, that’s behind a paywall.

Maybe the next time you accuse someone of being a liar, check in with them about what they mean. Peace and love, bro.

Everyone is in a rage because the 200+ old Pokemon being added are supposedly behind a paywall.

I guess the part where they said they could be transferred for free through Home/Bank and trading no longer exists?

@RainbowGazelle,

Yup entitled whiners, they are fans of a game not the developers, it's GameFreak's franchise and they can do what they want, not saying you guys can't complain, well you would complain anyway so it makes little difference.

I initially defended Sword and Shield before, but I won't do it here.

I also won't chide anyone that does want this expansion.

@Kalmaro,

I have no issue with you fella, so I will not reply, but it is what it is, at some point you all have to just accept it.

Ah the usual array of complaining.

@AlexSora89

What did you win exactly? The people who bought the games didn't give two hoots about you and the rest of the whiners.

Are you now gonna buy the games and the DLC? That will show everyone!

Get a life.

I like the Urshifu design. 😀

Looks like Panda version of Ryu Hoshi Street Fighter.
Gonna get all Expansion Pass once all the new contents already available. 😁

@AlexSora89,

If you feel these games are being designed with the original Pokemon fans in mind, and GameFreak have somehow not understood their needs, then I can't help you, because this is clearly not the case.

@johnvboy I wouldn't "complain anyway" if I feel I got my money's worth. I don't. Simple. People don't whine just because. That's a miserable existence. I'm going to accept that Game Freak clearly aren't interested in my money anymore, and I'll leave the franchise for other games.

Just wait for the $60 Complete Edition. Pokémon fans will literally explode with anger.

These new packs look awesome, and their dedication to the franchise is staggering, these will not only add to an already awesome game, but will bring more sales too.

30$ for two areas lol.

The sad thing is that most people will buy it. Well played Game Freak.

The returning Pokemon are behind either paid DLC, or an awful online trading system.

@heiko

Most people will not. I would be surprised if 10% of the market bought it.

@Yorumi,

There you go again, calling all the genuine mass Pokemon fans suckers, just because they dare to have a different opinion than yours, and actually like a game you do not.

@the_beaver Everyone was telling complainers that they weren’t allowed to dislike the game if they hadn’t bought it. So they did, and now those same people are saying that they’re not allowed to dislike the games since they bought them.

You hypocrites! Take the log out of your eye before removing the speck in ours.

@Franklin,

I don't know if I missed this i the direct, you are not forced to buy any of this, are you?.

Eh. I'll stick to the older games and some rom hacks that I've found.

Game FrEAk has lost their minds.

@johnvboy No. The Pokemon can be obtained from trading. So you don't have to buy the pass

I might wait a few months after tax seasons to check these out, still had many other worthy titles to get before these.

Personally I don't care about catch all 1.8m Pokemon- paid DLC or not.

I got it for Christmas and I'm planning to play it for 40 or so hours then finish it in January.

It's an alright game. In moderation.

@-Juice-,

I do not remember saying anybody can't hate these games,in fact form the time I have spent in these comment sections, and various other internet forums, it seems to be the complainers getting their knickers in a twist because everybody does not feel the way they do.

@RupeeClock this small handheld company as one of the most recognizable franchises and have now shamelessly proceed to milking it with zero care for deliviring a complete and polished game ! They aren’t yet at the level of the companies I mentioned , you are right, but baby steps, they’re on the right track !

@liljmoore,

Exactly, the moaners complaining for the sake of complaining, nothing new there then.

@Bliquid,

On my break fella so at a lose end, you on the other hand must have loads to do, you know posting on a comment section.

@Anti-Matter Considering it's doing Baji-Quan, wouldn't it be more Akira Yuki than Ryu?

@Bliquid,

Found a bit more time fella, I think you should just move on and stop complaining about a children's game.

@Yorumi

Admittedly I am just having fun too as I have never even played a Pokemon game bar a demo so have no real horse in this race. End of the day millions of people have just been enjoying the games whilst a very small minority, on both sides, are still losing their minds about this nonsense.

Life is too short to be this wound up about a videogame.

Okay the people complaining about this are missing two things mainly

1. This is pretty much the third game in the series

2. They stated clearly you don't need the DLC to obtain the new Pokemon and that you can just as easily get them via trade or importing from Home

I generally have no problem with DLC as long as the content justifies the asking price

I'm doing with this what I should have done with Shield to begin with and voted with my wallet and not bought it.

@Yorumi,

Oh the insults continue, but when we get down to it it's you that need to grow up and stop getting all heated over a kids game.

FYI if you want to obtain the Pokemon returning in the expansion pass (assuming you're not going to trade for them), you need to pay for Pokemon Home and Pokemon Bank (if you're transferring from a Gen V, VI or VII game) or just Home (if you're transferring from Go or LGPLGE) to even be able to transfer your Pokemon to SwSh.

@RupeeClock Bingo

@johnvboy
"Moaners complaining for the sake of complaining, nothing new there then."
Um... most what I've seen here are good arguments for wanting a better product.

@Wolfgabe But if you're transferring from Home, you still need to pay for the service and potentially Bank, so technically it's not free.

A DLC (even a paid DLC) that adds extra content is, at least to me, a much better alternative to releasing a full-priced game that is essentially a director's cut, like USUM. $30 sounds steep and I'm not a huge fan of Pokemon doing paid DLCs, but that's half the price of a new Switch game and I can continue from the same save data instead of having to start over just to get to new post game content. I'm excited for it.
And if you don't want to pay for a DLC, you can still transfer the additional Pokemon from your old games via Pokèmon Home or trade with other people, so Gamefreak isn't actually forcing anyone to pay them $30 for extra Pokemon.

Actually not the worst deal. The fact that Sword/Shield should have had a new area, added Pokemon, legendaries (something that was present in ALL old Pokemon post-games) still sticks out to me and makes me think that one of these should have been base game, but ultimately we're paying $30 for what would have been a $60 third version.

@Wolfgabe,

You forget these complainers have spent ages getting all worked up over these games, and feel GameFreak is personally trying to upset them, they are so blinded by their hate of these games that no matter what GameFreak now do will be pointless.

@sanderev This expansion pass is essentially postgame content that previous games had in a full $40 package, when SwSh plus the expansion pass costs $90 in total. Obviously, developers should be paid for their work but I'm not sure if the value of SwSh deserves such a massive price increase.

@Luffymcduck,

The better product is argument is so lame, no matter what game had come out they would have still complained, so no wonder GameFreak does not even try to cater for these people, as it would be an impossible task.

Well, this is definitely polarizing. Can anyone clarify what they meant by $30 each?

@WreckitRyan,

Does that not mean they will cost £30 each.

@WreckitRyan If you have Sword and Shield, you need to pay for the pass for both games separately, not together.

@SBandy
I'm glad you're having fun with it. Still doesn't mean you can't argue about having a better product. Yeah, life might be too short so you should only play the best games available. Many people on this site have played a lot of previous Pokemon games and are unhappy with the direction this series has taken.

@Kalmaro "Pokémon Live Sevice"

I wrote "Pokemon-as-service" in the live chat and somebody replied "that's the stupidest thing I've read all day". I told them not to worry, the day was young yet, and well, here we are.

@ryancraddock I know you're a Pokemon guy and treating the 2 games as one has always been the way, but reading this article knowing there are 2 expansion passes for sale - $30 for Shield, $30 for Sword - for those who already paid $120 for the base games, well it was giving me a headache reading it as one, starting with the "an" in the title.

"Pokémon Sword And Shield are each Getting their own $30 Expansion Pass, And They Look Mighty"

That seems more accurate. Nintneod really should have made 1 pass that worked for each game, like the "3rd game" they talked about in the video. People who paid $120 for 2 basically the same game now need to spend another $60 for 2 expansion passes to play each game. That seems kinda crummy. And not how I read the article.

I'm ok with 2 games, Sword and Shield, being written as one, that's the Pokemon history, but 2 separate $30 expansion passes should be written about separately just so people know. Kinda feels like the article is glossing over that fact, reads like 1 expansion pass for either game, buy once, play with either. That's how I read it anyway.

Edit: To be fair to you, and Nintneod isn't helping themselves with this 2x2 announcement, people in the comments seemed confused by the "$30 each" Nintendo is promoting as they promote 2 expansion components, 1 in spring, 1 in fall. People seem confused if each component is $30 or if not, why are there 2 expansion passes? Announcing 2 components, and 2 separate passes for each game at the same time probably needed more explanation on Nintneod's part.

@TheDragonDAFan,

No, I only told people who had resorted to insults to grow up, I think they can complain as much as they like, hell if they didn't where would the entertainment come from?.

@johnvboy

Nor are you forced to read or reply to comments.

The idea that lack of coercion should limit freedom of expression is ridiculous.

The absolute state of pokémon in 2020 and the nerve of gamefrEAk. Sword will be my last game in the series, I swear.

@Harmonie,

Total agreement with you, these will offer a lot for the money.

Why people get butthurt when others call Ninty games (pokemon included) "children's games" but proceed to use that as an exuse to defend gamefreak's EA behavior is beyond me

As a casual fan of the Pokemon franchise on the outside looking in, you sure are a fickle lot. lol

@WreckitRyan Say you have only Pokemon Sword, you only need to buy the Expansion Pass for Pokemon Sword and get Parts 1 and 2 for $30.

I'm not sure where the controversy is here; I always thought that the Pokemon series was about community and collecting and ESPECIALLY trading. Doesn't this paradigm encourage that? Wouldn't you encourage friends to buy the opposite Pass (or just go online in the communities)? What am I missing here?

That political party is corrupt.

"Shut up, you're not forced to vote for them!"

@Franklin,

When have I ever said you could not comment or express yourself, but the complainers totally refuse to accept anyone's opinion that differs form theirs, double standards at their finest.

@Franklin,

Now you are being foolish, let's just leave it there.

People are acting like third versions/sequels never had Pokemon not available in the base games.

And while the post game in Sword and Shield was a little light, these expansions look pretty big. I kind of doubt they were cut from the main game.

@rjejr I'm just calling it like it is. We got a product that was rushed and felt unfinished and now we see why. They had time restraints and were planning DLC already.

@Yorumi

Except the people championing it are as just a minority as the people who are complaining about it.

99% of the games' sales were to people who didn't care either way. Pokemon is a mass market product before it is a super fan product. That was never going to change regardless of all the fights on the internet by the few, the games were always gonna sell like gangbusters. All this means all the petitions and ranting etc were completely pointless to be honest.

@Iacobus @TheDragonDAFan Thank you both for your help!

@WreckitRyan "Can anyone clarify what they meant"

It means, as it always has, that Nintendo is really good at getting the hype level up with these Directs and getting the big picture news out, but are very bad at explaining the finer details. Like how much does Home cost that launches next month? Or can we get the new 200 Pokemon in game ourselves w/o the pass, or can we only get them via trade if we don't pay?

In answer to your question - each Pokemon game on the eShop has it's own $30 pass. So if you have 1 game, you buy that expansion. Each $30 pass includes both parts. Which it seems won't be sold separetly. The parts, not the passes, which are sold separately for each game.

https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/pokemon-shield-switch/#add-on-content

https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/pokemon-sword-switch/#add-on-content

Mighty expensive. Yeah, I did pay 25 for the expansion pass for Dragon Quest Builders 2... because that game didn't feel incomplete at all. That's the difference.

Pokemon Sword is the first Pokemon game I have ever bought, and at 41 I did have the thought that maybe my money would have been better spent elsewhere, but as someone who has recently fallen back in love with Nintendo and is now financially better off I bought it and it is semi-boring, but playable. This expansion announced so soon after release kind of makes me feel like a mug for having bought the game and i would have been better buying dragon quest 11 or something. I think its my last Pokemon and I will ensure I trust reviews and user feedback more carefully and not get caught up in the hype.....until next time . I cant even justify it as my son is only 2!

@Luffymcduck

That is fine and I am not saying don't be annoyed about it, but it is the extent of the complaing really that I have to admit I found quite hialrious.

If a game series I am a fan of does the dirty on me then I just wont buy it and move on.

@SBandy
And that is just sad. Can't wait for looboxes in Gen 4 remakes.

At the end of the day, people have valid reasons for complaining and being upset and disappointed without being called names or shamed for doing so.

I bought Shield. It was fun in a basic Pokémon kind of way. But for a first effort on a home console (at least for a mainline game), it was a bit disappointing. And nothing in the games really justified why so many features from previous game were cut. That includes the Pokémon themselves. GF themselves made statement after statement in regards to this. Only for them to effectively reverse course with this announcement and with no real, transparent explanation why the decision was made in the first place. It's understandable why anyone would be annoyed and suspicious of them at this point.

Just the same, people have a right to enjoy and be satisfied with what the games turned out to be without being called names or shamed for doing so.

At least Home isn't too far off and we have about 5 months for much more info for these expansion packs to be revealed.

@SBandy,

They will never realize this, it's just people in bubbles speaking to similar people in similar bubbles.

@johnvboy

"the complainers totally refuse to accept anyone's opinion that differs form theirs"

When? They've reiterated their point of view and argued against yours. I've seen no logical response from you, just accusations of 'whining'. It's like the tautological 'haters gonna hate' nonsense in lieu of an actual argument.

You have described the complaints as entitled. It is not entitled to want express an opinion on a product.

"Now you are being foolish, let's just leave it there."
Says someone with no argument left.

"calling all the genuine mass Pokemon fans suckers, just because they dare to have a different opinion than yours, "

"they are trolls and haters"

The projection and hypocrisy here is astounding, apparently disapprove of ad hominem attacks, until you wish to label those with a different viewpoint to yours whiners, haters, and trolls.

@Luffymcduck

What is sad?

Read my reply Yorumi, in the end all the complaining was never going to make a difference as the mass market just didn't care about it. Harsh but true.

@Haywired
Oh, there will be for sure. And they will have separate DLC too because you can't argue against that because it makes you complainer.

@johnvboy

Aye probably. I can actually understand their annoyance but it is impotent, it won't change anything so the healthy thing to do is move on.

@UmbreonsPapa,

Sorry fella, there is no right to suggest validity to anybody's
complaints, it's all just personal opinions at the end of the day, forinstance if many people like this game and have no issues with it, then this too is valid, but only on a personal level.

@SBandy
Yeah, I was referring to that fact as sad. :/

@SBandy,

You will never convince them, even the great sales figures only go to show how many stupid people are out there, apparently

In all seriousness, all these constant complaining about the games can't be good for your physical or mental health. My best advice for you all is to be mature and move on if you don't like the products. I can't help you if you end up getting a gastric ulcer from all the comments you create.

Pokémon’s as mainstream as it gets and mainstream players pay up and up and up! Nothing’s too scammy for them

They try to exactly fix what people complained about. Lack of content, missing Pokemon, "Ultra" edition full price, game issues such as Gigantamax raids, Gigantamax evolutions for Squirtle and Bulbasaur, and so on. This time you dont need to purchase a whole new fullprice game to get new content. Its half priced as a season pass and they actually start to listen to the community.

Yeah, I know. Some might think that they planned this right from the start but how would you know? Maybe they actually do this because of the backlash. Either way it should be a cool thing for fans.

The comments are filled with senseless hating once again. Dont you millenials have something else to do like paying for your newest mobile phone game currency? Im getting tired of this. Is it cool to hate anything nowadays? If you dont like the franchise, move on and play whatever you want...

@Franklin,

The complainers always refuse to see why people like these games, and always fail to see they are in the minority for not liking them, at one point before these games were released there was a suggestion by them that everybody felt like they did, when in fact they did not.

My "Leave it there" comment was because you made an unrelated foolish comment.

@NinChocolate,

Guess you are not buying them then.

@NINtendo242,

Haters will always hate, but during the actual direct I thought people would be happy with all the work and effort that was going into this, of course stepping back form an internet minority comment section, most mass market Pokemon fans will be over the moon with this.

@Kalmaro @Yorumi
You two keep complaining about Pokemon Sword / Shield. 🤨
I have finished Pokemon Sword last 1 January 2020 and i have enjoyed the game with just the way it is quality.
I saw some flaws but still tolerable for me.
As long the game is not broken, i'm already content.
I didn't even mind about Dexit.
Luckily, i still able to build my old team with consist the Pokemons i can found them from the Route i have visited.

You two can keep complaining all you can and it just only show how immature two of you.

@johnvboy
"You will never convince them, even the great sales figures only go to show how many stupid people are out there, apparently."

So... does this mean that no one can have any arguments against Minecraft for example, just because it's the best selling game of all time?

Really... no way anyone can keep complaining about season pass from any other 3rd party publisher at this point.

This is the same, "cut from game, sell it later in a season pass" system to the dot.

I personally have no problems with it. Not played it yet - so just more content when I get to it.

@johnvboy

"you made an unrelated foolish comment."

And yet you failed to demonstrate as such.

Most of your comments seem foolish to me.

@Anti-Matter
I'm glad you liked it. Not everyone does. Doesn't make either of their arguments immature though.

@Yorumi Except now multiple profiles can use the same copy of the game and have their own save file, unlike before where the game would save directly to the cartridge so each person would need their own copy.

@Luffymcduck

He seems to set a lot of value in being the majority, which is ironic as his view is so unpopular here.

I think an argument should stand on it's own merits, but this is his logic undermining him.

@Franklin,

Your comment mentioned voting for someone, not related to the discussion.

my biggest gripe is that there is a pass for each game, instead of just one pass to cover both. So instead of paying $30 and the pass works for both Sword and Shield, you have to shell out $60. Sadly I'll still probably buy it, but might wait until Fall when both parts are out.

@johnvboy

It's a comparison to demonstrate a logical point.

So if I mention the story of the emperor's new clothes, and compare it to modern art on an art forum, it's the point of the story that's pertinent.

The fact that the forum has nothing to do with clothes or emperors does not weaken the point.

So no third version for Sword and Shield then? That's cool

Well, that was huge

Starting with the pros... I knew this would happen! I knew Game Freak would release new expansion content alongside free updates to keep Sword and Shield alive even more than how it would be (online features always keep Pokémon alive), this also leaves the door open for future possibilities for the rest of the Eight Generation

Leaving hype aside, didn't Sugimori once said that paid DLC would "ruin" the worldview of the franchise?
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/10/pokemon_developers_paid_dlc_could_ruin_the_worldview_of_the_franchise
Of course, this is a bit different since you're not just paying for new Pokémon, but I fell this will divide some people.
Speaking about the content, I hope they haven't revealed everything yet, that price looks seems to indicate we are getting a lot. And as if that wasn't enough, even more expansions will come; a case I could relate to Final Fantasy XV.

Also, that Shield legendary Calyrex hints at a Zelda crossover... just kidding lol

@PokeMario
Yeah, that is one of the improvements I've been waiting for 20 years. We never bought two copies of the same game in my family, just shared the adventure with my brothers. I'm glad my nephews can have the option for separate save files in Pokemon now.

@Franklin,

In all fairness my comments will cause an issue to people who do not like these games, as they totally refuse to see that their opinion is in the minority.

@johnvboy I have to admit I wandered in here as a complete outsider. I’ve not bought a Pokémon game since my original Red GB cartridge (which I still have!). But it’s amazing to see where the game is today since then. Post-GO, I’ve observed they’ve gradually shed what modesty they had left and this is in line with that.

@NinChocolate,

Don't buy these ones then, everybody will tell you on here they are complete garbage, of course you may get a different story if you could manage to find and speak to a mass market Pokemon fan, you won't find many one on here though.

DLC was something that should have been done past gen, so Im ok with this. Glares at Ultra SuMo

@johnvboy

"you also come across as a bit on an idiot"

The lack of self awareness is amazing, accusing others of ad hominem attacks.

At no point have I called you names.

@Zuljaras,

I think the complainers love the series, that's why they are so passionate about it, I do understand that they have grown up with it and have played all the previous games, this is the main issue though, the majority of the original fans have just moved on, and there is just not enough of these guys left to cater for, you can't blame GameFreak for appealing to it's mass youunger audience.

@Franklin,

Calling my comments foolish implies the same thing, but I will delete the idiot part as it was uncalled for.

@johnvboy Name calling will get you nowhere. You also don't seem to be reading what we are saying.

We aren't saying the game won't sell, we aren't saying that our opinion is the majority, we're saying the game was rushed and could have been better

And now they are selling us what we could have already had. Where do you get off insulting people because they don't agree with you?

@johnvboy
They could appeal to different audiences, in fact they've done so in the past: difficulty options in BW2, Battle Frontier in Emerald and Platinum etc.

No Let's Go Gold and Silver 😭😭😭. Bur rhe expansions look very fun! Called it though 😊. They look like grand expansions and it's very cool that the new area's work like the wild area. This is good news 😊😊😊.

@Yorumi

Or the majority of long term fans that still bought the games just weren't that fussed.

I accept there are legitimate complaints and anyone actually celebrating the cuts is a bit wierd as you should always want a product to be as good as it can possibly be, but some of the people complaining went too far or weren't willing to listen to reasons why the cuts were made.

The games are out, probably sold 15 odd million now so it is best for everyone to either continue enjoying the games or move on and keep an eye out to see what happens with the next gen games.

@Kalmaro,

If you or others are taking my comments as insults then that is up to you or them, all I have stated is that people have got to stop the constant whining and moaning as it will get them nowhere, and it's just not good for them.

GameFreak have issued news of a substantial update for the new games, it would have taken a lot of time and effort to produce, and is still currently being worked on, they have introduced, or will be introducing 200 new Pokemon, which will not be locked behind a paywall as some incorrectly posted.

@Kalmaro Ahem... You called the Nintendo Life Staff back in November shills, remember that? Like you said, name calling won't get you anywhere...

@Zuljaras,

As I have always stated it's only a minority that are complaining, the masses are totally happy with these new games.

@TophatDragoneye ,

Double standards on here all the time.

@johnvboy

I'm afraid it is not the same thing.

We are all mortals and capable of foolish comments or fleetingly idiotic behaviour; to call someone an idiot is intrinsic about the person.

Moreover I said I view your comments as foolish (after your similar comment) to demonstrate that both sides can view such and that merely stating it cancels each other out and is of little value.

Thank you for deleting it.

Bro you guys are missing the part when you can trade and transfer the new pokemon in the dlc regardless of if you bought the dlc.

@Luffymcduck,

The games are fine and will appeal to the majority of the games buyers, but you will not be able to please everybody, as you can see from this and other numerous comment sections, some comment sections not even about the Pokemon sword and shield game itself.

@HammerKirby,

No they are refusing to post anything positive that does not support their usual doom and gloom comments.

@johnvboy If you're fine with dismissing valid complaints about how this all went down, it's certainly within your right. But there is no denying that this does not look good for Game Freak, who's message on the game ultimately seemed all over the place to start and then seems to suddenly shift course with this announcement.

I'll acknowledge some of the complaints come from a sense of entitlement. Some have had a tone that completely drowns out the valid complaints. But with Game Freak not doing a great job in making that message clear or not very transparent, it's no wonder why some fans are annoyed and a bit disappointed in how this all went down

They ultimately have the right to make the games they want to and for whom they want. I won't deny that and I don't think anyone does. But at the same time, they have to be ready and willing to accept the criticism that comes along with it. Especially when they are choosing to interact with the audience and include them into these insights.

@SBandy
Well, the Direct was pretty specific - by the time the DLCs hit, we'll be able to move past Pokémon to Galar if they're included in the updated Galarian dex even without owning the DLC.
Which is already one hell of a lot better than the base product, slowly moving the games towards "worth a purchase" territory.

I never buy the 3rd versions (skipped Ultra Sun/Moon, Black/White 2, Platinum, etc), so if this is the alternative, then I'll take it.

@Franklin,

Just liked you last comment buddy, and I am sorry for getting a little too emotional, sometimes these comment sections can be very testing at times.

@johnvboy
Well, to some extent they still are.
If this is not the case, then please feel free to explain the obsessive focus on Kantonian Pokémon.
[EDIT: How can a comment section about something that pleases the games' detractors be testing in any way?]

@johnvboy

It's late where I am so I'm going to bed.

Have a good day.

@UmbreonsPapa,

If you read my post I did not state anybody's concerns were not valid, but there is no definitive right or wrong in this, all opinions are valid only on a personal level.

@Franklin,

What time are you on?

@AlexSora89

If you buy the game and all the DLC then are you not part of the problem and the ultimate hypocrite? And does that not prove all the early adopters right as the game was worth a purchase all along?

@AlexSora89,

They will draw from past games to complete the overall experience, this does not mean they are catering for older gamers specifically.

@Franklin Comparing GameFreak to a political party? haha what

I mean i get that people are not happy with the decisions GF made and would have liked a better product and of course you should criticise the practices you feel are scummy. But i just feel some people get way to worked up about these things, i mean come on it's video games, if you don't like it don't buy it as simple as that.
GF does not owe you a good game and you do not owe them your money, as simple as that.
Not saying things like this should not be discussed but if you get frustrated by the actions of a company, just move on and stop buying their things.

You Pokemon fans are too much. Move on to something you actually enjoy if you hate this game so much. And if you WANT to enjoy it but are just feeling pissy and whiny for reasons, then spend the pocket change they're charging for this DLC, shut up and enjoy the additional time you're getting with the brand new installment in one of your favorite series

@Yorumi,

I do like the way you state you opinions as fact, when in fact they are just your own personal opinions to why GameFreak has made their decisions.

And once again just because people are buying these games does not make them stupid or accepting garbage, beacuse maybe just maybe, people are buying these games because they like them.

@johnvboy
No, he just presented his well thought arguments. Would like to see more of that in these comment sections.

@Yorumi

Your view is too extreme to take seriously.

People are genuinely enjoying the games, you need to get over it.

@Zuljaras,

The internet makes these things far worse than they are, and let's be honest here, we are only really getting one side of the argument here.

@ryancraddock Wow, thanks for not killing me for bringing it up.

The title is fine, everybody knows how these games work, but I do think Nintendo made things a bit confusing by having two parts each in what technically are 2 expansions passes, 1 for each game. And they complicated the matter by talking about the "3rd" games in the series, then having 1 expansion pass for each game, rather than just having 1 that owners of either game can purchase. Though it does seem like real Pokemon fans are excited to be able to have a new nemesis in each for $30 each so what do I know?

Just re-read the article and it seemed much smoother, so much so I can't even really tell what you changed, just that it all made sense, so good job whatever you did. Now if you'll excuse me my inbox is full of replies, most of which will be nasty, which reminds me why I comment so rarely these days though I still read almost everything.

@Luffymcduck,

His arguments present a perfect utopia of a Pokemon game that no developer could ever hope to produce, it's no wonder GameFreak do not listen to these people.

@Kalmaro "They had time restraints and were planning DLC already."

I'm more in the "planning this from the start" camp than the "rushed" camp, but I know what you mean. This game was discussed in 2017 for a 2018 release, but it only came out in late 2019 w/ Let's Go Evee in 2018 as a fall back plan, much like Mystery Dungeon is mysteriously announced and releasing in only 2 months, was probably ready for the holiday just in case S&S still weren't ready yet. So they had plenty of time to get the game just like they wanted, with all of the planned DLC and how to sell it. It's the best way to monetize Pokemon in a "games-as-service" world. A world I don't belong in.

@rjejr Yeah I'm forced to agree, it looks like they now are aware that they don't have to finish a game at release. They can just finish it later and then charge us for it. Yaaaay.

@Yorumi Kids gaming is getting expensive. Guess that's why Nintneod put out the cheaper $199 Lite, so parents can buy 1 for each kid, then 1 $60 copy of each game for each kid, then pay for NO w/ an online family pass (which is at least cheaper than individual NO for 2) then pay $30 for each expansion pass, then pay for Home, however much that will be. Pokemon was never the cheapest, having to buy 2 games w/ only 1 save point each, but it's reached peak expensive now.

I guess parents who only needed 1 Lite b/c the other kid is playing on the original really lucked out. My 1 son passed this gen, and on Let's Go, he bought 8GB RAM and got a video card for Christmas instead, so PC gaming ain't cheap either. 3 months of Xbox Gamepass Ultimate for $1 is nice though. They actually each have that, more Xbox on PC gaming than Switch for the next few months.

I actually have no idea what Switch game we're even looking forward to, no interest in Mystery Dungeon or Animal Crossing. Pikmin 4 is day 1, same for Bayonetta 3. Mario Kart 9. Splatoon 3. I think my family needs a Nintneod Direct much more than today's Pokemon Direct.

@Kalmaro,

Still a personal opinion, to some planned DLC and part finished game from the start, or full complete game from the start that lots of people enjoy, and now we are being offered extra optional content to enhance the game.

The update re the 200 extra Pokemon is free for the purchasers of the original game, however this is not being discussed by the complainers on here, as it's does not support their biased narrative of a greedy GameFreak.

@kenyowa,

Are you somehow suggesting GameFreak should develop all this extra DLC for free?.

I'm so glad that I don't bother playing Pokemon games anymore, first they want you to buy 2 versions of the game and now 2 versions of the dlc 😂

I do appreciate Gamefreak lubing our arses up before screwing us. At least we know what's coming. They're getting us nice and conditioned for mtx and other practices.

Please be gentle, Gamefreak.

@Yorumi Really? Had no idea you could get a Pokemon game with 400 Pokemon for 30 Euro. Call me intrigued. Sign me up, where can I buy it?

@johnvboy I'm suggesting they should've put it in the base game to make it worth $60. Instead, they now want $90 for the same amount and quality of content that was in their $40 games. They ask this because they know that Pokemon is the highest grossing multimedia franchise of all time, and that it has millions of rabid fans who treat TPC like they're a family friend and will defend them to their last breath. The quality has steadily dropped over the last few games, but to ask for $90 to have the right to catch less Pokemon than you could in previous games with a brutally short story and middling graphics is abhorrent.

Naturally Pokémon Sword gets the cooler content 😒 But they both look pretty fun. I'll be looking forward to playing through the Isle of Armor. Omg Galarian Slowpoke though 😻 I'm so excited to have Slowpoke back!

Hey, is everyone playing nice in here?

@Yorumi I think you just described Pokemon Quest.

Which, as grindy as that game is, at least it was free. I have no problem w/ paying for DLC in free games, (though $5 monthly for Mario Kart Tour is $4 too much) that's why they're free, but $60-to-start is something I've been railing against for years. YEARS.

@johnvboy Do you really want me to go over all the data showing how this game is incomplete?

And how they cut corners?

How they didn't even get the ending credit scene right?

The fact that we are getting more Pokémon is nice but they should have been there from the beginning. Please stop just dismissing the criticisms about this game by just labeling people you don't agree with as "complainers".

Lol some people make me laugh, they clearly said there will be a free update that allows you to get the new added pokemon

So, they admit they were lying then?

Its amazing how most of you are acting like this is something new. Most big gaming companies do this all of the time and yet no one bats an eye. Pokemon does it and they lose their minds. I don't have a problem with paid DLC, and honestly I think the content looks great. Whether or not its worth the price tag is yet to be seen but if it grinds your gears then just don't buy it

@Franz
"So the reason they prevented the rest of the Pokémon from being available on the main game was for DLC."

Your exact words but whatever. Easy to go back on what you mean on the interwebs. Have a fantabulous day dude.

@Yorumi

No it is how extreme you are being as I said.

You can't have a rational conversation and instead flip your lid and accuse people of being "accepting of garbage" because they like a game you aren't happy with.

I acknowledged there were flaws and people were right not to be happy about them and you are the one being dismissive of others who still enjoy the games and insult them for doing so.

You are the problem and a perfect example of why no one takes you or many other whiners seriously. You sound like a nutcase to be frank.

@playstation_king True... If someone else bought the expansion. Either way, someone is going to have to spend money to get the new stuff.

@kenyowa,

Your use of the word abhorrent, is not really justified for what amounts to complaining about a games content.

That’s cool. Seems like a modern answer to the ultra or third game releases.

@Kalmaro,

I do not know how many times I will have to type this, but here goes, I am not or have never stated that people complaints about these games have no validity, I have simply stated it's their own point of view and not everybody feels the same way,and any validity is personal, I have also never stated that people can't complain, all I have ever done is offer a counter argument with a little humor thrown in for good measure.

@Yorumi Well there are good uses of DLC I suppose. Pikmin 3 had a few cheap challenges, and Mario Kart 8 on Wii U had the $12 season pass. Of course Wii U owners never had the chance to pay for the real battle arenas in the Switch version. I haven't played it yet but people are always saying the $15 pass for the Witcher had 2 extra games each bigger than some other standalone $60 games. But then you get Zelda BotW for $20 which added very little but I paid it to get the green line on the map that was already in the game and should have been free from the start. That green map line is my own personal horse armor.

My biggest gripe, as it seems you're finding out today, is all the people calling me out for not liking it. Is Horizon Zero Dawn a "complete game" without the $15 expansion pass? And if it is a complete game without it then why is it sold as a complete game with it? They can't both be complete games.

So yeah, there's some nice DLC, but I'd personally prefer a return to before DLC times b/c the bad surely outweighs the good. I do think games as service require DLC, like Spaltoon or Fortnite, to keep people coming back for more in online shared games. Minecraft too, it's $30 to start, and it's a never ending sandbox. But did 64 character SSBU for $60 need $25 for 5 more characters?

Good luck, I gotta go get my kids and fill them in on this.

@drewber2635,

Well on other franchises the DLC is justified, but as Nintendo games have never really gone down this route in the past, it's more of a tough sell.

So rather than accept the fact that they have had years of not having to pay for extra DLC, that was pretty much the norm on all other games, and be happy about that, they choose to go bonkers because now they are being charged, you know this sounds so much like, whats the word?, ah yes entitled.

Nintendo always has amazing DLC. But they even giving free Pokémon to those who don't get the DLC. I just like the new gear.

@mesome713,

They do tend to offer good value, the Mario Kart 8 DLC was awesome.

Xenoblade chronicles 2 had an expansion pass that was the prologue to the main game which was pretty essential to fully understanding the story, but no one said that was crappy

DLC is always an "option" that gives the player additional content if they want it, if not then move along.

@johnvboy And the people who have complaints have never said that it was not our point of view and that everyone shares what we think. You may find one or two exceptions but the complaints I have seen are all valid and documented.

Whenever you just lump in everyone as a complainer you're not differentiating from people making baseless claims and those who actually have taken the time to make valid points. That, is dismissive.

You may want to work on your humor.

@Kalmaro,

Humor like everything else is subjective, and It was more like sarcasm in many of my posts.

Also validity is also a very tough to argue, just because somebody who does not like these games lists their issues or documents them does not equal validity, as it's only a personal opinion, just the same as the games champions listing the reasons why they like the game, there is no definitive right or wrong, it all depends on your own personal view at the end of the day.

You seem to feel complainer is a negative term, when all I am doing is stating a pure and simple fact that people are complaining about these games, this goes for the casual claimer to people who have as you say, taken time to make points about their issues with the game.

WOW, I'm not a Pokemon fan but reading the comments here has made my shift this afternoon flyby

@Welshland,

So much entertainment on here buddy, makes the NeoGaf lot look like amateurs.

@johnvboy Putting people's personal desires, objections or needs aside, I think you can objectively look at this and acknowledge (regardless on whether you enjoyed the games or not) that the way THIS particular situation has gone down isn't a good look for Game Freak.

Whether you care or not I guess is an entirely other conversation. But in the context of how they handled it from the start and how they explained it to the fans, Game Freak should be taken to task on whether or not they should be taken at the word from here on out.

@johnvboy I seem to have lost the link for the good read forum, would you mind posting a link for me mate

@johnvboy So you're saying that issues such as animations being ripped from older games, the cursor still showing in the end credits, people freezing when you go up ladders, etc, are just opinions?

If you're talking about people who just said "this game stinks" then yeah, that's an opinion. Stuff discussing how gamefreak acted like they had to remove pokémon to make things better and they didn't, that's a valid point in my book.

Hence, me not appreciating just lumping everyone with complaints in one group.

@SBandy,

"I acknowledged there were flaws and people were right not to be happy about them and you are the one being dismissive of others who still enjoy the games and insult them for doing so."

I have said this so many times but they never see it, and always claim it's the defenders who are being dismissive or insulting, but we all know the complainers can dish it out, but do not take kindly to anybody not agreeing with them, or suggesting their views might not reflect the majority of Pokemon fans.

@Welshland,

No problems mate, Animal crossing is getting closer so I hope your room designing skills are up to speed.

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/390038-former-amazon-uk-videogame-discussion-forum

@johnvboy

Yep, 100%. It is quite hilarious they can't see the irony and part of me thinks they are happy to have something to complain about!

Only played 10 hrs of shield. Enjoying it. Will be buying this next pay date. Good job GF

@UmbreonsPapa,

You can choose to do this of course, it's your right not to trust them or buy anymore of their games, but I doubt many of the mass market Pokemon fans either care, or are even aware of your issues.

Not that this makes your complaints any less valid on a personal level.

@SBandy,

I do get quite animated about all this, and yes they state the defenders dismiss all the complaints, when at the same time dismissing everything that is said that they do not agree with.

The only fact in all of this is these games are selling like hot cakes, as the DLC will do, so most people must be happy.

This was a really nice surprise that Pokemon has entered the DLC era.

@johnvboy Please show me these defenders who are saying that their views reflect the majority of the people who bought the Pokémon games. I haven't seen anyone saying that but I may just be overlooking them. There's a lot of people posting.

Was really hoping for a new let’s go but the mystery dungeon remake is a nice trade off. Will get the expansion pass eventually.

@Kalmaro,

A lot of the initial issues people had were stated before the games were released, and there were issues down to people using illegal rom copies of the game, when the games were released a lot of these issues were simply not there, of course there are technical issues and glitches with most games.

My point about validity was always more about people stating the game was poor, for reasons x,y,z for example, as this is pure opinion and not valid outside somebody's own view.

Animations are a different matter, the animations used on the 3DS versions are already good quality, there are some stating they have proof they are exact copies, to be honest I am not all that bothered if they are similar or the same, I just wanted the Pokemon themselves to have a cleaner look of the cartoons, which they have and are a massive upgrade over the 3DS models.

@johnvboy Not when it is a game marketed towards children with an increasing amount of financial agency over their parents' debit cards. Many parents nowadays are more than happy to let video games raise their children, and allow their children to freely govern anything they buy related to video games. In combination, this marketing practice becomes notably predatory, especially towards children who don't know any better. Admittedly, I can only name this as the case in the United States; I recognize that this is a UK-based website and that the status of Video Game Daycare Culture might be different across the pond.

@johnvboy I agree that anyone saying that the game is bad and then list reasons that are subjective are just spouting opinions, no denying that.

I just think it's unfair to group those people with others who are digging into technical issues and such, on legally purchased copies.

I also don't think anyone is honestly saying that their opinion is the majority opinion. Everyone knew the new games would sell well. If anything, the people who had complaints were dreading that, rather than denying it.

My issue with the animations is that it was hinted that they would be improved and the Pokémon would look just so much better due to the cuts.

Well, the animations aren't improved and all they did to the Pokémon is turn on anti-alaising to make them smoother and update the lighting. That certainly made them look better but it wasn't anything worth cutting Pokémon over.

I just wish Gamefreak were more honest upfront.

@Kalmaro,

Did I say that?, all I stated was that because the games sales were good, that this would point to the masses not sharing peoples negative views of these games, this only indicates that might be the case though.

Admittedly I really think it unfair to take it out entirely on GameFreak and The Pokemon Company: six years ago, Nintendo released Fire Emblem Birthright, Fire Emblem Conquest, and Fire Emblem Revelations. While Conquest and Birthright were initially marketed as individual games taking place in the same universe that could be played completely separate of each other, it became clear upon release that both games were just two separate routes of the overarching Fire Emblem Fates, with the Fire Emblem Revelations DLC being a full game that contained the "True End" route. In total, a game initially marketed as $40 turned out to require $80 for the full experience, which is awful, deceptive marketing.

In short: this is not Nintendo's first foul with DLC that should have been part of the game to begin with, separated only for the sake of profits. However, whereas the case of Fire Emblem Fates dealt with lies of omission, the case of Pokemon Sword and Shield seems to deal in outright fabrications of intent. The reason for the disinclusion of these 200+ Pokemon in the base game is now clearly for DLC profits.

@Kalmaro,

For the sake of time I do not have time to sort every complainer into groups, and I am sure you are not going to suggest I myself or anyone else for that matter does so.

As I said there are technical issues, and several reviews that are good do point them out, but I do think there were people on YouTube making things out to be far worse than they actually were to support their own personal agenda, and in the worst cases spread misinformation, when the games were released this was shown to be the case.

@kenyowa,

Not getting your question here.

@johnvboy I didn't ask one.

@kenyowa,

You can look at this as pure money making, which let's be honest here is the goal of any developer.

However if a game comes out that you like, and you enjoy it and of course play it for many hours, I quite like the idea of the experience being extended, if of course I see value in the DLC.

@kenyowa,

Even if a game is marketed at children they should not have control over any extra purchases, my daughter and wife both like Roblox, but if any purchases are made it's my wife's decision.

If your child says they want extra things just as if they were in a toy shop, you can always tell them no.

@johnvboy Yes, you've said it pretty often that the people who have complaints seem to think that they believe everyone shares their complaints, like here:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/01/pokemon_sword_and_shield_is_getting_an_expansion_pass_and_it_looks_mighty#comment5394959

When that's not the case, most of us aren't saying that at all, and you don't have to come up with terms to group people. There's just people who have complaints for valid reasons and those who don't. I think you mentioned earlier that you didn't see many valid reason or something along those lines, which may explain why you're lumping everyone together. I could be mistaken.

@Kalmaro,

Pretty broad on that comment to be honest, I was stating they did not take kindly when people did not agree with them.

As for validity, I stated there is no such thing as validity when it's personal opinions, people are stating their views have validity, when in fact it's still a personal view they themselves share good or bad, I then stated that this did not mean that an individual can't claim validity on a personal level.

@Yorumi "rather than what's to come"

I think part of the problem here is them saying "no more Pokedex, it's too big!!" for a year and now it's like - oh look, we can fit more, as long as you're willing to pay for them.

$30 expansion pass containing 200 Pokemon should have been brought up before release instead of talking about "balancing".

@rjejr,

Just because you put a negative spin on it does not make it that way, and you totally forget to mention the fact that the 200 extra Pokemon are not locked behind the $30 DLC packs, all older 200 can be caught or found in an update for the existing game.

This looks more like an issue with time ore than anything else, as there was not time to include these Pokemon at launch.

@johnvboy Well I could list more

Here https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/01/pokemon_sword_and_shield_is_getting_an_expansion_pass_and_it_looks_mighty#comment5394152

You say "whingers will then retreat with the whole tried and tested line, that all the mass market Pokemon buyers are stupid and do not realize they are buying rubbish... "

Which isn't true, no one is saying anyone is stupid for buying the game. With the implication (I'm assuming) that we believe everyone has the same problems we have so anyone buying it is dumb

On comment 99
You said:

it seems to be the complainers getting their knickers in a twist because everybody does not feel the way they do.

Maybe you just never noticed it, but you seem to believe that the people who have complaints all think that anyone who doesn't agree with them are dumb and that we are upset that not everyone agrees with us.

Also, I thought the said that the Pokémon would have to be gotten from people who got the expansions. I may have misread.

@Yorumi,

Or the people still complaining are pathetic and should just move on to something else, as it's not good for them obsessing over this.

@Kalmaro,

Well I am flattered you have taken the time to list some of my posts, I assume in some attempt to take away from what I am saying, and from the posts you listed, surely you can't be suggesting that the people with issues with these games, would not like lots of people to agree with them, as this may help them get to their ultimate goal, which is to get GameFreak to listen and make the perfect pokemon game they crave.

@Kalmaro,

As far as I was concerned those extra older Pokemon, ie the 200 of them are not locked behind a paywall, there will of course be new items and Pokemon that will be tied to the expansion packs.

@Yorumi You compare eggs with apples. Gen 3 was a sprite based 2D game, which is FAR less work to do. Of course most people who dont know such stuff cant even comprehend this. Also Gamefreak is a rather small studio, for the fact that they have the world most successful franchise that is. Also people need to be paid, a income and win to be generated, the switch cartridges are more expensive and and and. Details like these are mostly overlooked. Also back then, they still released a full price special edition like Emerald, which is now a season pass and less money. I never paid 30 dollars for a game, damn would it be a dream. Was 40 for GB, GBA games and 50 for DS/3DS ones and now 60. 60 was always the price for console/PC games and well, the Switch is seen as such a platform, take it or leave it. I also dont know what bugs you are talking about in modern Pokemon games. Missigno? Stuck clock in 3rd gen? Cloning glitch from 2nd gen?

But whatever man. I waste my time anyway. I didnt even react to most of the bullshit you are sharing with the world and worse even seem to imprint on offspring. Hooray... Society goes downhill but seeing most of the kids I am not surprised at all, especially since most people blame anything but the parenting, which is mostly the issue. Nowadays anything and everything is critized for uhm, whatever reason. Critics are important and make sense but in the past years there are more oft the screaming birds that just plapper what other people say and they dont even exactly know what the actual problem is, which I also notice when viewing your comments. I mean you really try hard to justify it but if you keep comparing apples and eggs, then I guess you should just stop to try at all to justify the mindless hate train.

Damn. I should stop wasting minutes of my life on these comments.

@johnvboy It was just two posts, I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but yeah, you just seem pretty dismissive overall.

Of course people would like everyone to agree with them, that's not the same as people being mad that they don't have everyone agree with them. I can't speak for everyone but the fact that you aren't agreeing with me doesn't instill some kind of hatred or anger or whatever.

I'm more curious as to how you don't seem to notice what you're saying.

@NINtendo242

"Damn. I should stop wasting minutes of my life on these comments."

I have been thinking this for ages now, but where else can we have this much fun?.

@Kalmaro,

I am aware of what I am saying, it's just tough to remember each and every comment, but I do feel my line has been pretty consistent on the subject, just as the people with issues have raised the same complaints time and time again.

@NINtendo242,

I do feel this is one of my main issues too, it's far easier to find faults with things, and to totally ignore all the hard work that goes in to developing a game, it's clear GameFreak have a lot of love for these titles, but just because they can't include or cater for every whim, they are seen as lazy or money grabbing when they spend extra time adding things to the game, not to mention the stress of getting the original game ready for launch.

@johnvboy " all older 200 can be caught or found in an update for the existing game."

Your going to have to provide me a link for that b/c everything I've seen and read has said they can only be had in a trade if you don't purchase the expansion pass. I don't consider trading with someone the same thing as being caught or found. There's playing the game, then there's trading with someone else.

Maybe I'm negative b/c I understand what's going on?

@Yorumi The psychologists have it wrong, gaming isn't a mental problem, fanboyism is a mental problem. 😉 (that's not meant for you johnboy, you just seem as confused as all the rest)

@johnvboy I think people would stop repeating the same complaints if they felt like they were being heard, not by you, just in general.

Like the article a few days ago that made it sound like all the people who were upset with SwSh because pokémon were cut. There's soooo much more than that though.

I think GameFreak just isn't managing things properly. This expansion we are getting now probably could have been in the base game from the get go. It just wasn't, probably due to running out of time or because they wanted to split it off and charge for it. I believe they said that you'd have to trade to get pokémon you don't have in the base game if you didn't get the expansion.

@johnvboy Am I right in summarizing your position like this: The game is selling great, lots of people are enjoying it, and the people who are criticizing it are a small minority and their opinions are no more or less valid than those who have been enjoying it? Regardless, why did it take you more than 70 comments on this article alone to get your point across? You alone account for roughly 25% of the comments here and yet you've said almost nothing worthy of note. Talks much, says little. You're a meta-complainer. Your entire purpose here is to complain and whine about the people complaining and whining rather than engaging with their sometimes valid and sometimes invalid criticisms. Maybe you're the one who needs to calm down with the complaining and move on.

@rjejr,

Nothing on here ever confuses me, as it's an argument that's as old as the hills, and will keep getting raised with this game and others.

@Kalmaro,

That does not make sense if the 200 older Pokemon that are getting released will be available for free as part of an update for the original game.

@NoxAeturnus,

Wow, let me just take all that in.

You are right in saying I feel the mass majority of Pokemon fans have no issue with these games, you are also correct that I feel the people with issues are in the minority, you are wrong if you feel that I have stated their complaints are any less valid.

My comments on validity have nothing to do with right or wrong, my point has always been this boils down to personal opinions at the end of the day, and any side stating validity is wrong, unless of course it's from a personal level.

As for my comments, which you have taken the time to count, thank you for that, have mainly been replies to people who have quoted my comments, I think that is how this is meant to work.

As for calming down, I think you could tell quite a few complainers to tone it down a little, there is passion on both sides of the argument, and let's be honest here a lot of peoples issues with these games been discussed in each and every Pokemon thread, so I do confess to being a little jaded by the fact every Pokemon article comments section is nothing but moaning, no matter what GameFreak do or announce.

@Kalmaro,

I do see why people keep complaining, but it just has to get to a certain point where we can just discuss all the new developments without it getting to this every time.

There was some good stuff in the direct yet nobody is discussing it productively, it all it's a load of rubbish etc, no wonder it get's people backs up a little.

@NoxAeturnus,

I am aiming for 100 comments with around 35% of the overall section, so still a little way to go, oh please be sure to tell me when I get to my target, as I won't have time you know typing all these comments that say nothing worthy of note.

@johnvboy "Nothing on here ever confuses me"

In your reply to @kalmaro you said:
"the 200 older Pokemon that are getting released will be available for free as part of an update for the original game."

Well, at this point you either are confused or you're trolling.

The 200 Pokemon are NOT part of a free update that will include them in Sword or Shield. The update will allow people who don't buy the season pass to trade for those Pokemon with people who do buy the season pass. From the article.

If you don't want to buy the Expansion Pass, you'll still be able to obtain these new Pokémon thanks to a free update which will be launching alongside the Pass. This update will allow you to trade with a friend who has caught the new Pokémon.

I think you are only reading the first sentence and not the 2nd sentence.

"obtain" <> "catch"

Some people will be more than happy to fill out their Pokedex by trading for 200 Pokemon they can't otherwise find in their copy of the game but you are making it sound like an update will let people find those Pokemon in their base game, and that doesn't seem to be true right now. Maybe they'll change it later, but I don't think so when they can get people to pay $30 to have those 200 Pokemon catchable in their game.

Would be nice if you were right, 200 Pokemon for everyone to catch after the update, but that's not what they said in their official press release:

Each of these updates will enable players who haven’t purchased an Expansion Pass to receive Pokémon that will be added via The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra expansions through means such as trading.

"through means such as trading" doesn't mean only trading, I'm guessing there will be give-aways as well, maybe buy codes for them with Platinum coins in My Nintendo. But all 200 won't be found in the base game without the expansion pass.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/01/more_than_200_old_pokemon_are_being_added_to_sword_and_shields_national_dex

If you find something that says otherwise I'm sure everyone in the comments would be very happy to read it.

@ShadJV It seems that the guy who cannot read properly is you. You CAN have them if you update the game, BUT ONLY if a person who bought the expansion trades with you, if you updated but did not pay MONEYS to your overlords GF, you get squat (well, a crappy Slowpoke, but that's it.)

@rjejr,

" Do I need to buy the Expansion Pass to access the 200+ returning Pokémon from past generations?
No. Following a free update that will launch alongside the Expansion Passes, players of vanilla Pokémon Sword or Shield will be able to trade those Pokémon with players who have purchased the expansion and caught them all. Therefore, it will be entirely possible to get your hands on those new Pokémon via trading.

Players without the expansion will also be able to bring Pokémon over from past games using Pokémon Home, the new service launching in February 2020 (as long as those Pokémon feature in Pokémon Sword and Shield or its expansions).

Clarification on the returning 200 Pokemon, I must admit with all the new information that was crammed into the 20 minute direct, even I had to look this up, just to make sure. "

@johnvboy edit, nevermind, you pointed it out.

Though, technically, the Pokémon are still behind a pay wall since you have to pay for Pokémon Home

@Kalmaro @rjejr,

It says trading is one of the means, I would not be surprised to see some of them turn up in the original game, I am sure the direct mentioned catching them.

@johnvboy It would be wonderful of they showed up in the main game on their own... But then that would defeat the purpose of pointing out that you can trade for them.

If you can catch them then you would think you can trade them. I'm thinking the situation is like we see it here, you'll either have to pay and transfer from home or pay/have someone else pay for the expansion and trade for them.

Unlrss you feel like sitting and trading for a couple hundred Pokémon, there's no easy way to get them for free that I'm seeing.

@johnvboy "I am sure the direct mentioned catching them"

I can't recall it exactly, but if the Direct did mention catching them it was probably meant to mean if you buy the expansion pass, not as part of the free update.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's nice of Nintendo to let people trade for Pokemon that aren't in their game, just like it's always been for free w/ Pokemon games, I just don't view trading for Pokemon the same as being able to catch them for myself.

And yeah, they may throw a few in there for free, like they did today w/ Slowpoke, but even if they give 10 out of 200 that's only 5% and you'd still need to trade for the other 95% or buy the expansion pass. That's not exactly the same as a free game update. And I can't say that I blame them, why pay $30 if you can just spend all your time tracking down 200 Pokemon in game for free?

So when EA and Bethesda lock basic features that should've been in a 60 dollar game at release behind a paywall, everyone complains and tells them they're a horrible company who only care about making profits off of loyal fans

But when Game Freak does it it's suddenly treated like they listened to fans and they're such a respectable company??
That's what Twitter has been telling me anyway

LOL
A lot of complaints and crybabies about Pokemon Sword / Shield.

@Anti-Matter Can't be helped, there's a lot to complain about.

Are people honestly trying to use this to make EA not look as bad/defend EA? LOL

As for the expansion itself, it does sound interesting. Two new regions to explore sounds fun, price is on the steep side though..

Personally, I’d rather they do dlc than releasing “new” games with a “twist”. Aka ultra sun and moon, etc.

This means that them excluding some Pokemon for balancing reasons is another lie that we get to throw out the window too right? Also, I have a problem with the "DLC is cheaper than full second version" thing. They are bringing back half of the missing Pokemon for $30, meaning that there's a good chance that the other half of the missing Pokemon could get $30 DLC as well. That would be $60 for all the potential DLC. No different than getting a full new version other than them drip feeding us content.

Also, they needlessly riled up the fanbase with the whole debacle. They should have just said they were planning to have more content post release and that some more Pokemon could return then. Instead it felt like they were actively going out of their way to say everything in the worst way possible. Shoot, if I remember right didn't the DLC for Smash Bros get announced before the game released? With Sakurai saying they wouldn't start of the DLC fighters until after release? Upfront honesty and nobody got upset about it. If you're gonna do DLC at least be honest about it from the get go.

@ShadJV Good point. If the free update allows trading with people who own the content then one would assume this also likely means they can be transferred through Pokemon Home.

If they do it in that manner then additional pokemon support itself is not hidden behind a pay wall. As you stated it means the DLC is simply the opportunity for encountering them in-game, rather than the ability to have them in the game (which will be coming free) .

Granted the initial 400 dex (and therefore available encounters as is) is rather small compared with something like the Kalos dex, and im not sure how i feel if they introduce entirely 'new pokemon' (iirc extended versions tended to add things like new legendary forms, returning old pokemon mainly). We shall see.

@DarkScythe13 It's still behind a pay wall as you have to pay for Pokémon home. It's just cheaper transferring them then buying the expansion.

@johnvboy Comment #103 You said you were on "break". Before then as early as comment #27 you were still trying to rile up others. You're still commenting quite a lot. I sure would like to have your break times if you are indeed working

@Kalmaro yes that is technically true but that is how it has always been in order to transfer extra pokemon added later. You needed to for Poke Bank. White 2 and Black 2 were their all games. All required payment.

On the other hand you can still have them traded without paying yourself if a friend helps. Pokebank allowed one account to use different cartridges

@DarkScythe13 You used to be able to trade with yourself without even needing the internet. Once the added Pokémon bank, I saw the writing on the wall. I knew what was coming.

Our Pokémon are now basically being held for ransom. If you want to play with them again, got to cough up the dough.

@FRANKLIN_BADGE still wrong, you can import any of the 200 returning Pokémon from Pokémon Home.

Oh my Arceus, they're actually doing it. They are actually putting DLC in a Pokemon game. The cynic in me said they wouldn't do this, that they would just keep making us pay for a new game all over again to profit. But as I was thinking about this Direct I had a niggling feeling that they might do this. That between the fanbase's outrage over Dexit and the general feeling of not enough content and Game Freak likely being forced to rush SwSh out for the holidays that they might buck the trend and turn to DLC so they can work on the game further after launch. And lo and behold, the Sword and Shield Expansion Pass is now a thing.

This is may be simultaneously the best and worst thing to happen to Pokemon this generation. DLC can be easily abused and it's fair to be concerned about whether or not we're just getting what was once a full game's worth of content in the past for even more money. But look at it this way, if they handled this the same way as they did the past, we'd have to pay $60 for Ultra Sword/Ultra Shield or whatever they'd call it and buy the same game all over again with this stuff included. Here, you can just buy the extra content directly for $30 and save $30 for not needing to buy an extra version of the game just to experience the new stuff. So in that respect this is actually a better deal, and I've been banging on the drum for Game Freak to go this route for a while now for this reason. If you're going to complain about the amount of money you're paying for a complete game, you should focus your outrage on the base game not being a complete experience and judge the Expansion Pass on whether or not the added content is actually worth $30, not judge what your full $90 is getting you.

Also, I think this rules out us getting DP remakes or LG Johto or some other new game this year. With Game Freak spread thin as much as they are, I can't imagine them having the resources to give us both this content AND a full new game. For all intents and purposes this probably is our new "game" this year, and they could probably sell it as such with a special edition of SwSh this fall which includes the base game + expansion pass for the holiday season. I was kind of hoping for DP remakes this year, but it just doesn't seem to be in the cards with this announcement so maybe next year.

Man Game Freak, I really want to hate what Pokemon is doing now and move on with all of the lack of content and polish, but you're doing juuuuusst enough to hold my attention.

@johnvboy

Hong Kong time.

@Yorumi You may be right, it's a bit too early to judge. But in terms of what they're actually bringing to the table, we have 2 new Wild Areas, a training facility, an exploration sidequest, 200 extra Pokemon, and a bunch of other little bits and bobs and who knows what else. Depending on the execution, that could be pretty close to a full game's worth of content. Considering it's Game Freak and they've been struggling to provide a sufficient amount of content recently there's a very good chance you could be proven to be correct after all's said and done, I'm just saying that to really judge the value of the DLC, we have to look at the base game as set in stone and judge based on what it actually brings to the table. And by that logic, the alternatives were to leave SwSh as is having it be a barren, lacking experience, or to sell us the same content as another game for $60 which would be even worse. In other words, I'm saying Sword and Shield + DLC for $90 is better than Sword and Shield + Ultra Sword and Ultra Shield for $120. Whether or not the content stacks up to the older generations is a more complicated question because of the differences in technology and price.

@MsJubilee they clearly said the added Pokémon are a free update so people can get them by trading
I think that nat-dex catchable Pokémon were never a thing but yeah not ideal

@Anti-Matter Let me show you why I responded

"LOL
A lot of complaints and crybabies about Pokemon Sword / Shield."

Don't go telling me not to be salty when you started by calling names.

I weirdly think this time DLCs were the better choice, I still didn't bought it fearing for a third version, now I can get it safely, kinda
Plus the new wild areas combined are bigger than the original one

The DLC packs are honestly a better choice than having a 3rd game. This is honestly much better than releasing “ultra” versions of the game.

@kenyowa This is a UK page my dude, we say £ not $ here

@BenAV £26.99 ain't expensive

@Gr8-1 The article uses both $ and £. There's no reason to tell someone which one to use.

@ShadJV this is why people have short attention spans these days

@Kalmaro shaddap ya fool

@Gr8-1 Or... what, exactly?

@RupeeClock It's called DELAYS & TIME CONSTRAINTS my dude Games can't be perfect from the get go (nowadays)

So, instead of patching the base game to fix the bugs and crappy textures/animations they're doing this? From watching the video it looks like that even the DLC will have version exclusive things AND on top of that, if you own both Sword and Shield you will have to buy the DLC for each, anyway. So you want all the Pokemanz? You best buy both games for £100 AND an expansion pass twice for a total of £154 that has MINOR differences. Cheap. It would be foolish to to do so just for 100%.

Wow...342 comments deep now! Let me get a coffee on and pull up a chair. I predicted a Spanish soap opera and it looks like I’ve got one! Nice.

@johnvboy, thanks for the link buddy, been a while since I visited that forum. Doesn't seem as active as I remembered, well not for the Nintendo stuff anyway.
As for Animal Crossing I can't wait for it to come out, I am so glad they have added paths now. took me ages to design path's on the 3DS. Really can't wait for the game to be honest, it will be another digital game to my collection.
I only have 1 physical game at the moment which is Luigi's mansion 3. Think I may need a new SD card soon.

@DonSerrot,

GameFreak have non obligation to inform people of their plans to release DLC, if like Smash bros they decide to do so then it's up to them, and can be a nice surprise for the masses who have no issues and have bought these games.

When you state that GameFreak have riled up the fans, I am assuming you mean the core Pokemon fans, as this on YouTube channel video's the line seems to be the Pokemon games and this latest DLC announcement has divided the fanbase, when in fact it has not.

@WiltonRoots,

Always fun on here buddy.

@AlexanderDaniels,

I have lots of free time fella.

@johnvboy so I see. You’d swear some people here had a gun pointed to their heads. I have a simple outlook on games. If I like a game series and the latest version looks like a disappointment to me, I just say nah, play something else and wait to see if they get their act together. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. Happened with EA Hockey on the MD, first one was great, the sequel felt like wading through treacle. The following version was much better.

@WiltonRoots,

Well that happens with a lot of games, and I am pretty sure most Switch owners will have the same view, the issue has always been the core obsessives who do feel that raising problems on each and every thread will somehow make GameFreak change their ways, it of course will not.

@johnvboy Yeah that's the thing, that's what normal people do. Some behaviour in here is downright bizarre.

I mean, at this point it all sounds like 'who cares if it feels good'. Just that people try to spin it that it isn't as egregious because it's just about a video game and who cares.

@heartrace,

I don't care because the games are fine, you could argue that it's up to the people that do not like the game to move on, they have made their points numerous times, I get their point that they care, but it can't be doing them any good keep going over it.

@Yorumi Free updates typically are not this substantial, even for a consumer friendly company like Nintendo, this update was never going to be free. The issues here have more to do with the base game and how they're handling that. You could maybe argue that $30 is too steep, but free was never a realistic possibility for this much content, it's too much work from Game Freak's end and too valuable to the fans for them to just give it away for free. The only thing they'd probably give away for free is something small like new event Pokemon/Max Raid Pokemon, etc. And actually, we are kind of getting more than that for free in the ability to trade/transfer the Pokemon added to the DLC. Your issues have more to do with the base game's (and possibly this DLC if the content proves to not be worth the $30) budget and schedule, they're not putting in the necessary time and resources to make the games worthwhile. The idea of them having a $60 retail console game and then adding new content through $30 DLC isn't inherently a bad thing if they give you $90 worth of content out of the deal, it's the execution of them settling on short development cycles and small development teams that's to blame here.

Really, I'm looking at this situation and I suspect there's some conflict going on in TPC. Again, if they were really cynical they wouldn't even do DLC to begin with and they would just release Ultra Sword/Ultra Shield for $60 this year. The higher ups in TPC are probably the ones pushing for the bad development practices within TPC, and I suspect this is being driven by Creatures especially as they don't really care much about whether or not the main games are actually good because they make most of their money on merchandise, they stand to benefit more from short, cheap, mediocre games more than Nintendo and Game Freak do. I think the reason they're even doing DLC in the first place is a combination of the uproar over Dexit and the general lack of everything in the base game and Game Freak accomplishing much less than usual and probably having leftover ideas after they were forced to rush the game for the holiday season, so they convinced TPC to allow them to keep working on the game after the fact to give us a better package. I can buy that they actually want to please us as much as possible, you can see that through what they're doing here, they're including more content, more Pokemon, more open exploration areas, and selling this all as DLC instead of third versions which are all things that fans have been repeatedly banging on the drum for the last few years.

What I'm saying is that you should focus your complaints on the elements of this situation that are actually to blame. Otherwise, they're just going to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We don't want them to think we'd rather have a $60 third version or for them to leave SwSh as barren and empty as it is, we want them to think that if they're charging us $60 for a game, we want $60 worth of content. We've seen some very encouraging steps forward out of Pokemon in spite of all of the mess this generation, we should want them to keep the good things about this the same and complain about the bad things.

@johnvboy
Yeah, if you think the game is fine, I don't think there's an issue for you. You could try looking at some older games and what you got for the price and maybe that would change your mind, maybe not.
For the longtime fans, the newest games are quite subpar. I don't think the lying or other bad practices would matter, if people were satisfied with the game.
While there is still hope, they can't move on. It's a bit early for hope to disappear completely.

@heartrace,

i get all that, but as many on here have said they are in the minority, so it will probably not affect the franchise going forward, so why resort to the same old complaints on every single Pokemon related articles comments section?, this latest one should have been about people discussing the new DLC and their hype for it, no wonder they stay away when it ends up like this everytime.

@johnvboy At the end of the day, it just comes down to how passionate people are about the games.

One could make the argument that constantly defending the game does nothing in the long run. I don't think anyone has the illusion that their words will somehow reach gamefreak and cause any changes, good or bad.

Rather, they feel so strongly about Pokémon that they feel compelled to talk about it.

@Kalmaro,

It's your right to do so, It just would be nice to see a little positive discussion on here as well, the only sections with tonnes of comments seem to be when we are all arguing.

@johnvboy I think that's a reflection of how Gamefreak handled all of this.

I won't go into all the reasons I dislike the game again, that ship has sailed. I will say that if GameFreak admitted from the getgo something like "Yes, not all Pokémon will make it into the base game but expect more content and old Pokémon later as DLC", things would have gone better.

You wouldn't have people tearing the game apart, trying to see what improved after so many Pokémon were removed (not much), which led to a lot of backlash.

They really should have been more transparent. I wouldn't have minded if they just said more Pokémon are coming later, and you'll be able to bring in old ones to the base game through home. Instead, they only mentioned how older Pokémon will come into future games and how they just couldn't fit everyone in.

Well,now we know they can fit everyone if they wanted, they just didn't, and now it feels like a cash grab of sorts.

All in all though, the main reason people complain so much is because they really like the franchise and are just concerned with the direction gamefreak is going. I'm fine with the DLC route myself, it makes a lot of sense. Stinks for people who like physical though.

@Yorumi,

I admire your passion, but I think you need to move on, the franchise is not changing because the masses are happy with it, sure it's not perfect, but it's also not the train wreck that you are personally stating.

@Kalmaro,

Now come on, you keep saying I am not consistent with my comments, yet you say the people with issues are in the minority, but yet you say there was a lot of backlash.

@johnvboy there was enough backlash to get it trending on Twitter, that's impressive. That's why I said a lot.

That said, they were not in the majority as the game still sold like hotcakes. Largely because Twitter does not represent the world.

@Kalmaro,

But we always know that when people complain about something they are always far more vocal about it, still there are people upset and they can keep bringing it up, it was just that during yesterdays direct I thought people might be a bit happier, but I guess not, shame though as these new areas look cool.

@johnvboy I think the biggest problem with the direct was:

1) The base game felt like it lacked content

2) The DLC is adding content people would have wanted in the base game, but behind a pay wall (unless you have Pokémon home)

3) Timing.

The last one is the biggest one, because the game just came out and we were told that they couldn't get everything in the base game because they wanted to focus on quality. Well now we are getting DLC that shows they could have put everything in there to begin with and if you don't have sun/moon or a friend getting the expansion, you have to pay extra money to see older Pokémon.

@Kalmaro,

You sound as if the DLC is available right now, all the extra content will not be released until the latter part of the year, so I fail to see how this lot could have been included in the base game, even if I agree with your point that the original game is not big enough, and lacks content.

@johnvboy What I meant is that the older Pokémon that's in the update? They could have been in the base game.

The extra content too? That could have been in as well.

I wish they had just waited until June and just put all that they have that's going to be in the expansion in the base game. I GLADLY would have dropped $60 for that.

@Kalmaro,

Fair enough, you may be able to get the base game cheap enough if you wait, then add the DLC.

@Yorumi,

I do not worship them at all, I have said many times the games are not perfect, your endless tirades have been allowed, why not mine?, plus I have not said people can't post, I simply stated it can't be good for them doing it on every single comment section.

@Yorumi,

Post as much as you like, we have to get this up to 400 or so comments.

@johnvboy Yeah that's my plan. Just waiting for it to drop more on ebay. I still want to get the game, just not at the current price.

@Kalmaro,

Makes sense to be honest, these games will drop a little before the first wave of DLC hits, and as I said they do look pretty good, and may offer some big areas to explore.

@johnvboy Oh yes, the DLC looks really nice, I'm hoping I can pick up the base game for cheap early enough to go through it before the DLC drops

Are you in the U.S buddy?, as I am sure you will have tonnes of used copies on E-bay by now, I must admit the Snow area with the house on the mountain is giving me a Twilight Princess vibe, pity it's the second wave of DLC.

@johnvboy Yeah but I'm waiting for them to get in the $30 range. They are still in the 40s.

I don't mind buying just a used cartridge. I COULD try to out-bid someone but I don't mind waiting.

@Kalmaro,

In the U.K the retail is around £45.00, but I have seen copies on e-bay for around £40, they will come down in time.

@Yorumi Do we know that Game Freak is the one setting the budgets and development cycles for the games? I doubt they are. They seem to want to work at their own pace and it seems like they're answering to TPC (there was an interview where Masuda and Ohmori were nervously looking towards TPC executives in the room). The small development teams you can blame on them because IIRC they like operating like an indie studio, but aside from that, I don't think they're the ones responsible for a lot of these issues.

@Yorumi No actually you should listen to what johnvboy is telling you and keep quiet because it's getting rather tiresome seeing you guys hating on the positivity and hype and shoving the negativity down everyone's throats cause they don't think the same as the rest of the small bunch.
Either go and find a new hobby or shut up and let people enjoy things ...your choice!

@Gr8-1 You know you can ignore them, right?

@johnvboy I got it around the retail price so spending £26.99 is nothing really as the whiners are making it out to be.

@Kalmaro True ...but it's better off this way since people need to a reality check that it's uncool to hate not "trendy to hate"

@Gr8-1 Sure sure, just be careful though, hate is addictive and it's easy to fall into hating the haters. Then you'll become what you sought to destroy!

Good grief, there are so many comments here now that it's killing my phone.

Looks very good aditions st a good price too

@Gr8-1,

Awesome price, so around £50 in total with all the extra DLC, sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.

@Yorumi,

If you look at Nintendo's Switch news page they are highlighting the games good reviews, and the game has a 80% overall rating on Metacritic, so I would argue there is no reason for Nintendo to do as you suggest, as they already have a big enough stake in the Pokemon franchise.

You can't always ignore good sales and positive reviews just because it does not support your negative view of the game, I guarantee if these games were selling low numbers and the reviews were all very low, you would see this as proof you were tight all along.

@Yorumi,

A lot of reviews like the more streamlined approach, and a lot of core fans have said the series needed a bit of a shake up, GameFreak change things a little and still people complain, the core to be honest does not Know what it wants.

And again you and others stating the game is not good is still your own personal views, for me the graphics suit the franchise and have a great art style, yes there are technical issues, but I still like the look of the game and the Pokemon themselves, as for the reviews I think the game is right at 80% good but not perfect, the sales of the game show that the masses still like these new titles imho.

@Yorumi,

It does not matter if we are happy or unhappy about this game or anything else selling well, there are lots of things out there that sell well that I myself personally do not like, my like or dislike of this is irrelevant, as it's still a personal view.

Selling lees for more as you put it depends entirely on your point of view, some see the dex cut as a travesty while some see it as making the game far more accessible, which I feel is what GameFreak were trying to do.

My main issue with your and others view of these new games is you only say negative things, even some of the games critics have still stated there are some good things about these new games, I like them but I do accept there are issues, but overall I find the games entertaining, and with this new DLC the missing Pokemon issue will be rectified, and as yet we do not know enough details on how these new Pokemon can be aquired if you do not buy the DLC, for that fact how the new home feature will affect things.

@Yorumi,

I have no issues with these games and their content, yes I can understand peoples issues with the dex cut, even though personally I have no problem with it.

It seems like there is no way you are going to like these games, which is why I assume you will not be buying them, so as I said you can continue to debate the situation, who knows what GameFreak will do with the next mainline game.