Official Pokémon Sword and Shield speculation thread (Updated June 5th, 2019)

[TheElderKing]

If this is referred to the graphics, trust me, I watched the threehouse on handheld mode and you can clearly see the low quality of the graphics in some points: pixelated walls, frame rate drop, low res textures, and let's not talk about the animation of wingull, which looks like a marionette hanging by a thread.
This screenshot is taken from the official nintendo threehouse on their official youtube account with a full hd resolution.
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You can care about the graphics or not. You can like these graphics or not. But speaking about quality, these graphics look really (really) low budget. Now, please tell me this looks like a 2019 full hd switch title to you.

I do hope that they fix those low textures situations. I didn’t play LGPE so I can’t tell, but did it have those low-res textures as well?

Another SH that has been under criticism for their graphics is IS for the new Fire Emblem. The jump to switch might not be easy when the development team is fairly small.

And open words tend to generate more problems. BOTW (which dev team had also a lot of outside help), also had textures problems.

 

[Joker901]

I do hope that they fix those low textures situations. I didn’t play LGPE so I can’t tell, but did it have those low-res textures as well?

Another SH that has been under criticism for their graphics is IS for the new Fire Emblem. The jump to switch might not be easy when the development team is fairly small.

And open words tend to generate more problems. BOTW (which dev team had also a lot of outside help), also had textures problems.

The art direction for Let's go games was highly influenced by the original game. The games were grid based, chibi style, much less detailed and with common frame rate drops. But speaking about the actual quality of the graphics, the environment was clean and definied, the colours were vibrant and the textures were kinda ok (nothing super detailed or super high quality). For a spin off game, remake of a remake, the quality of the graphics was actually pretty good.
https://edge.alluremedia.com.au/m/k/2018/05/pokemon-lets-go-pikachu.jpg

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

My biggest concern and worry for the game is that they're probably going to rush it and make it as forgettable as X and Y, rather than being an improvement. I'm also concerned that the anime that will coincide it will be as bland as BW. And it saddens me, because since Gen 4 I've been longing for a Pokemon game based on a British Region.

 

[TheElderKing]

My biggest concern and worry for the game is that they're probably going to rush it and make it as forgettable as X and Y, rather than being an improvement. I'm also concerned that the anime that will coincide it will be as bland as BW. And it saddens me, because since Gen 4 I've been longing for a Pokemon game based on a British Region.

Is that fear based on something concrete you saw? Because it’s really something you can think of for any Pokémon game in development.

The part to the anime is really something I don’t understand, because we saw nothing about it, and expecially because it’s clearly not based on the game, given that your fears for the game and anime reference two different generations.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

Is that fear based on something concrete you saw? Because it’s really something you can think of for any Pokémon game in development.

The part to the anime is really something I don’t understand, because we saw nothing about it, and expecially because it’s clearly not based on the game, given that your fears for the game and anime reference two different generations.

I meant the writing, I know it's not much to ask, but since Gen 4 was the best Gen when it comes to sales, I was hoping that they could make SwSh live up to it.

 

[KrisiChiki]

If they had designed Sun and Moon for the Switch instead, I'm sure it would have benefited a lot more from that. We don't need a brand new generation every couple years on the same device. This is part of the reason why we've gotten to this point.

I seriously wish Sun and Moon had been developed for the Switch. Yeah, I get that a new generation is more exciting than a Kalos re-release for the 20th anniversary, but it's pretty clear that the 3DS limitations hindered what SM could have been. I did enjoy Gen VII for what it was, but the game would have greatly benefited from being on a more powerful console. I absolutely love the Ultra Space and everything related to it, but man, it could have been so much better.

This would also mean Game Freak would have had more development time for a better execution of the island trials, because the concept was truly interesting, and perhaps Alola wouldn't have felt so much like glorified corridors. That and Sinnoh remakes would have fit right in, considering the creation trio, Ultra Space and the Ultra Beasts. We could have had some interesting world building there. Now it's very likely that they'll have to shoehorn Dynamax into Sinnoh just like they did with Mega Evolution and Hoenn. Though, admittedly, I think Mega Evolution in Hoenn was handled fairly well and I enjoyed it.

 

[Silktree]

Gen 4 was the best Gen when it comes to sales,

Sure, if you ignore the first two.

 

[Boss1708]

This is Game Freak we are talking about. I can easily imagine SM and USUM being on the Switch, and Game Freak doing NOTHING NEW from what they did with Ultra Space and Ultra Mega-hallway-opolis.

 

[AngryBinacle]

Yeah, I'm also pretty concerned about the graphics. The style is fine, it's the quality that's not.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

Yeah, I'm also pretty concerned about the graphics. The style is fine, it's the quality that's not.

Game Freak did say that Pokemon SwSh is not their number 1 priority... It's Town.

 

[AngryBinacle]

Game Freak did say that Pokemon SwSh is not their number 1 priority... It's Town.

Didn't that come down to a translation-error? Aren't they training their newer members by making other games beside Pokemon? Anyway, graphical fidelity doesn't have much to do with project-priorities.

 

[Ambrose7]

Game Freak did say that Pokemon SwSh is not their number 1 priority... It's Town.

I can't imagine them saying that. Could you show me where, please?

 

[Boss1708]

Game Freak did say that Pokemon SwSh is not their number 1 priority... It's Town.

That's not what they really said, though. Even if it was true that SwSh isn't their n1 priority, they still wouldn't admit it in public, as it would be a terrible anti-PR statement that would undermine their best selling product.

 

[TheElderKing]

I meant the writing, I know it's not much to ask, but since Gen 4 was the best Gen when it comes to sales, I was hoping that they could make SwSh live up to it.

Gen 1 sold a lot more copies, and even Gen 2, without considering even the remakes, sold more then. Gen 4. I’m not sure where you got the data. BW had a much better writing then DPPt.

And then again, we saw nothing of the writing and plot of the story in SwSh.

Game Freak did say that Pokemon SwSh is not their number 1 priority... It's Town.

They mentioned that they want their devs to try new stuff and feature in Town so that they can get back to Pokémon and innovate the games. I don’t see how that means Towns is the priority.

And even if I don’t understand prioritizing one over the other (you should do your best with each project), if there’s a game that needs to be a priority is Pokémon. Branching out is fine, and I think necessary for GF to explore other ideas, but you can’t prioritize a game that is really, really unlikely to generate nearly as much revenues then the other.

 

[Silktree]

"What that means is that Game Freak as a company is prioritizing Gear Project, which is production team number one, more than Pokemon in general. We are always trying to create something that is equally exciting, or more exciting than Pokemon."
"I can now bring that knowhow back to the Pokemon team and try to create something different for Pokemon. It's a good synergy between Gear Project and Pokemon creation."

The thing is that I don't see evidence of this so-called synergy. For instance, what does the Wild Area have to do with their other games?

 

[Oriden]

Didn't someone earlier say that the pokemon remain untouched and you just can't put anything in, but can withdraw?

Anyway, I think it's better to at least come to some compromise. At least it makes us look better. Some of my friends outside of the fandom, think this might be a bit much.

Also I say "trying to ruin their pockets" cause there are genuinely some people who won't buy the game specifically to hurt them financially, as a warning of sorts.

They wipe unpaid Bank accounts at random so if your Pokémon are fine after a period of time without having paid, then it's just luck. Their safety is not guaranteed.

And anyone who really thinks that their not buying the game is going to have a huge impact is probably very naive. Unless the boycott turns out to be a lot larger than I suspect it to be. In which case... impressive? That would mean that enough people care enough to cause an impact that would force a change, and Game Freak really wouldn't have to do more than promise a solution to turn it around. Boycotts are just a way of consumers having a voice.

 

[Boss1708]

"What that means is that Game Freak as a company is prioritizing Gear Project, which is production team number one, more than Pokemon in general. We are always trying to create something that is equally exciting, or more exciting than Pokemon."

I honestly don't like the sound of that part. It does imply that Pokémon is not their priority anymore...

 

[Silktree]

I'm looking forward to Town more than SwSh.

Not really, but almost.

 

[Poke Dragon]

I don't like the fact that they didn't have their A Team working on SwSh, I get wanting to have younger developers working on Pokemon, but don't put them through the most daunting task when they first begin or at least not without some old hands in Pokemon game development.

 

[Silktree]

"Teams 1 and 2 work in tandem, and that there is a lot of movement between the two with the goal of giving developers more experience to become better creatively."
"For example, while Pokemon games are always on Nintendo platforms, Gear Project games have come out on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. This gives developers on Team 1 exposure to different platforms, and when they return to work on Pokemon they bring that new exposure with them. I can now bring that knowhow back to the Pokemon team and try to create something different for Pokemon. It's a good synergy between Gear Project and Pokemon creation."

That's all he said about how the teams work. But I don't see how any of their games go beyond the Switch in scope, and indeed, only Tembo wasn't released on 3DS/Switch and it was a 2D platformer.