Are the two sinnoh games a test?

[vivian20]

I think they are testing many things with Legends: arceus. They are testing what they can change , what they can remove, without risking the gen 9 games . Remakes usually sell less than new gen games, so i think the remakes/prequels/sequels are the place to risk and try something really new.They expect remakes to sell around 12 millions and new gen games to sell around 16 millions. Losing 20 % of the sales of a remake would mean lose around 2 millions sales , and losing 20% in new gen games mean losing over 3 millions sales.

In pokemon LGPE, they tried to change the EV system , the catch system, to put all the pokemon in overworld, box accessible from anywere, and cut the pokedex, while assuring profits with kanto games. There are many gen1ners that for sure would buy kanto games. They also tried to bring pokemon go players to console games. Most people complained a lot about most changes , most liked overworld pokemon and accessible boxes, but some complained about the lack of random enconters. So, in sword/shield they put random enconters and overworld pokemon together, and cut the pokedex, because people didnt complain enough about it in lgpe. In Sw/Sh, people complained a lot about dexit, but bought the games anyway. The only real change sw/sh brought was wild area, and that doesnt cover all the map. Gigantamax is just the new megaevolution , and you can just ignore max raids for most of the game.

In legends ; arceus they will test multiple changes, like overworld battles, lack of gyms and trial captains, let battle pokemon to catch it or throw the pokeball on it optional, explore old mythicals and legendaries instead of new ones, lack of trainer battles, big changes on battle mechanics. The most succesfull changes will be on gen 9 games, or in gen 10 games if its too late to gen 9 be drastically changed.

 

[PinkIceFox]

If it is a test I'm gonna eternally groan at the 'this or that' mindset. Like. I want the game to look like Legends. I want battles like the regular pokemon games (not entirely thrilled about legends' battle system so far but we'll see how it actually plays). I want exploration and things. This isn't a hard thing to accomplish Dragon Quest 11 had a nice world to explore, classic turn based combat, and the world was very nicely designed.

I'm not asking gamefreak to make something identical to that... I don't care about graphics (LEAVE WILD AREA TREE ALONE- LEAVE HER ALONE). I just wanna play my pokemans and run around and have fun. Maybe find a secret cave because I decided to run around that rock instead of following the path. And that cave is full of money! And secret items!

Also let me pet my pokemon and stuff I've been spoiled I want some pet raising features in my pokemon now you have only yourself to blame, Gamefreak.

 

[Spurs1819]

If they really wanted to test it, then they should offer both options of catching/wild encounters etc. and have indicators on the backend that tell them what people have set their consoles to. Then again, if they offered both, they solve the problem of choice anyway.

I would've been interested in LGPE but I don't want to catch Pokemon like in Pokemon Go, except even more awkwardly. I would've been interested in BDSP but it looks like a ported GBA game and as 'nostalgic' as I might be, I'm not nostalgic enough to go through those graphics and storylines. I mean, SWSH played like a GBA game anyway, but at least didn't make me suffer through GBA graphics.

 

[Gengarzilla]

I'd be disappointed if they are. I want to see top effort out of both, not for one to be a lab rat for the other. Especially if said lab rat is the long-awaited remake of the game that got me to like Pokémon games beyond the Mystery Dungeon spinoffs.

 

[Jukain726]

I was going to make an analogy to Sonic Mania and Sonic Forces, but it's just not the same situation, and that was never resolved anyway. I don't really think the matter they outsourced the remakes means much other than they needed more people to make such a radically different kind of game for them with Legends: Arceus, so they just handed all the materials for the remakes and how they're put together to someone else so that they could finish it for them. It's not like they were making the whole thing from scratch. Even though they're two different genres, I see no reason for them to compete with themselves. (although that would suggest that the spinoffs somehow compete with the main series, and that is just absurd since they're all The Pokemon Company, and Gamefreak does still have a say in that)

There is no telling how this will affect the series going forward, but I do not see them abandoning the traditional formula for pokemon games, and it's Legends: Arceus that is more uncertain. It's success will determine if more games of that nature are made. The regular method of making pokemon games is going nowhere. (That means they won't stop making pokemon games in the way they've always made them)

 

[JackHarro]

Sinnoh remakes being used as insurance in case Legends Arceus doesn't sell well (hence the very small release gap). Because the game that is just copying most of the original game is cheaper to produce than the actual brand new game with new mechanics (at least for the series), so gotta do something really safe to recoup potential losses.

I think that’s a good thing. We wouldn’t want the Pokémon company making careless mistakes and going under.