One of the more memorable segments of last month's Pokémon Direct was the reveal of a mighty expansion pass for the latest entries, Pokémon Sword and Shield. Rather than a third entry or 'Ultra' version, this two-part DLC add-on will allow players to continue to their adventure within the Galar Region and uses the same save data from the base game.
How many existing players actually plan to buy and play this expansion pass, though? Over in Japan, Weekly Famitsu ran a survey and published the results inside the latest issue (No. 1630). It turns out 88% of the 900 respondents intend to purchase the DLC. According to Japanese Nintendo, another 10% said they are currently undecided, and the remaining 2% have no intention of buying the expansion pass.
The expansion pass, as mentioned, is broken up into two different segments. The Isle of Armor, taking on the form of a giant island filled with beaches, forests, bogs, caves and sand dunes is scheduled to be released by June 2020. The Crown Tundra - a snow-swept realm - will follow, and is expected to launch in Fall 2020. The expansion pass will set Sword and Shield players back £26.99 / $29.99 and can be pre-purchased directly from the Switch eShop right now.
Do you plan to buy the expansion pass for Sword and Shield? Have you already purchased it? Tell us below.
[source japanesenintendo.com]
Comments 47
Aww cmon man, think about your purchases
No, I have no intention of getting the pass until I get the base game for cheap off ebay.
I've found the base game to be hugely disappointing so I won't be buying the expansion pass
I’m not finished with the base game and I haven’t thought it’s been that great either. Why would I wanna give more money to a studio that can’t even make a modern game? Everything feels so dated and stale with the Pokémon franchise. I’m gonna give my money to other devs
Already bought it. Very much looking forward to it!
Sw/Sh have been my favorite Pokemon games in a very long time. I put them way higher than any of the 3DS titles. But below the DS era. ( I don't know that anything will ever top HG/SS for me unless we get another remake that only improves them, and Platinum and BW2 were both outstanding! )
I'm especially excited for more raid battles and the entire DLC being like the Wild Area.
I am a little worried about the return of certain Pokemon, the limited Pokedex has given us one of the best VGC meta games in a very long time, possibly ever. But some returning Pokemon could spoil that - Landerous, I am talking about you!
One thing I really hope they do however, is to give us back the option for longer battles. The 20 minute time limit is perfectly fine for VGC doubles but far too short for 6v6 singles.
Like I’ve said, it’s better than paying $60 for an Ultra version or 3rd game, or sequel games like Black 2/White 2. We get more content, more Pokémon, so why the initial hate to begin with? I love Sword/Shield, first Pokémon game in years I’ve sunk 150 hours into over the course of two months. I was initially disappointed about the national dex missing, but once I started playing, that didn’t matter to me. Max Raid battles and the competitive side of it have me hooked and wanting to constantly build teams and improve upon them, and I’m sure I’ll sink a hundred or more hours into it before and after the expansions come out.
I had a blast with the base games, can’t see a reason not to get more of a good thing.
I am totally getting a pass. I can’t wait to finish it. Now that the Pokémon hype has died down somewhat. I have been playing the heck out of this game. It’s great. Leafeon is the bomb. You can hate all you want on this Pokémon game but it is giving me some mileage on the hours of gameplay.
I enjoyed the base game, but I'm not sure I'll get the expansions. Too many time consuming games coming. But maybe I'll get it eventually.
@PBandSmelly
More content for a pair of games I very much enjoy sounds like a good purchase to me. You don't have to like the games, but no one cares about your opinion or is upset that PBandSmelly, a stranger on a website, looks down on them for spending their hard-earned money on what they want.
@JesWood13 because there shouldn't be a 3rd game in the first place. It has been a terrible practice since the beginning.
Spend that development time in making a better full sequel instead of throwing Pokemon games like they are candies in a piñata.
The only reason I'm getting the expansion passes is because I've been playing Pokemon since Blue/Red and I have a full Pokedex..... so I'm FORCED to buy this to keep my collection up to date. But I'm not happy about it.
Day one purchase for me, still enjoying sword and love the wild area, these new DLC packs seem to expand on this idea which sounds good to me, hopefully they will have large areas to explore, and all the extra content and Pokemon are a bonus as far as I am concerned.
@fafonio,
For the original releases not to be full games there are a lot of people who have sunk a lot of hours into them, the DLC as long as it offers value is always welcome to a game that I like, never saw anyone stating the Mario kart 8 DLC was wrong, even though it looked planned all along and could have easily been included in the original Wii release.
Kind of already bought it maybe
The obvious conclusion that one would come to after reading this article is that 88% of Sword and Shield players are going to purchase the DLC or at the very least the players in Japan. But look, that's a mighty small sample size compared to the actual population of Sword and Shield owners and if we were to extrapolate from this data and include the entire population, then around 14 million people would purchase the expansion pass, 3 million in Japan. I don't know about anyone else but I got a feeling that these numbers aren't a completely accurate depiction of the data one would find when the DLC releases. That said I don't doubt the DLC is going to do very well.
I'm one of those few who won't be getting it then. I bought sword and completed it along with 100% Pokédex in the first 2 weeks. I felt it was good at best and did enjoy what I played but it felt bare bones compared to previous Pokémon games. I'm sure as hell not going to buy any expansion passes for it. I'm happy to wait for pearl/diamond remakes or lets go 2 games.
Sad day for the Pokémon community
The sell you an features that should have been in the vanilla, for Almost the price of a 3ds era game, after selling a game for 1.5 price with 0.5 the content and lying to you all the way
First Pokémon game I didn’t bought
I disagree. I read, and I don't intend to buy the pass.
@fafonio I understand how you feel, I had the same kind of feeling with Sun and Moon actually.
However, Sword and Shield have been hugely disappointing to me. So much in fact that I have yet to complete my first playthrough, at this point I'd have to force myself to complete it because I'm not enjoying it at all.
So I decided to stop playing and stop bothering with Pokemon until I see something that interests me again.
So yeah, I have a full Pokedex up to Ultra Sun/Moon in the bank and I did not even bother with Pokemon Home because of my disappointment. Better to just stop playing, especially with how obvious it has become that the games are no longer a product of passion (and greed) but of pure corporate greed.
November 2020 is still pretty long to go.
I still have enough time to play other games.
I will buy only a full version of the games with the Expansions on the cartridge.
@johnvboy to be honest I'm glad you enjoy it. I, in my personal opinion and experience with Pokemon games, found this one to be barebones in all its senses. So the DLC feels, for me, like a "umph, this should have been in the base game"
So, even though I'll be part of the people who buy the DLC, its because almost 30 years of creature capturing force me to do it. It's not like I'm gonna stop now with my Pokedex.
These games are my ball and chain now.
@noutBr I completely agree with you. I thought the same about Home at first. Then it gave me a sense of completion and found it to be a really good app.... if not overpriced though....
But it feels really good to have a full Pokedex in one place.
Now... about the game... it doesn't get any better. For a gamer like me, having seen games with amazing creative worlds like Xenoblade 1,2,X .... the Wild Area is a HUGE dissapointment for me. Like a student's work only to get through the due date. And the story... ugh..
I did like the Pokemons' designs though.
I would recommend trying Home.... it may give you a reason to complete your Pokedex and finish Sword and Shield. Even with the G-Max forms (which I at first thought were stupid) ... but hey.... the Pokedex registers them.... so at least its an incentive to catch them for a 100% complete Pokedex in Home.
You can get a free mug if you order the expansion pass (or a Pokemon game) from the UK store today.
I don’t. But then I never saw the appeal for Pokémon...
I liked the base game quite a lot, buuut not enough to buy the expansion. I've put 85 hours into Sword, half of which was mindless grinding for dex entries, and after that I'm burned out. All the power to people who are buying and I hope you guys will have an amazing time! For me, it was simply not interesting enough to want to keep on playing.
I honestly don't understand all this "game-freak-hate" that took over the internet these last months.
I'm discovering the game right now, and I'm having a blast with it. I love the dynamax process, the raids that go with it, etc...
Hell, I just decided to try the "Pokemon let's go" démo too (I did not yet posess the console when it came out). And I will purchase it too. Cause I think it will be perfect for my kids.
So yeah, I'll take the expansion pass.
@fafonio,
I do understand why people have issues with them, but I like them and can't wait for this DLC to be released, but each to their own as it were.
One thing to keep in mind is that 88% of people buying the DLC doesn't mean that DLC sales will equal 88% of the copies of SwSh sold (Accuracy of the poll aside), i have both games (Bought one, got the other as a gift), but will only be buying DLC for one.
Still, i think the DLC will be a big success, it's better than a third game or pair of sequels, and the "They should have put that in the base game"-argument has been ongoing since Crystal, so suddenly making a big deal out of it is a bit silly, IMO.
Looking forward to it.
I enjoyed the base game, but from what they showed off of the DLC, its not worth $30 to me. If it gets amazing reviews, maybe I'll bite. Or if it gets a price cut in a few months or a year to $20 or $25.
@JesWood13 I don't know. The games used to be 45, so that's 90 in total. This is the same price (60 + 30); except that now you don't have the option to buy the ''superior'' edition anymore, and this is only obtainable as long as Nintendo's Switch servers are up. I still think that these expansions are the post-game that should've been in the games from the start.
Still, a ''third'' game has always been a cheap practice, so it doesn't make for a favourable comparison IMO. Heck, I'd argue that even a second game is one too many.
I’m still torn about actually BUYING the base game. I’m just... not convinced. But the idea of a DLC expansion sounds promising so I might check it out. Really though I’m itching for another Let’s Go! I’d LOVE Gold and Silver but also Diamond and Pearl, the latter being such a fat stretch for me from the mainline games so I thought it was crazy and fun. But please. Get rid of the GO style catching. I miss battles. The GO style catching should be an “option” once you’ve lowered the damage enough to catch.
Doubt I'll get it. I don't feel like I need to play more pokemon shield
I fully intend on buying it
I honestly don't know why I haven't yet
Enjoyed the base game, but won't be picking up the DLC unless something really impresses me with it later. Half the base price of the game is too much for two zones, IMO, but if I feel that the level of content approaches half the base game, I might invest, or if it goes on sale later.
It's Japan. Might as well have asked them - do you still expect to be alive tomorrow, yes or no? Probably would have gotten identical results.
@Primarina Let's not assume that the expansion passes combined are worth two whole games. The base game was already lacking.
Doesn't surprise me, these gaming publications have their own hardcore/niche audiences and a lot of people go for things that you wouldn't quite see the masses going for right away.
@PBandSmelly The digital future that you fear is here. Adapt and enjoy. There’s no going back, don’t be like an old timer that falls behind on everything because they refuse to adapt with the times. Digital is the future! Love it embrace it!
@Tendogamerxxx
I like collecting and building big shelves of stuff. Digital cant do that. You dont even own your entire steam library
@Tendogamerxxx
Oh wait I thought this was a different post
@Tendogamerxxx my point is that the DLC sucks imo. Expansion passes are wayy better than a third installment, but i dont like what the dlc brings
Did anyone else find that this wasn't a SURPRISE besides this article.
@Heavyarms55 Why would you support this busniss plan? Even if you enjoy the series, this is just a straight rip off. They have the other part of the game already coded and they are holding it hostage until you pay for it. It's like putting mega's behind a paywall. This is part of the problem with the gaming industry. People who will pay for anything and companys that want their money before the games are even done.
@whywouldyoudoit Failed troll.
@JesWood13 People like you are the reason why The Pokémon Company gets away with what they do.
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