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Speculation At some point - does Gamefreak need to slow down on the production of new regions and Pokemon?

EmpoleonProd

Empoleon Master Trainer
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As the title suggests, I have a strong fear that continuing down the path of accelerating brand new generations out every few years like it's going out of style is going to get really old really fast, and I think Gamefreak and TPCi need to take another, possibly more "popular" approach. It seems like it's already too overwhelming even with the development of SwSh, and Gamefreak claiming they can no longer support the National Dex in future games, which is a take I find preposterous, particularly with the Switch being such a powerful and modern console, I think the lifespan of the Switch can easily exceed 6 years, which is roughly what the 3DS had, with this in mind, I feel like they COULD polish up models for the remaining Pokemon but only IF they don't rush to Gen 9 so fast, the models used in SwSh have been shown to be the same as those present in GO and Let's Go, just optimized and refined, but with a console with a possible lifespan as great as the Switch, why rush to Gen 9 and new Pokemon at the rate of every 3 years like they have been doing the last couple generations?

I think the proper solution to keep Gamefreak from being overwhelmed with developing brand new content, and to create a healthier gaming experience, would be to toy with the idea of yearly remakes, at this point, almost every region is left behind on graphically outdated systems and games. After SwSh, instead of creating TWO third versions like Gamefreak did with USUM (still one of the dirtiest moves by the company in my opinion), why not go with back-to-back remakes? Sinnoh and Johto are both up soon if trends are to be believed. To keep players entertained by feeding into the nostalgia of the older fanbase while also giving the newer fanbase the opportunity to replay some of the journeys of our childhoods, I think they should do Sinnoh remakes in 2020 and Johto remakes in 2021, this lines up right in that 9-14 year gap remakes typically follow, although Sinnoh is going a little long now. They could even give us a year break without a release, as long as the game is as strong as ORAS. ORAS seemed to keep every entertained for the perfect amount of time, once we all got tired of Hoenn, SM info and trailers began dropping like clockwork.

If the Switch's lifespan can be 6+ years, I see no reason why we can't get almost every region, except maybe Kalos, Hoenn, and Alola, on the Switch, the reason I'm hesitant to include those three is that we had games for them very recently and the 3DS still has decent graphics, particularly compared to DS games like DP or BW. And yes, I am implying Gen 8 can go long, longer than any other generation has, I believe Gen 4 was the longest from mid-2006-late-2010, about 4.5 years.

My ideal release schedule would look something like this:

2019: Sword and Shield
2020: Sinnoh remakes
2021: Johto remakes (perhaps in the style of Let's Go, also allows for the reuse of assets from LGPE to possibly include Kanto in these games)
2022: Break year
2023: Unova remakes

Could be on the Switch or a "Switch Pro/Switch X", or an entirely new console?:

2024: Gen 9

This release schedule fits my predicted 6+ year lifespan of the Switch AND puts every region on the 3DS or Switch, I think this is a very favorable release schedule for both the developers and the players, the developers don't have to rush out brand new ideas every year, at times it feels like they try a little too hard to shove foreign ideas and new gimmicky mechanics down our throats and frankly, I don't think there's a single fan out there who wouldn't like to relive some of their favorite games and regions on such a high-powered console as the Switch.
 
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I think Game Freak do want to slow things down, and maybe have a Generation last 4 or 5 years, but they just can't, because of all the pressure they get from Nintendo and TPCi.

A new Region, and a new batch of Pokémon, always sell much better than a revisit to an old region, with an old Dex. So naturally, Nintendo and TPCi want new content every 3 years, rather than every 4 or 5 years. And Game Freak are kinda forced to satisfy their partners.
 
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I mentioned this in other threads, but the Pokemon games don't exist on their own. There's the anime, the movies, the TCG, the merch, miscellaneous Pokemon games that's not from Game Freak... they're all interconnected very heavily and influence one another.

I'm all for Game Freak taking their time and dedicating resources to creating games. But for that to happen, all other areas from the Pokemon franchise has to work with that.
 
The remakes-heavy approach sounds like a great solution to main series games being rushed thanks to lack of resources, but the Disney live-action films have shown that you can't endlessly rely on nostalgia to sell something. It had better be good quality and actually improve on the original, too. If the Sinnoh remakes leave out Platinum features such as the Battle Frontier again, I get the feeling that fans won't be happy and we'll fall into the same negativity about remakes as we do about the main games.

Secondly, Game Freak's small team is already split into two sections because they're developing Town. Making remakes and Gen 9 concurrently means they'd be split even further and I'm not sure if they can do that without expanding. The most likely scenario if we do get a lot of remakes is that they'd take time and resources away from the development of Gen 9, assuming Game Freak's team doesn't expand.
 
Remakes are a little and temporary patch! Whats the point in remaking HG/SS just for 3D?
We should be getting non-canon games that could explore different styles, characters and timelines and that would serve to please older fans, provide new ideas and entertain while waiting for a new and official generation. The anime had Generations and Chronicles, so why not having that in videogames?
 
If they're serious about making good games, yes. Console games take a lot more time and resources to get right, 1-3 year development cycles with 100ish employees just isn't going to cut it, the higher quality graphics and larger and more open game worlds demand more. They should be spending 4-5 years on the next gen games and have at least 300 people working on the games.

As for how to fill the gaps, they should really start utilizing DLC more. DLC is fairly low investment and can extend a game's life long after its release. And the current formula would lend itself very well to DLC. We're already getting third versions like USUM within a year or two after the original game's release- something like this would be much better suited towards DLC. With the base game already being pretty much the same, it'd be harder to sell people on buying the exact same game all over again for full price than having them spend $10-$20 to upgrade their original game with the new content. And if they still want to sell a full game to people that didn't play the original or might want to play again with a new team, they could still offer the option. Other games have had bundles that include the original game + DLC, such as New Super Luigi U or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, so they could go that route to still get full price from people that would want to buy another copy, but they should still offer the option to buy separately along with it. Furthermore, this would be a great way to distribute event Pokemon if done right. Event Pokemon by themselves might be kind of a ripoff, but if they can throw in new areas to explore, with some bonus Pokemon to catch in those areas, and a short, Delta Episode-esque story arc focusing around the event legendary, then it's starting to look like a worthwhile addition to the games.

All that said, here's how I would approach the game's release schedule:

Year 1: New generation game
Year 2: Third version DLC for new generation game + Event Pokemon DLC
Year 3: Remake + Event Pokemon DLC
Year 4: Third version DLC for remake + Event Pokemon DLC
Year 5: Possibly another remake or Let's Go game
Year 5/6: New generation game
 
the need to stay on the current models for next gen and try to use only alredy current invented mechanics.
Or create new simple mechanics next time in design and way of working.
Armors and Sacred Seals would be cool to have something like this. But only if right effects and if good.
 
I like the idea of event legendary episode DLC and some kind of sub-series aimed at older fans who want more innovative games. I've been thinking of the latter for a long time, actually, but I think the reason Game Freak isn't doing it is because it would cannibalise the sales of traditional main series games.

My ideal timeline would look something like this, then:
2019: SwSh + Sinnoh Remake development starts, Gen 9 is being planned (not in programming phase yet)
2020: SwSh Third Version(s) + Gen 9 enters development
2022: Sinnoh Remakes released
2024: Gen 9 released

Five years to set up Gen 9, and three years to create Sinnoh remakes reusing SwSh's engine and most likely a few of its assets. This reflects how long I'd like them to spend on the games to make sure it's as good as it could possibly be.
 
To be honest, they do need to eventually embrace the idea of DLCs rather than ignore it. But only when done right, basically, adding stories and forms for the third legendary in the first pair of games. That definitely removes the need to make third versions at all, which saves them more time and resources for building up a new generation. Personally, I wouldn't mind them making yearly remakes if it means they don't have to keep creating completely new games under such a small time frame. But then again, with how they are likely to handle the mechanics, I prefer they do one traditional remake per generation.
 
I think that one way they could expand a generation's lifetime would be to start releasing spin offs again such as PMD, Ranger, Snap, and PokePark. I know some had mixed opinions on them, but for me, I felt as if they were able to expand on some Pokemon's stories introduced within the generation, that would have otherwise been dropped with the next. For instance, Darkrai's legacy is still held today, not only because of the main games, but because of its roles in PMD, Ranger, and PokePark. If we look at some of the legendaries recently introduced such as Diancie and Magearna, their stories were barely looked into, rendering them almost forgettable in my opinion. I feel like despite Alola having 4 main series games in total, the Pokemon within its region barely had a chance to shine outside of the tall grass. Today, many of the spin off games are being replaced by phone apps that pander to nostalgia, and while they are successful, they lack the story and substance that made the spin offs and older regions memorable. However, I'm hoping Masters has a good story to it. That being said, by developing spin offs again, it gives the company time to scrupulously work on the next game while they also get to provide new content to sell to fans.
 
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They already should've slowed things down years ago rather than releasing half-finished games. I'm assuming this is Nintendo/TPC's fault and not Game Freak's, but I wish they went back to taking more time between main-series games and letting the individual generations and their characters and Pokémon breathe for a bit. And what happened to releasing good (!) spin-off games in the meantime (yes, I do know these are usually not developed by Game Freak, but it's a related issue IMO). I mean, how did we go from Colosseum, XD, Mystery Dungeon and Ranger to all this free-to-play rubbish they've been putting out the last few years?

I think that one way they could expand a generation's lifetime would be to start releasing spin offs again such as PMD, Ranger, Snap, and PokePark. I know some had mixed opinions on them, but for me, I felt as if they were able to expand on some Pokemon's stories introduced within the generation, that would have otherwise been dropped with the next. For instance, Darkrai's legacy is still held today, not only because of the main games, but because of its roles in PMD, Ranger, and PokePark. If we look at some of the legendaries recently introduced such as Diancie and Magearna, their stories were barely looked into, rendering them almost forgettable in my opinion. I feel like despite Alola having 4 main series games in total, the Pokemon within its region barely had a chance to shine outside of the tall grass. Today, many of the spin off games are being replaced by phone apps that pander to nostalgia, and while they are successful, they lack the story and substance that made the spin offs and older regions memorable. However, I'm hoping Masters has a good story to it. That being said, by developing spin offs again, it gives the company time to scrupulously work on the next game while they also get to provide new content to sell to fans.
YES!
 
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It might be my nostalgia talking, but it feels like Pokémon is going through the motions nowadays, and spinoffs are a big sign of that. Everything nowadays is happy-go-lucky, storyless, 90s-tastic, free-to-play games, except Detective Pikachu. Even Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon played up the "no Pokémon is evil" thing despite it contradicting a theme they reused from Gates to Infinity. I've heard people say that The Pokémon Company realised that mobile games are more profitable.

PS: Darkrai was everywhere pre-Platinum. Remember Shadows of Almia?
 
We should be getting non-canon games that could explore different styles, characters and timelines and that would serve to please older fans, provide new ideas and entertain while waiting for a new and official generation. The anime had Generations and Chronicles, so why not having that in videogames?
First of all, those anime examples were all about nostalgia. Why expect the same company to handle a different concept well? Give it to other people. The key to Game Freak improving the main series is not spreading out.

I've heard people say that The Pokémon Company realised that mobile games are more profitable.
Shuffle and Duel probably did better than the 3DS spin-off games (including SPMD). Go's success is unparalleled by anything but the original games.
 
this doesn't solve any of the inherent problems of the series though. making a new generation every x years but having those x years filled with other games (ie., work) is no different.
 
They already should've slowed things down years ago rather than releasing half-finished games.

Yes. Apparently, the alien invasion theme found in Alola was the original main story for X and Y, but it was cut due to time constraints. If they'd given it another year, then maybe XY would be better very different to what they are today.
Source:
View: https://medium.com/@pankopop/the-xy-files-the-lost-plot-of-pokemons-6th-generation-d0d140881148


I've seen a lot of people point out that games can't be delayed because of anime and merchandise releases. But since it's the games that dictate anime/merch releases, I see no reason why they couldn't slow down game development and reschedule the other two to match. We've had filler seasons of anime before, after all, and it's always nice to see cameos of new Pokemon in films or merch.
 
I think they need to hire a bigger team of programmers tbh. I feel like Gamefreak as a company is unusually small and that they need to expand and create the core games faster too, because I've noticed around social media and forums like this one that fans get bored with the core games very fast (sometimes within just a couple of months after their release), so Gamefreak needs to pick up the pace and start releasing new core games annually imo.

Also while on the subject, I agree with those who say that Gamefreak just goes through the motions these days. Their recent work has been very derivative and bleak to the point where I feel like they don't even have the same passion for the games that they once had and that they're making the games simply because Nintendo has Gamefreak at gun point.
 
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