Speculation Future Pokemon Game Speculation Thread

[Daren]

The most charitable explanation possible is that the team they assigned to this specific game was totally derelict; the more sinister and frankly more likely explanation is that they ignored the playtesters' warnings because they cynically reckoned it was "good enough" and that brand recognition would carry it over the finish line. If you're a fan of literally any Nintendo IP, even if you've never cared for Pokemon, the fact they've shown themselves capable of this Activision-tier hanky-panky should make you deeply worried about whatever series you like, but I digress.

Pokémon games have had bug problems since pretty much day 1, but first party Nintendo games are still fine, even ones that almost certainly should have been buggy messes like Tears of the Kingdom.

 

[Yung Dramps]

Pokémon games have had bug problems since pretty much day 1, but first party Nintendo games are still fine, even ones that almost certainly should have been buggy messes like Tears of the Kingdom.

RBGY was buggy, yes, but that's less due to anything Game Freak specifically did wrong and more because "Holy hell, they crammed a fully functioning JRPG with over 100 playable characters onto a system that's probably weaker than some Atari consoles". It's an unironic technical marvel and the fact they got it working at all is one of the 90s' biggest achievements in game programming. From RS all the way up until BDSP this series had a near-spotless record when it came to bugs and glitches QA: You got your occasional specks of wackiness like that one tree you can swim in in BW2 (Gasp!) or the Emerald obscure berry glitches (Oh the horror!), but what series doesn't? Even the "bad" games like DP and XY functioned as intended. Prior to BDSP/SV the next-worst thing I can think of was the Lumiose softlock bug, for all intents and purposes an anomaly that was quickly resolved with an emergency patch. As such, it would be advisable for us not to pretend like those pair of games are actually just business as usual.

Anywho, how about a more positive conversation-starter? I've been thinking about what would actually be able to convince me to buy a potential BW1 remake and the answer I've settled on is some sort of bonus side-story akin to Magolor Epilogue in RtDL DX or the upcoming Sonic x Shadow Generations. My idea was a prequel to the main game where you go on missions as a rookie Plasma Grunt, getting a more nuanced look at the organization and expanding on underutilized characters like Anthea and Concordia. Maybe there's even a tragic ending where the grunt attracts Ghetsis' ire and loses everything, getting the player extra riled up against the guy and ready to beat him in the main game.

 

[RileyXY1]

RBGY was buggy, yes, but that's less due to anything Game Freak specifically did wrong and more because "Holy hell, they crammed a fully functioning JRPG with over 100 playable characters onto a system that's probably weaker than some Atari consoles". It's an unironic technical marvel and the fact they got it working at all is one of the 90s' biggest achievements in game programming. From RS all the way up until BDSP this series had a near-spotless record when it came to bugs and glitches QA: You got your occasional specks of wackiness like that one tree you can swim in in BW2 (Gasp!) or the Emerald obscure berry glitches (Oh the horror!), but what series doesn't? Even the "bad" games like DP and XY functioned as intended. Prior to BDSP/SV the next-worst thing I can think of was the Lumiose softlock bug, for all intents and purposes an anomaly that was quickly resolved with an emergency patch. As such, it would be advisable for us not to pretend like those pair of games are actually just business as usual.

Anywho, how about a more positive conversation-starter? I've been thinking about what would actually be able to convince me to buy a potential BW1 remake and the answer I've settled on is some sort of bonus side-story akin to Magolor Epilogue in RtDL DX or the upcoming Sonic x Shadow Generations. My idea was a prequel to the main game where you go on missions as a rookie Plasma Grunt, getting a more nuanced look at the organization and expanding on underutilized characters like Anthea and Concordia. Maybe there's even a tragic ending where the grunt attracts Ghetsis' ire and loses everything, getting the player extra riled up against the guy and ready to beat him in the main game.

Especially when some players suffered memory leaks that wiped away years of save data in a mere second.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I agree TPC doesn't like the idea of a gap year, but they may be forced to take them. Nintendo has not been shy about the fact that they are unhappy with the quality of SV and rumor has it they got a talking to by Nintendo behind the scenes. Gap years may not entirely be out of TPC hands then, considering one of their 1/3 shareholders is not happy with the current situation.

Where did this rumor come from? Not that it would be entirely unbelievable given the technical problems in Scarlet/Violet, but considering that the games have sold incredibly well within its first year, I don't know if Nintendo would be that upset at Game Freak or TPC. That sounds more like people upset about Scarlet/Violet and/or Game Freak and trying to justify it by making up rumors.

 

[Yung Dramps]

Regarding the "Is ILCA competent/experienced enough to do any better than BDSP" question:



Probably won't be GOTY material if One Piece Odyssey is its blueprint, but it's like... An actual videogame! With scope and solid art direction and cool ideas that seem executed at least fine! It's enough to convey to me that there's at least a decent chunk of talent at this studio that BDSP's dysfunctional chop shop dev cycle didn't properly tap into.

 

[vriedi]

i dont think a game by ILCA is out of the table due to the fact BDSP sold better than ORAS and HGSS for the sheer virtue of being on the switch alone

 

[Thegameandwatch]

Although not 100% a correlation since the DS sold more copies.

i dont think a game by ILCA is out of the table due to the fact BDSP sold better than ORAS and HGSS for the sheer virtue of being on the switch alone

 

[RileyXY1]

Where did this rumor come from? Not that it would be entirely unbelievable given the technical problems in Scarlet/Violet, but considering that the games have sold incredibly well within its first year, I don't know if Nintendo would be that upset at Game Freak or TPC. That sounds more like people upset about Scarlet/Violet and/or Game Freak and trying to justify it by making up rumors.

Yeah. The only way I would think it was true is if SV was mass returned due to all the glitches, and there are no indications that the game is being mass refunded.

 

[Norzan]

Where did this rumor come from? Not that it would be entirely unbelievable given the technical problems in Scarlet/Violet, but considering that the games have sold incredibly well within its first year, I don't know if Nintendo would be that upset at Game Freak or TPC. That sounds more like people upset about Scarlet/Violet and/or Game Freak and trying to justify it by making up rumors.

Nintendo is actually issuing refunds for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet - Dexerto

Nintendo is finally offering refunds for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Here's how you can get your money back if you don't like the games.

www.dexerto.com

Nintendo allowed refunds, they wouldn't have done that if there wasn't an influx of players disastified with the final product. Plus Nintendo very rarely even allows refunds in the first place, so Nintendo was clearly not happy with how the game was being received by some players.

And really, should it be celebrated that it sold a lot? A game that was released in such a poor state that a company infamous for not allowing refunds was actually allowing refunds for a game in one of their biggest franchises? A game being released like this and then selling as well as did just tells Gamefreak that they can get away with it and possibly releasing a future game with even less polish. Let's not use sales as an excuse to continue to release broken games or allow them to continue with the same release schedule that is clearly crunching the developers and not give enough time to actually finish the game.

 

[BorealRookidee]

Where did this rumor come from? Not that it would be entirely unbelievable given the technical problems in Scarlet/Violet, but considering that the games have sold incredibly well within its first year, I don't know if Nintendo would be that upset at Game Freak or TPC. That sounds more like people upset about Scarlet/Violet and/or Game Freak and trying to justify it by making up rumors.

I heard about the rumor in a YouTube video, can't remember where. However, it isn't particularly surprising. As mentioned above, Nintendo actually allowed refunds for the game (something they're notorious for never during) and issued a statements that's about as close as corporate statements can get to expressing their own displeasure with the game:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/12/01/pokemon-scarlet-violet-patch/#:~:text=In%20a%20rare%20move%20for,Tech%20is%20not%20your%20friend.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Nintendo is actually issuing refunds for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet - Dexerto

Nintendo is finally offering refunds for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Here's how you can get your money back if you don't like the games.

www.dexerto.com

Nintendo allowed refunds, they wouldn't have done that if there wasn't an influx of players disastified with the final product. Plus Nintendo very rarely even allows refunds in the first place, so Nintendo was clearly not happy with how the game was being received by some players.

And really, should it be celebrated that it sold a lot? A game that was released in such a poor state that a company infamous for not allowing refunds was actually allowing refunds for a game in one of their biggest franchises? A game being released like this and then selling as well as did just tells Gamefreak that they can get away with it and possibly releasing a future game with even less polish. Let's not use sales as an excuse to continue to release broken games or allow them to continue with the same release schedule that is clearly crunching the developers and not give enough time to actually finish the game.

I forgot about the refunds for what I assume was for the digital version of the games. I never said that the sales should be used as an excuse to continue releasing the games in this quality or to justify putting the developers in such a crunch time. They clearly need to make generations last more than three years at this point in order to give the developers more time and support on the main series titles. I love Scarlet/Violet. They are one of my favorite games in the main series with a lot of great Pokemon, characters and a fun storyline, but something needs to change for the better so that the developers aren't dealing with so much crunch time. My point was how it's hard for me to believe Nintendo is that upset at Game Freak or TPC because of how successful Scarlet/Violet has been. Even with the amount of refunds they issued shortly after the game came out, I don't think it drastically affected their overall sales, which I think Nintendo would care about the most at the end of the day.

I heard about the rumor in a YouTube video, can't remember where. However, it isn't particularly surprising. As mentioned above, Nintendo actually allowed refunds for the game (something they're notorious for never during) and issued a statements that's about as close as corporate statements can get to expressing their own displeasure with the game:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/12/01/pokemon-scarlet-violet-patch/#:~:text=In%20a%20rare%20move%20for,Tech%20is%20not%20your%20friend.

A YouTube video isn't really the best source of information for something like this, or at least it makes me doubt the claim a bit more. Issuing public apologies in corporate speak doesn't translate to expressing their own displeasure with the game either. It still feels like fans projecting their own issues with Game Freak onto Nintendo through those statements more than anything else.

 

[BorealRookidee]

A YouTube video isn't really the best source of information for something like this, or at least it makes me doubt the claim a bit more. Issuing public apologies in corporate speak doesn't translate to expressing their own displeasure with the game either. It still feels like fans projecting their own issues with Game Freak onto Nintendo through those statements more than anything else.

I agree it isn't the best source, do take it with a grain of salt. But between this statement and the refunds I do not doubt that at least something similar has happened.

 

[Bolt Strike]

And in a surprise to absolutely no one, a Pokemon Presents has been confirmed for Pokemon Day. Only one week left before we get answers.

 

[Nicolas721]

It's interesting that it was announced a whole week before instead of the usual 1-4 days. Maybe it was because of the Partner Direct...

I gotta confess I'm sad about the fandom's reaction to it. A good chunk of people are fearing (as in, completely toxic and paranoid) it's another ILCA remake and another would prefer no game at at all (ignoring that it would make no sense at all after a DLC year), no one sounds hyped about a possible Legends Unova or Johto, it feels that whatever they announce is only gonna please a minority. I know that the fandom is not in its best days and that some games do deserve the criticism but...Fear and Hatred are indeed stronger feelings than love.

 

[vriedi]

It's interesting that it was announced a whole week before instead of the usual 1-4 days. Maybe it was because of the Partner Direct...

I gotta confess I'm sad about the fandom's reaction to it. A good chunk of people are fearing (as in, completely toxic and paranoid) it's another ILCA remake and another would prefer no game at at all (ignoring that it would make no sense at all after a DLC year), no one sounds hyped about a possible Legends Unova or Johto, it feels that whatever they announce is only gonna please a minority. I know that the fandom is not in its best days and that some games do deserve the criticism but...Fear and Hatred are indeed stronger feelings than love.

i personally am really excited and hyped for the presents' announcements despite everyone being like OH NO IT WILL SUCK because i will be happy with no matter what is made unless for some reason we go to like. alola or kalos. or something, then id be a bit sad

 

[StormyStinger]

Do we think we might get a spinoff announced? I hope we do.

 

[Bolt Strike]

It's interesting that it was announced a whole week before instead of the usual 1-4 days. Maybe it was because of the Partner Direct...

I gotta confess I'm sad about the fandom's reaction to it. A good chunk of people are fearing (as in, completely toxic and paranoid) it's another ILCA remake and another would prefer no game at at all (ignoring that it would make no sense at all after a DLC year), no one sounds hyped about a possible Legends Unova or Johto, it feels that whatever they announce is only gonna please a minority. I know that the fandom is not in its best days and that some games do deserve the criticism but...Fear and Hatred are indeed stronger feelings than love.

Honestly the only scenarios I really fear are a new Let's Go game or if we get an ILCA remake without a corresponding Legends game (especially if it's a BW1 remake, I hated base BW1 so much that I can't bear to play through it again unless it has some MASSIVE improvements, and the kinds of improvements I have in mind would probably be considered too much for a remake). That would feel like almost nothing in my eyes and I wouldn't touch them. Anything else I would at least give a shot, and I would very much enjoy anything that remotely resembles a new Legends game.

 

[zoroarctic]

I gotta confess I'm sad about the fandom's reaction to it. A good chunk of people are fearing (as in, completely toxic and paranoid) it's another ILCA remake and another would prefer no game at at all (ignoring that it would make no sense at all after a DLC year), no one sounds hyped about a possible Legends Unova or Johto, it feels that whatever they announce is only gonna please a minority. I know that the fandom is not in its best days and that some games do deserve the criticism but...Fear and Hatred are indeed stronger feelings than love.

I wouldn't sweat it too much. The average Pokemon fan (probably) isn't as terminally online as we are.

 

[Hidden Mew]

It's interesting that it was announced a whole week before instead of the usual 1-4 days. Maybe it was because of the Partner Direct...

I gotta confess I'm sad about the fandom's reaction to it. A good chunk of people are fearing (as in, completely toxic and paranoid) it's another ILCA remake and another would prefer no game at at all (ignoring that it would make no sense at all after a DLC year), no one sounds hyped about a possible Legends Unova or Johto, it feels that whatever they announce is only gonna please a minority. I know that the fandom is not in its best days and that some games do deserve the criticism but...Fear and Hatred are indeed stronger feelings than love.

I only glance through Twitter at most these day and I've seen a good amount of people excited for the Presents. The weirdest reaction was seeing people wanting a generation ten announcement though. We aren't even two full years into this generation and people still want a new one already. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I remember seeing similar kind of responses two years into the seventh generation, but it still feels so bizarre to see that after the technical problems with Scarlet/Violet.

Personally, I'm pretty excited for what they could announce. I still haven't played the second half of the DLC for Scarlet/Violet yet, but getting some new main series games later this year would still be cool. If we do get another Legends game, I hope that it isn't released just a couple of months after B/W remakes. While that may not have been the biggest issue, I think releasing BD/SP in the fall and the Legends Arceus in the following January was just a bit too much, at least for me given my speed at playing video games. It would give them more time to promote the games and be a relatively easy way at extending a generation too. As long as they space out potential remakes and Legends games in the future, I'd probably be pretty happy with whatever their announcements will be.

Do we think we might get a spinoff announced? I hope we do.

I could see them doing another Mystery Dungeon game. I'm not sure if it's more likely to be a new entry or another remake, but I think it's possible. Mystery Dungeon fans would be extremely happy to see a Explorers of Time/Darkness remake.

 

[Daren]

Can't wait for them to confirm the official Palworld collaboration game.

Seriously though, my gut tells me there won't be any huge announcements game-wise. Maybe a B/W remake but likely a BD/SP style one.
If we're lucky gens 1-3 could come to the Switch subscription with the events included for the GBA ones.

Edit: For BW remakes in particular, I've seen some concern that it won't even be a BDSP style remake but it will actually have fewer Pokémon than the original BW did based off how many we tend to get at release now.

I gotta confess I'm sad about the fandom's reaction to it. A good chunk of people are fearing (as in, completely toxic and paranoid) it's another ILCA remake and another would prefer no game at at all (ignoring that it would make no sense at all after a DLC year), no one sounds hyped about a possible Legends Unova or Johto, it feels that whatever they announce is only gonna please a minority. I know that the fandom is not in its best days and that some games do deserve the criticism but...Fear and Hatred are indeed stronger feelings than love.

I admit I have no real expectations myself at this point, but it's always sad to see a fandom getting to a state where cynicism is the default. Sadly it's not so rare in a number of older game franchises in the modern era.

I could see them doing another Mystery Dungeon game. I'm not sure if it's more likely to be a new entry or another remake, but I think it's possible. Mystery Dungeon fans would be extremely happy to see a Explorers of Time/Darkness remake.

As much as I'd love a new MD I'm not too hopeful; the series has had a very slow release schedule after Super and having already gotten a Switch release I don't know if I can see it getting a second game.