New game Pokémon GO announced for iPhone, Android: Releasing 2016

[PkmnChmp5]

I hate to be negative, but this sounds awful to me. It seems like a lot of trouble for not enough reward. The AR stuff just doesn't impress me, and I don't want to have to go traipsing all over town hunting for Pokemon in random locations. I live out in the country outside of a small town in KY. I don't want to have to make a special trip to get some limited-time Pokemon in my game (I get enough of that crap from those stupid GameStop giveaways.) Plus, if they actually have events like the Mewtwo one shown in the video, it would probably be nowhere near me anyway.

Then there's the FTP/micro-transactions bit. Even if they do it "right" where it's not a rip-off, it's still going to be more annoying and grind-y than a game you just pay for up-front. (And, yes, that is coming from someone who has over 130 hours in Pokemon Shuffle without having spent a single cent on it.)

The thought of "Pokemon in the real world" is fun to think about, but in execution, it's just another gimmick that will ultimately be less fun than the main series games or one of the good spin-offs.

I am not a mobile gamer. I have a cheap, pre-paid tracfone because it does the bear minimum I need a cell phone to do. I can't afford to buy an expensive Android or iOS device and pay a monthly bill to get some Pokemon game that's just going to be more of a headache. And before anyone starts in with the "you don't have to buy/play it" comments, that is true. But, I'm worried about the part where they said it would link to the main series games. The first time they have some special Pokemon that can ONLY be obtained through Pokemon GO, I'm going to be angry and upset because it's going to be like I'm being punished for not having a fancy smartphone.

As long as this is mostly a standalone thing that only allows you to get stuff in the main games that you can get through some other method anyway, then I am perfectly fine with it. Those who like this kind of thing can enjoy it and I can stick to what I enjoy and everyone is happy. My only fear is exclusive main series crossover stuff. (Can you imagine if the only way to get Volcanion was through this... thing.)

Anyway, that's my long, boring opinion. Ya'll can go ahead and start arguing with me now.

Couple of things I think are worth mentioning here. First being, gaming has always been a hobby for those who are at least somewhat financially privileged. Video games themselves have never been cheap, and neither have the devices used to play them. The statement "I'm going to be punished for not having a fancy smartphone" is... well, somewhat of a nebulous remark, though I can understand where the unease is coming from. When Pokemon moved to the 3DS... was that not "punishing" people who didn't own a 3DS yet? When a new iOS upgrade is "exclusive" to the new versions of iPhone, is that not "punishing" people who haven't paid to upgrade yet? I know it might feel like it, but you're not really being "punished" for not having an iPhone or Android. The game just happens to only be practical on those devices; a lot of people have them, they have location services/GPS, and mobile internet, which are all things this game requires.

Pokemon has made certain event Pokemon exclusive to other games before (like the Manaphy egg) which can be transferred to the main series games. Was I not being "punished" for not buying that game?

I know it feels like being punished, but equally, would it not be "punishing" people who have Pokemon GO and possibly paid for extra content if they were to NOT give them some exclusive Pokemon/content that were transferrable to their much loved main series games? It's not a punishment for people who only have a main series game and not a smartphone/Pokemon GO, so much as it's a reward for the players who have both. I know when it comes to the side-games, I am far more likely to buy them if they offer benefits in the main games.

I would feel pretty cheated if I got Pokemon GO and caught a really cool Pokemon with it, maybe a Mewtwo like in the trailer... and I couldn't transfer it to the main series game.

That said, if Pokemon's past is anything to go by, I highly doubt that the transferable 'mons will offer that much in the main series games. Lack of exclusive event Pokemon has never done that much to hinder enjoyment of the main games before, so I don't see why this app would be any different.

I see your point there. To me, I guess I just expect to have to get the newest Nintendo systems more than I do a smartphone because I don't consider a smartphone a "gaming device" (That's not a shot at mobile gamers or anything, it's just personally not a platform I'm into.) Plus, because of my tastes, I would be buying the Nintendo systems and the Pokemon spin-offs anyway (even if there is no transferable content), while I would really have no other pressing reason to get an expensive smartphone upgrade.

If you can send Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Xerneas, Yveltal, etc. to the main series games I'd be okay with that. That would be a nice "reward" as you put it for the players that do have Pokemon GO without screwing over the people who don't have it because they can catch those Pokemon in other ways. As long as they don't make any Mythical Pokemon exclusive to GO, then I'm okay. If they want to give out transferable Mythical Pokemon through GO, I won't have a problem with that either as long as they give them out through some other method as well (Like distributing Volcanion through a Pokemon GO event AND over Nintendo Network, for example.)

I guess ultimately it boils down to what you would be buying regardless/already own, which is obviously going to be different for everybody.

 

[SammyW27]

Sounds like another attempt to bilk PokeFans (that'll likely fail in the long run)

Still, that was an awesome trailer.

"Your afternoon traffic report: there's a Snorlax taking a nap on the bridge, so you might want to take an alternate route."

Also: Dog, cat, mouse, rabbit, fish, snake, lizard, bird, bug, and dragonpile on Mewtwo! :XD:

What is it about mobile games that people dislike so much?

 

[Fig]

I see your point there. To me, I guess I just expect to have to get the newest Nintendo systems more than I do a smartphone because I don't consider a smartphone a "gaming device" (That's not a shot at mobile gamers or anything, it's just personally not a platform I'm into.) Plus, because of my tastes, I would be buying the Nintendo systems and the Pokemon spin-offs anyway (even if there is no transferable content), while I would really have no other pressing reason to get an expensive smartphone upgrade.

That's a fair point of view, but for a lot of people, even older fans, getting a new console just for the Pokémon games is often much the same. I almost didn't make the jump to Gen VI because a 3DS was too much for me for just the game (then the 2DS showed up and offered me an alternative). But I might have dropped off playing the game then.

Whereas for lots of older fans having smartphone is...well, a natural fact of life.

 

[Blockhead Pippi]

Responding to the responses to my post,

Okay, clearly what I've done was use a poor choice of words. Let me rephrase it then. I'm not against casual players, and there are actually a few casual games that I actually do really enjoy. (Animal Crossing would be one of them.) I'm not saying casual players are bad. I'm just tired of the poor quality, cheap app games that are threatening console and handheld gaming. It becomes worrying, and tiresome, when I see an increasing number of companies turn to this as a platform of gaming.

Call it arrogant if you want, I don't care.

 

[PkmnChmp5]

I see your point there. To me, I guess I just expect to have to get the newest Nintendo systems more than I do a smartphone because I don't consider a smartphone a "gaming device" (That's not a shot at mobile gamers or anything, it's just personally not a platform I'm into.) Plus, because of my tastes, I would be buying the Nintendo systems and the Pokemon spin-offs anyway (even if there is no transferable content), while I would really have no other pressing reason to get an expensive smartphone upgrade.

That's a fair point of view, but for a lot of people, even older fans, getting a new console just for the Pokémon games is often much the same. I almost didn't make the jump to Gen VI because a 3DS was too much for me for just the game (then the 2DS showed up and offered me an alternative). But I might have dropped off playing the game then.

Whereas for lots of older fans having smartphone is...well, a natural fact of life.

I'm an older fan too, so I can definitely understand that. No one wants to have to buy an expensive piece of technology when they know they are only going to use it for 1 thing. As for me, I would have bought a 3DS even if there were no Pokemon games for it at all, because there are a lot of other games on the system that I am interested in (Bravely series, Senran Kagura series, Gunman Clive series, etc.) On the other hand, there are a lot of people out there who can get a lot more use out of a smartphone than I could. But I think we can all agree it's really annoying when something you would like to play/need for extra content comes out on a platform you have no other interest in.

 

[Neris]

I'm so excited for this. This would be the closest thing, for now, that would perfectly emulate Pokemon in the real world (Apparently, I am hoping where there would come a time that we can have holograms in the future). This is like a childhood dream come true. When I was a kid, I used to collect these Pokemon figurines and would hide them around the house (backyard included) and try to find them and catch them. And Pokemon Go, seemed to have captured that essence very well. I'm perched and waiting.

No one wants to have to buy an expensive piece of technology when they know they are only going to use it for 1 thing.

You can say you know one person that went ahead and bought an expensive piece of technology when they perfectly knew full well that they were going to use if for one* thing.

I bought a 3DS just for Pokemon.

*Three things to a stretch since I have Mystery Dungeon and the Magnagate, Pokemon X and Pokemon OR

 

[ii kanji]

As a twentysomething fan who has been unable to play a pokemon game since Gen II, but who now has a smartphone for real life purposes and happens to travel about a bit for studying purposes, let me say: I am hyped. The market for this game is undoubtedly different than it is for a main series game but is nevertheless important for enticing people (either newly or back into) the franchise as a whole - I can already think of people I know who (if the game takes off) would download the app but haven't really been into pokemon for 15+ years.

 

[ange]

Am I the only one that felt very uneasy at the Mewtwo scene? A mob cheering for their Pokemon to destroy Mewtwo and catch it, poor thing.

 

[Bittersweet]

I see your point there. To me, I guess I just expect to have to get the newest Nintendo systems more than I do a smartphone because I don't consider a smartphone a "gaming device" (That's not a shot at mobile gamers or anything, it's just personally not a platform I'm into.) Plus, because of my tastes, I would be buying the Nintendo systems and the Pokemon spin-offs anyway (even if there is no transferable content), while I would really have no other pressing reason to get an expensive smartphone upgrade.

If you can send Legendary Pokemon like Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Xerneas, Yveltal, etc. to the main series games I'd be okay with that. That would be a nice "reward" as you put it for the players that do have Pokemon GO without screwing over the people who don't have it because they can catch those Pokemon in other ways. As long as they don't make any Mythical Pokemon exclusive to GO, then I'm okay. If they want to give out transferable Mythical Pokemon through GO, I won't have a problem with that either as long as they give them out through some other method as well (Like distributing Volcanion through a Pokemon GO event AND over Nintendo Network, for example.)

I guess ultimately it boils down to what you would be buying regardless/already own, which is obviously going to be different for everybody.

We'll just have to wait and see what will be transferrable and what won't before anybody discusses that further... we know very little thus far, and don't even know how it's going to connect, or even if it can work with Gen VI games.

 

[Snowy]

Three words... Pokemon Dream Radar should be enough to tell you why I am not excited for Pokemon Go.

 

[ocelotlrama jaguar]

Three words... Pokemon Dream Radar should be enough to tell you why I am not excited for Pokemon Go.

Not really. I mean, I liked Pokemon Dream Radar. It was a fun way to waste time, so it really doesn't tell me a whole lot.

 

[Snowy]

Three words... Pokemon Dream Radar should be enough to tell you why I am not excited for Pokemon Go.

Not really. I mean, I liked Pokemon Dream Radar. It was a fun way to waste time, so it really doesn't tell me a whole lot.

*blinks*
*reads again*
*blinks*

Someone actually liked Pokemon Dream Radar?

I considered Pokemon Dream Radar to be the single worst thing about Generation 5. In my opinion, Pokemon's previous attempt at AR was a horrible failure.

Will Pokemon Go be that bad? It is way too early to tell. And the trailer tells us nothing of consequence.

 

[SUP3RN0VA]

Three words... Pokemon Dream Radar should be enough to tell you why I am not excited for Pokemon Go.

Not really. I mean, I liked Pokemon Dream Radar. It was a fun way to waste time, so it really doesn't tell me a whole lot.

*blinks*
*reads again*
*blinks*

Someone actually liked Pokemon Dream Radar?

I considered Pokemon Dream Radar to be the single worst thing about Generation 5. In my opinion, Pokemon's previous attempt at AR was a horrible failure.

Will Pokemon Go be that bad? It is way too early to tell. And the trailer tells us nothing of consequence.

What was wrong with the dream radar exactly? I enjoyed it for the fact we had a new method of capturing Pokemon (including the legendary Pokemon) and transferring them to the main series titles.

With that being said, despite not knowing anything about this game, going by the trailer alone, this game barely compares to the dream radar at all. From first glances and first impressions, this app is much more than what Pokemon Dream Radar is.

 

[Snowy]

Dream Radar was horrible executed. Bad gameplay. Bad Graphics. Etc.

Pokemon Go's trailer feels lot like this:

[video=youtube;d-X03D3tSVU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-X03D3tSVU[/video]

 

[Alolan Slowpoke]

Pokemon Go feels like Nintendo realized the Pokewalker was some tight shit. Pokewalker for life.

 

[Galactic_V]

Is it gonna be Northern hemisfere-exclusive?

No problem for me since I'm in Europe right now, but people from my born country'll all be mad as they seem to be waiting for it a lot (seen some videos on Youtube already)

 

[Osprey]

Responding to the responses to my post,

Okay, clearly what I've done was use a poor choice of words. Let me rephrase it then. I'm not against casual players, and there are actually a few casual games that I actually do really enjoy. (Animal Crossing would be one of them.) I'm not saying casual players are bad. I'm just tired of the poor quality, cheap app games that are threatening console and handheld gaming. It becomes worrying, and tiresome, when I see an increasing number of companies turn to this as a platform of gaming.

Call it arrogant if you want, I don't care.

I see it as a "live and let live" situation with the cheaper or simpler games like Flappy Bird. Let's be honest, the kinds of people who play those games on a regular basis aren't the kinds of people who would be buying entire consoles just for gaming in the first place. If you have someone who wants an actual gaming experience, they will seek a console out. Eliminating the cheap games would just lead to those people resorting to some other form of entertainment instead, like TV.

What really gets to me is when the aspects of those cheap or freemium games start leaking into the console market itself in a sorry attempt to appeal to those kinds of people. Y'know, all that "people are too busy, let's streamline" bullshit. After looking over Pokemon GO's premise, I think we might actually be alright. For one thing, this is not an actual core series Pokemon game. It won't be a $40 purchase for $1.99 of actual quality, and it could very well be the thing that GF (Masuda in particular) could pour their "appeal to the ADHD masses" ideology, instead of directing it into our core series and screwing it over as a result.