Pokémon's COO Wants To Keep Franchise Going For "Hundreds Of Years"

It's a shame that they probably don't have to creativity to keep it going for that long though and I still find it a shame that they can't keep up the quality.

Did he just admit they can't be "100% aligned" with making a game that isn't technically falling apart at the seams?

Know when a band gets a new member and their sound just goes in a different direction? Like when Dave Navarro joined the Chili Peppers on “One Hot Minute.” Yea, something like this in a Pokémon game, I think, mostly, would be a different game developer.. It would branch out with brand new ideas, and if done right, could add years or even decades to the IP’s relevance.

@Switch_Pro I bet you can’t even define what “woke” means and why it’s supposedly bad

Pokemon company: “Pokemon 100 years PIKACHU & EEVEE. Every day, all day, 100 years. Selling games 100 years PIKACHU & EEVEE, 100 years two versions near identically the same, PIKACHU & EEVEE”!

How often do you think about the Pokémon Empire?

Hundreds of years is what it seemingly will take to patch the performance issues in Scarlet and Violet.

Awfully optimistic of him to think that within hundreds of years global warming hasn't decimated humanity, or at least left the planet in a state where anyone would have the means of playing video games.

@Burning_Spear Honestly I see them release a "Switch 2 patch" when that launches next year.

What a joke. What parts of the community are asking for? These aren't features that you didn't release. You released a broken game!

@Logicfire they should just give the series to BAMCO

Well tbf and this might be an unpopular opinion but I think Pokémon is Nintendo's biggest franchise and quite easily. Not just in video game content but with their anime, films, TCG, toys and collectibles. So why wouldn't they want the franchise to keep on going, just like Mario and Zelda will still be going in an hundred years time. Infact I'm actually quite surprised Nintendo haven't purchased 100% rights to Pokémon yet by acquiring TPC and Gamefreak.

My only concern is that to keep the series fresh and people interested is to create new pokemon every gen, at some point surely ideas will run out or the amount of Pokémon will reach an absurd number well over 3000, they are struggling to fit half of what they have now into one game.

@Polvasti leave your environmentalist agenda out of the nintendo life comments, please.

I can definitely see Pikachu lasting that long, but only if they continue to allow it to appear in other games and places.

Pokemon as a whole though... I'm not convinced. I think the Switch era has shown some pretty significant shortcomings for the series, and whilst there is still an enormous fan base - it's difficult to believe there is significant growth.

Then they better slow down their development cycles because it isn't sustainable in the long-term as games get bigger and the hardware becomes more sophisticated and complex. Or go back to 2D sprite-based games for a while, I'd be down for that! The GBA games are timeless.

I've accepted that generations 1-5 are for my "Generation". There have been games after that I've enjoyed...but they weren't the same.

Will it run for 100 years? Maybe, but I won't be following it that long (and not because I'll be dead )

Now this raises an interesting question: What video game franchises will still be active 100 years from now?

Like CoD and Assassin's Creed, regardless of the series quality, Pokemon is now too big to fail. The games can be terrible and broken, the anime boring and unwatchable, the TCG unbalanced and expensive - and people will still eat it up just because it's Pokemon.

But in a bittersweet way, I'm almost glad. I'm trying and playing more games than I was when Pokemon was at its peak, and the RPGs are so refreshing in comparison. Ironically really excited to see what the next Digimon game is that's having a smooth development from what Bandai's said - the Cyber Sleuth games, while they could be a bit grindy, were exactly what I wanted from Pokemon. Would 100% both again if the RPG To Do List wasn't already way too big and still growing!

@HaileySheridon Just looked online and found this

Pokémon has since been estimated to be the world's highest-grossing media franchise and one of the best-selling video game franchises. Pokémon has an uncommon ownership structure. Unlike most IPs, which are owned by one company, Pokémon is jointly owned by three: Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures.

Which got me thinking about what happened with Rare, what if say Sony, Microsoft or Tencent etc were to acquire Creatures or Gamefreak, would that then entitle them to have Pokémon on their platform as well? This is why I find it strange Nintendo have never tried acquiring full ownership of Gamefreak or Creatures.

Probably easier said than done, but it's a nice thought that future generations can discover what we loved so much about this franchise.

Though, and I hate to be /that/ commenter, especially since I enjoyed Scarlet & Violet more than most... you know what would help with that?

Making better quality games.

Even if they don't come out yearly, the quality will speak and people will keep coming back.

Most entertainment franchises are lucky to last a decade. Obviously, with how well-established and profitable Pokemon is, it's not likely to disappear any time soon, but if they want it to last hundreds of years into the future, they should really slow down and look at what they're doing in the present. Since the beginning of the series, they've repeatedly added excellent new features with one game only to toss them out with the next. Dungeon-esque gyms and evil HQs, HMs, fishing, pokemon following you, returning to old regions, the national dex, secret bases, underwater areas, the battle frontier, the underground, the poketch, mega evolutions, alpha pokemon, and so many more little tweaks and mechanics have been either thrown out entirely or replaced with inferior versions over time, and even the basic level of polish on the series has been rocky for the Switch's entire lifespan. If they can just take a page from Nintendo's book and treat the mainline series with the respect it deserves, then maybe Pokemon will continue on for decades or even centuries to come. But as things stand now, I'm afraid they'll make the same mistake so many other properties have recently, running themselves into the ground by continually trying to make as much money as possible as quickly as possible with as little effort as possible.

Yep, I can see it now, In 200 years Charlton Heston is gonna come riding up a beach on horseback, only to discover a ruined Snorlax monument..
"YOU POKEMANIACS! YOU BLEW IT UP!!!"

There's just something unhinged about saying this out loud in an interview.

What an interesting thought. Hundreds of years is such a long time and it’s neat to imagine recognizable pieces of the present sticking around into the far future.

Will the world survive that long?
Probably not... 🌎 🔥

If they give the franchise to a competent developer it will survive.

Company that historically made money on a franchise would like to keep making money on said franchise.

They'll keep making video games so long as people keep buying them, but their issues with performance in the last few games has given me serious doubts about their future with video games specifically.

For hundreds of years? That's mind bending!

Imagine being in year 2523 and there was so much content in a franchise that you could spend your entire life engulfed in it and still not experience everything.

@UltimateOtaku91 You already answered that question yourself.

"Pokémon has since been estimated to be the world's highest-grossing media franchise and one of the best-selling video game franchises."

That's why. The amount of money that would need to be dropped to acquire TPC will be staggering by any outsider like Sony, TenCent and even Microsoft.

I am sure Nintendo will have tried to acquire Pokemon as a whole, but either Creatures nor Gamefreak would stupid enough to sell their stake in TPC and why would they?
The Pokemon Company is a literal endless money printing machine.

@HeftyLaces It's not "environmentalist agenda", it's neutral scientific projection based on what's happening to the planet at the moment. Also, I had no idea it's forbidden to talk about climate change in Nintendo Life comments.

@Switch_Pro My grandparents do this too.

We'll be talking about something trivial, such as TV or food or something, and out of the blue, they will say they're sick of this "woke" stuff. Doesn't matter what we're discussing.

I was at a cafe with my grandpa not too long ago and we just happened to be sitting within view of the bathroom, and our conversation was completely sidetracked because it reminded him that pronouns and genders exist, and he absolutely had to mention how much it bothers him.

Is that you, grandpa?

Can someone explain how a comment like Switch_Pro's got 12 likes? If you all hate "woke" so much then go to bed.

@OstianOwl
He just did. "Hey everyone, we'll take your money and give you trash in return, because you love us. Oh I know - why don't we do this for hundreds of years?"

I do see Pokemon lasting for 100s of years (unless something unforeseen happens...)

And with that. I look forward to Pokemon Gen 20 XD

I can't wait for more games that fail to address the deep rooted issues that have been present in the exploration, storytelling, and combat systems since the inception of Pokemon. So good guys.

Imagine Pokemon in the future will be similar as the case in Final Fantasy X and X-2 situation.

@DellMibbler,

I think the post was referring to companies pushing the more extreme Woke agendas to seem inclusive, then they proceed to lose money.

As for the definition of Woke, well it initially stood for a kind of cultural enlightenment, but now seems to associated with the more radical left ideology, not suggesting any of this is correct, or my own personal view, by the way.

@Polvasti I get you'd like to think it's scientific, but its not. Sure a linear graph would project that if the earth keeps heating up the way it currently is, earth would be uninhabitable in a few centuries. Truth is though, it won't, the earth goes through heating and cooling cycles. We are currently in a heating cycle. Eventually we will regress back to a cooling cycle.

But alas, this is a nintendo life comment board, not a youtube comment section. Have a wonderful day, sir.

@HeftyLaces lmao... you were whining about his "environmental agenda" (which was a simple comment and would have slipped by if it hadn't been for you) and you ended up barfing your "climate change denial" agenda down everybody's throat

@HeftyLaces Sure, the Earth has had heating and cooling cycles before, but scientists have found out that the current heating is largely caused by the actions of humankind, i.e. by emissions generated by human machinery and industry causing a greenhouse effect. That's a scientific fact, and if you're trying to deny it, you're the one with an agenda.

I wish I could have the optimism of this guy.

@Switch_Pro Wokémon

@johnvboy Is there a game you can think of that specifically lost money just because they wanted to be more inclusive and "woke", as you put it?

The only thing I recall recently was the big deal about Hogwarts Legacy including a trans character and despite all the noise we heard about boycotts, the game still sold incredibly. I didn't hear about that boycott again, even with the recent Switch release.

From a gaming perspective, we're basically just going from "Are you a boy or a girl?" to "What is your pronoun?"

^ That's basically what people were threatening to boycott over, doesn't it seem silly?

@UltimateOtaku91 The reason why other companies won’t be able to buy gamefreak and put the series on their platform is because Nintendo and Gamefreak have a massive working relationship with one another. Nintendo makes up a portion of the share holders in The Pokemon Company, so they have a good amount of influence. Especially in terms of marketing and publishing the games.

I wish Pokémon a great future, love collecting the cards, the new anime is fine despite I prefered the old one with Ash and the Team Rocket trio, I like the games but hope future games gets a bit more time before launch to be less glitchy. I have not been affected by glitches myself, but I have read some worriesome stuff online
—————
@Astral-Grain I think the new Saints row game maybe sold badly because of that stuff.
@Bret It got likes because people pressed the thumbsupbutton Either intentionally, or unintentionally without noticing it.

@Tobiaku Ah, now I remember this.

In the months leading up to Saints Row 2022's release, there was a large group of people campaigning against it, stating their trailers and gameplay show that the game is "too woke". This is identical to what happened with Hogwarts Legacy, except Hogwarts was very well received because it was a well made game.

This is funny when you consider that Saints Row 2 (2009) had a gender slider, cross dressing, and lots of other "woke" elements, but that was before it became politicized.

However, a quick google search would tell you Saints Row 2022's actual release failed because it had poor planning and very poor writing. Instead of trying to appease their old fans and new fans, they upset all their fans with a poor product that is worse than previous entries.

I can see how you may conclude it failed for being "too woke" but it was just another fake woke boycott that happened to precede a very bad game.

I'm excited to see how this series evolves in 20 years...

...The visuals might actually be decent, and run at a steady frame rate.

@DonkeyFantasy Sir I am a part of the "scientific community", I have a master's degree in biochemistry and work as a clinical lab scientist. I have done much of this research myself. I dont want to argue about this. Have a wonderful day.

If you disregard the presentation (or lack thereof) of the most recent game and focus on sales and revenue (of the games and merchandise as a whole), then yes, Pokémon is well on its way to being around for 100+ years.

@RupeeClock That last bit (about future historians studying Pokemon merch) is such a strange thought, but I fully expect it to hold true. We look at the art and culture- even pop culture- of bygone eras and civilizations with such fascination, and there's no reason to think the 1990s and later will be exempt in a few centuries.

Though it may be a bit delayed, given the recent changes around the sharing of information: can 20th century media and culture fade away into antiquity as quickly as previous centuries, when we have readily-available archives of movies, games, and even message boards from decades ago?

@HeftyLaces This may be rubbing salt in the wound, but when you go out of your way to tell someone to stop talking about a thing because it bothers you ... chances are very high people will take advantage of this aversion and keep doing it simply because it bothers you.

People love irony.

If you don't want to discuss topics that make you uncomfortable, the trick is not to involved yourself in topics that make you uncomfortable.

@Astral-Grain,

I never said there was a specific game that lost money, I simply stated that was what another poster might of meant. And what they could interpret as woke meaning. I think I used companies in my post, I suppose some could see Disney as an example of this.

Not that I agreed or disagreed with any of it.

@DellMibbler Easy. Critical social justice along intersectionalist lines. Why it's bad, causing even the slightest offence to anybody or any other group ever leads to cancelling those that do.

@johnvboy Ah, so you have no opinions of your own on the matter. Understood.

@HaileySheridon Why would you pay to watch propaganda?

@AlexanderDaniels You seem to think this is a Q Anon Conspiracy forum

Sir, this is a Wendy's

In a hundred years, they might finally look like games released on a more powerful console than the 3DS.

@Switch_Pro well they already made pokemon sleep

@HeftyLaces eerie that we sound pretty similar. Master's degree and formerly worked in a clinical lab (research scientist now). Funny how being a scientist who questions the narrative gets you hate and vitriol.

@Astral-Grain WWG1WGA

@umbreon_sylveon Ah yes, "WWG1WGA" - people say this to me all the time.

It's such a commonly used abbreviation and very clever, only the smartest people know what it means. You must be one of them.

It's almost as clever as "Let's go Brandon"

@Switch_Pro Ah, you're one of those people that get upset over anything diverse or inclusive. How sad.

Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?

@1day this is the only important comment to come out of the wokemon discussion

@Astral-Grain @umbreon_sylveon Ohhh my favorite codeword is "dogwhistle"

I would definitely like higher quality control, but aside from that, I would look forward to enjoying Pokemon games for the rest of my days.

.... and if GameFreak wants my suggestions I'm always available for consultation

@Chlocean Nice. My safeword is "cornucopia"

Oh wait, are we not talking about the same thing?

Nothing is impossible... not even sure what form video games will take by then, if still around. Legacy is sometimes an accidental thing that transcends an age.

I thought I walked into a comment section, not a projection booth.

I'mma head out.

If they have problems with 500ish Pokémon’s, I can’t see them have thousands more to last another decade or even 50 years.

@Switch_Pro Anyone who genuinely uses that term at all is more often than not the one with the questionable problems.

@BriskSunrise,

Why is it a problem to question things?, yes I will grant you there will be elements of the extreme right that use the term, but not everybody. Some times there are the more radical views from the left as well. Can these views not be called into question, just as people do when it comes from the oter side. This is all about tollerance, but usually one side is shouting about the other not being very tolorent, while at the same time refusing to listen to any opinion other than their own.

Okay don't release a new game next year. Or the year after. Just leave it in the oven till it's actually ready this time.

It's nice to imagine and I'm sure there'll be no end to the impulse-buy fans who'll gobble up every release, but that'll be nothing but a dream if they keep up the shoddiness.

Also, with so much monsters by then couple with their current method of only having select species available each game, "catching 'em all" will be even more pointless than it already is.

@Astral-Grain You mentioned Hogwarts legacy in the post I replied to, how come you can credit the anti-woke crowd for a failed boycott of that game (a good chunk of the boycotters boycotted it because of the author of the world the game is set in made comments they didn’t like, not because the game is woke)

Yet because other people also didn’t buy Saints row it means the boycott of those who did it because they thought the game is wokeheld a fake boycott?
How come they can take the credit for the failed boycott of Hogwarts legacy, but not Saints row?

@Tobiaku When a game releases and all the reviews agree it's a bad game with bad planning and writing, I think it's reasonable to conclude the failure of that game is attributed to its bad qualities, and has nothing to do with a group of manchildren throwing a temper tantrum because "game is inclusive and woke".

I said the boycotts failed for Hogwarts Legacy because they did. Many people wanted to Boycott the game for various reasons, many claiming it's "too woke", others claiming it's because the author of the story is a bigot, but whatever view you attribute to the boycotts, they all failed because the game was a smash success, despite all the whining.

Does that clear everything up?

@Astral-Grain,

Usually when anyone suggests a game will get boycotted etc, the total opposite happens, just like if a game is controversial for some reason or another, peope can buy to see what all the fuss was about.

@johnvboy I thought you didn't have an opinion on this matter.

What are you indicating exactly?

Yeah, I deliberately looked here to see whether I should shed my Pokemon fandom or keep it. What do you think I should do?

@Astral-Grain,

No, I think I stated I was not bothered either way, or never indicated a position, It was you that posted I had no opinion on the matter. My last post to you was agreeing with you, as game boycotts for whatever reason, very rarely work, and impact sales in a negative way.

@umbreon_sylveon That's really cool man! Nerd gang 💪

@umbreon_sylveon,

Never ever question the approved narrative.

@Sheffield0914 this, omg 😂😂😂 had me dying