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

[RileyXY1]

I feel like PC gaming killed console and handheld gaming more though.

Not exactly. Console gaming is still very much alive.

 

[NinjutsuSen]

Leak said something about regional evolutions/cross gen evolutions and since a lot of that leak got confirmed to be true, I would say this is pretty likely now. And in that case one or two eeveelution are pretty much guaranteed.

 

[Oriden]

What noises come next if I keep senselessly blame the mobile gaming market? Asking for a friend. Gonna turn binary next and only speak in 0's and 1's?

-frustrated dial-up noises-

Not sure, gacha games in general also pull in a decent amount of money. I mean, honestly, I'd get kind of frustrated if something like Pokemon GO is so super successful and when I develop a game and make an unpopular announcement (Dexit - and I'm not meaning to belittle this here) and people start hating nitpicking about everything when everyone seemingly forgot what mess the first few weeks of Pokémon GO were (servers online were more an exception than the standard, it felt like...).

I couldn't really care less about Rumble, but I'm still annoyed at the mobile gaming market because I'll never stop blaming it for killing my beloved handhelds. Switch only counts half-way tbh, although I won't be ungrateful, it still is a handheld. Now if only there were more interesting games for me on it...

They really can't replicate GO's success on a whim, so mobile isn't a guaranteed profitable venture for them. The better option is to link up with it like they have been doing.

XD And I don't think mobile killed your handhelds... handhelds and home consoles just merged into a single system. My boyfriend keeps foaming about this too and it bugs the shit out of me because I think the move is genius, to be honest. No more having to buy two separate Nintendo systems to play Nintendo games? Being able to take your console Nintendo games anywhere? That's brilliant. The only thing I can say is that I don't think the technology has fully caught up yet, and something needs to be done to balance the prices between handheld and home console because they're leaning too much toward the latter. But I think it's only a matter of time before a Switch Mini is released to solve these problems on the console end... they still need to address it on the games' end, though, because hoo boy $60 is a lot. How about we go halvesies between console and handhelds with $45? That sounds better.

I personally blame all the small things equally and summed up it starts to make more sense. xD
Then again, if you go by such logic, you can never blame anyone for anything. Can't blame Game Freak, because it might be Nintendo/TPCi pushing Game Freak into tight schedules. Can't blame Nintendo/TPCi, because it might be Game Freak's decision after all. And so on, and so forth. Don't get me wrong, scapegoating doesn't help but as long as it's somewhat reasonably speculated, why not? There might be a hint of truth to it...or something.

I mean the blaming 3D for not liking the games because people think the 2D looked better and it had more features when the reality is that Game Freak could still have those features in 3D games, they've just chosen not to add them. 3D is a poor scapegoat for issues with content and people are really missing that if the games had stuck with 2D, they were going to hit a wall with the graphics and people would be bitching about how every game looks exactly the same instead and the sprites barely change because redrawing over 800 pokemon each generation is too time consuming.

And the blaming mobile for... whatever it is that people are blaming mobile for. It's "killing Pokemon" somehow and I can't fathom why when they're clearly starting to use them to further the main series, not abandon it.

 

[Kallyle]

Pokemon GO's success is a freak incident. Mobile games aren't guaranteed to make that kind of money and it wouldn't be that easy to just pull another successful mobile game out of their ass to replicate it. If anything, Game Freak has mainly been focusing on making the main series compatible with Pokemon GO, not stealing its thunder. They made one mobile Pokemon game and it's the slow block grind that is Pokemon Quest.

I really don't get this blaming mobile games thing at all. What has mobile gaming actually done to hurt anything? Is everyone just that butthurt that the new Rumble was only released on mobile or something? Because that's the only hit that I see.

It’s due to a lot of companies cheapening out in the past and present where mobile gaming is more successful and marketable. A lot of (but not all) mobile games, especially gacha games, have encouraged developers to adopt their more shady business practices.

Putting greedy business practices aside, a lot of developers feel threatened by mobile games due to their success and the fact that anyone can create a mobile game. As we can see with Game Freak, this pressure can lead to apathy about adding content in because they view today’s gamers as wanting instant gratification and having shorter attention spans.

It’s not the mobile games themselves that’s the problem, but rather the detrimental mentalities it can instill in the video game industry as far as the quality of the products is concerned. At least, that’s what I’ve observed thus far.

 

[Oriden]

It’s due to a lot of companies cheapening out in the past and present where mobile gaming is more successful and marketable. A lot of (but not all) mobile games, especially gacha games, have encouraged developers to adopt their more shady business practices.

Putting greedy business practices aside, a lot of developers feel threatened by mobile games due to their success and the fact that anyone can create a mobile game. As we can see with Game Freak, this pressure can lead to apathy about adding content in because they view today’s gamers as wanting instant gratification and having shorter attention spans.

It’s not the mobile games themselves that’s the problem, but rather the detrimental mentalities it can instill in the video game industry as far as the quality of the products is concerned. At least, that’s what I’ve observed thus far.

Okay, I will give that a fair point, but it's still pretty far from causing the main series to end, especially at Gen 8. XP

 

[Kallyle]

Okay, I will give that a fair point, but it's still pretty far from causing the main series to end, especially at Gen 8. XP

That is very true.

 

[SinnohEevee]

If we don't get a new Eeveelution, I will Avada Kedavra Game Freak.

 

[Oriden]

I think we might actually see the main series hook up with mobile games more, especially when Pokemon Sleep rolls out. Rather than abandoning the main series in favor of mobile, we're seeing them make use of mobile to further the main series games. Which is pretty impressive? They're finding ways to integrate Pokemon into our life so we can play Pokemon even when we technically don't have time to play. Out running an errand? Catch a pokemon to send to your game later! Gotta sleep? Well... no details on Sleep yet but if it lead to something that you could send to your main game, I wouldn't be surprised.

...actually might be disappointed if Sleep doesn't connect with the other games or HOME.

 

[Juizel]

-frustrated dial-up noises-

Now that this question of mine is answered, I can die without regrets. xD

They really can't replicate GO's success on a whim, so mobile isn't a guaranteed profitable venture for them. The better option is to link up with it like they have been doing.

XD And I don't think mobile killed your handhelds... handhelds and home consoles just merged into a single system. My boyfriend keeps foaming about this too and it bugs the shit out of me because I think the move is genius, to be honest. No more having to buy two separate Nintendo systems to play Nintendo games? Being able to take your console Nintendo games anywhere? That's brilliant. The only thing I can say is that I don't think the technology has fully caught up yet, and something needs to be done to balance the prices between handheld and home console because they're leaning too much toward the latter. But I think it's only a matter of time before a Switch Mini is released to solve these problems on the console end... they still need to address it on the games' end, though, because hoo boy $60 is a lot. How about we go halvesies between console and handhelds with $45? That sounds better.

I.... I am more sad about the Vita's death, though. And not too fond of handheld/console fusion either. It kinda just increases the blaming on handhelds for "low quality". Like, "this game is only bad because it also has to work for handheld, they couldn't make it better!" - heard that one a lot for games that released for PSVita & PS3/PS4, despite it being things that...really, weren't because the Vita was "too weak" (while, yes, it is a weaker hardware) but more still on the developer.
For Switch the handheld mode just gets blamed for games not being "the best they could be" just because they still have to be able to be run in handheld mode at 720p. But mostly, I'm really just sad about Vita. xD
Switch is a decent replacement for 3DS, although the choice of games (that aren't ports) is lacking and the prices are.....more often, in my opinion, not that justified. 50 bucks would already be a good compromise, but 60? Eh....

I mean the blaming 3D for not liking the games because people think the 2D looked better and it had more features when the reality is that Game Freak could still have those features in 3D games, they've just chosen not to add them. 3D is a poor scapegoat for issues with content and people are really missing that if the games had stuck with 2D, they were going to hit a wall with the graphics and people would be bitching about how every game looks exactly the same instead and the sprites barely change because redrawing over 800 pokemon each generation is too time consuming.

And the blaming mobile for... whatever it is that people are blaming mobile for. It's "killing Pokemon" somehow and I can't fathom why when they're clearly starting to use them to further the main series, not abandon it.

Everything kills Pokémon, you just don't realize it. Wake up, people. ;3
Personally I'd be in favour of 2D in the hypothetical situation that in exchange for dropping 3D, certain features came back. Overall.... I really don't have a general preference in that regard. I'd play a game no matter whether it's 2D or 3D, it all depends on how it works for the game overall. Imo it's just a design choice, and none is really a 100% better way, it simply depends on the kinda game you're making. But that's just me.

I think we might actually see the main series hook up with mobile games more, especially when Pokemon Sleep rolls out. Rather than abandoning the main series in favor of mobile, we're seeing them make use of mobile to further the main series games. Which is pretty impressive? They're finding ways to integrate Pokemon into our life so we can play Pokemon even when we technically don't have time to play. Out running an errand? Catch a pokemon to send to your game later! Gotta sleep? Well... no details on Sleep yet but if it lead to something that you could send to your main game, I wouldn't be surprised.

...actually might be disappointed if Sleep doesn't connect with the other games or HOME.

Seems sour but more connection with mobile games just reinforces my plans to drop Pokémon after gen 8 because...nah, no, thanks. I prefer playing my video games in my video games, not outsourcing parts of them to apps or other bs.

 

[NealIRC]

I wonder what Gen the Galarian variants will be, prolly all Kalos pokemon? Either Johto or Kalos.

 

[Boss1708]

To be honest, I just miss dedicated Nintendo handhelds: Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo 2DS were such great consoles.

A hybrid console is just not my thing... I hope a handheld-only budget version of the Switch comes out, as rumoured. I would definitely consider getting it.

 

[Oriden]

I.... I am more sad about the Vita's death, though. And not too fond of handheld/console fusion either. It kinda just increases the blaming on handhelds for "low quality". Like, "this game is only bad because it also has to work for handheld, they couldn't make it better!" - heard that one a lot for games that released for PSVita & PS3/PS4, despite it being things that...really, weren't because the Vita was "too weak" (while, yes, it is a weaker hardware) but more still on the developer.
For Switch the handheld mode just gets blamed for games not being "the best they could be" just because they still have to be able to be run in handheld mode at 720p. But mostly, I'm really just sad about Vita. xD
Switch is a decent replacement for 3DS, although the choice of games (that aren't ports) is lacking and the prices are.....more often, in my opinion, not that justified. 50 bucks would already be a good compromise, but 60? Eh....

XD Haha, well I can't say much about your Vita.

But ugh yeah, that $60 is killer and should really come down if they want to play up this "It's also a handheld!" thing they're doing. I know a lot of people aren't convinced and the price is really a big factor there.

Seems sour but more connection with mobile games just reinforces my plans to drop Pokémon after gen 8 because...nah, no, thanks. I prefer playing my video games in my video games, not outsourcing parts of them to apps or other bs.

I mean, as long as it's optional, I don't see the harm? Like the only thing GO contributes is another way to catch pokemon. I feel like Sleep would probably do something similar, if it does have connectivity. And if they opened it up to other developers making games that you could interact with your pokemon in, it wouldn't be so much taking things away from the main series as much as just other developers pitching in to give you stuff to do on the side? It'd be like if Mystery Dungeon let you import some of your pokemon from the main series to join your team or whatever hi I have never touched a PMD game

I think that sort of thing would be really cool. And it could also apply to spin-offs on the Switch as well.

 

[Blockhead Pippi]

To be honest, I just miss dedicated Nintendo Handhelds.

Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance (normal and SP model), Nintendo DS Lite, Nintendo 2DS and Nintendo New 2DS XL are such great consoles, imo.

A hybrid console is just not my thing, since I am a handheld user. I hope a handheld only version of the Switch comes out.

I see it as more of the opposite. I don't think Nintendo's handhelds "died" so much as their consoles died.

I mean, the Switch being a hybrid was in response to the Wii U being a massive flop.

 

[Juizel]

I mean, as long as it's optional, I don't see the harm? Like the only thing GO contributes is another way to catch pokemon. I feel like Sleep would probably do something similar, if it does have connectivity. And if they opened it up to other developers making games that you could interact with your pokemon in, it wouldn't be so much taking things away from the main series as much as just other developers pitching in to give you stuff to do on the side? It'd be like if Mystery Dungeon let you import some of your pokemon from the main series to join your team or whatever hi I have never touched a PMD game

I think that sort of thing would be really cool. And it could also apply to spin-offs on the Switch as well.

Not gonna try to sell my point as "this kills Pokémon!!" but for me... it kind or really destroys a decent part of the game.
One thing I personally dislike about GO (I played it the first couple of months after release, actually) was that players aren't on equal terms. The regional Pokémon for Europe is (was?) Mr. Mime. Freaking Mr. Mime, the most creepy thing - while other regionals were Tauros, or Kangaskhan. Thanks a lot. The next part was that rural players (hi - somewhat rural here) were at a gigantic disadvantage compared to urban players....and urban Germany, just for example, still is at a big disadvantage compared to urban US. It's simply absolutely frustrating when you walk through your whole hometown and there's maybe, at best, 10 PokeStops and 20 Pokemon spawns for a whole day of walking around. While certain places in the US got like 20 spawns per 5 steps, 10 PokeStops on the same place.
With main series games, players were always at equal terms, no matter where they played the game, and I liked that. With compatibility to GO, the people living in super urban places get to drag their advantage over into main series games while rural players...get no real plus out of it. Yay?
It's just something that makes me personally a bit salty, and I don't want to support that kind of thing.

And I feel like every side thing eventually does take away from the main games. Why put in certain features in a mainline game, if players can just download [app] for it? Like the idea of using Home to trade [confirmed] or even battle [not confirmed, mere speculation]. Next up comes a Pokedex app that combines all your games, so the actual games don't need to have a Pokedex anymore. Slowly features are taken from games, to be put into apps, so for your main series game, just to enjoy it to the fullest, you'll also need 10 additional apps on your phone. Yay!
Maybe an exaggeration, I'm aware of that, but that's just how I feel about this topic and I'd rather stick to video games that keep their games in their actual games.

I'm a person who plays video games as a hobby, who wants to spend time on video games and I want to be seen as such by developers - not as some casual with the attention span of a gold fish who wouldn't want to get into more elaborate things (e.g. Battle Frontier) to begin with, that's all.

 

[Oriden]

Not gonna try to sell my point as "this kills Pokémon!!" but for me... it kind or really destroys a decent part of the game.
One thing I personally dislike about GO (I played it the first couple of months after release, actually) was that players aren't on equal terms. The regional Pokémon for Europe is (was?) Mr. Mime. Freaking Mr. Mime, the most creepy thing - while other regionals were Tauros, or Kangaskhan. Thanks a lot. The next part was that rural players (hi - somewhat rural here) were at a gigantic disadvantage compared to urban players....and urban Germany, just for example, still is at a big disadvantage compared to urban US. It's simply absolutely frustrating when you walk through your whole hometown and there's maybe, at best, 10 PokeStops and 20 Pokemon spawns for a whole day of walking around. While certain places in the US got like 20 spawns per 5 steps, 10 PokeStops on the same place.
With main series games, players were always at equal terms, no matter where they played the game, and I liked that. With compatibility to GO, the people living in super urban places get to drag their advantage over into main series games while rural players...get no real plus out of it. Yay?
It's just something that makes me personally a bit salty, and I don't want to support that kind of thing.

And I feel like every side thing eventually does take away from the main games. Why put in certain features in a mainline game, if players can just download [app] for it? Like the idea of using Home to trade [confirmed] or even battle [not confirmed, mere speculation]. Next up comes a Pokedex app that combines all your games, so the actual games don't need to have a Pokedex anymore. Slowly features are taken from games, to be put into apps, so for your main series game, just to enjoy it to the fullest, you'll also need 10 additional apps on your phone. Yay!
Maybe an exaggeration, I'm aware of that, but that's just how I feel about this topic and I'd rather stick to video games that keep their games in their actual games.

I'm a person who plays video games as a hobby, who wants to spend time on video games and I want to be seen as such by developers - not as some casual with the attention span of a gold fish who wouldn't want to get into more elaborate things (e.g. Battle Frontier) to begin with, that's all.

=/ Okay yeah, that rural thing is a problem that needs work. (Again, boyfriend has an issue with this.)

But I think opening it up to other developers to come up with stuff to do with your pokemon would be neat and could encourage more great spin-off games to be made? Like "Oh we made this really cool Pokemon spin-off and it stands fine on its own but if you want you could also transfer your pokemon from your main series game and play with them here too!" and that would be really neat to see what other developers come up with besides Game Freak. And I think that would also actually push Game Freak to put more into their own games to keep the main focus on them, because they can't just let the spin-offs all steal their spotlight either.

I mean, just look at GO- that became a hit and what did they do? They made Let's Go to work with it like "Hey look, we can also do that thing that has your attention." If we get more spin-off hits, then what will their response be? "Hello guys, look what we just added to our game because of this other thing that has your attention!"

And that's how we use the mobile market to put features back in pokemon. >=3

 

[PocketMonster]

To be honest, I just miss dedicated Nintendo handhelds: Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo 2DS were such great consoles.

A hybrid console is just not my thing... I hope a handheld-only budget version of the Switch comes out, as rumoured. I would definitely consider getting it.

i feel the same but then again I dont have my switch yet. I am hoping for a "mini" switch too.

 

[Matleo]

Maybe someone knows how a Dynamaxed pokemon weight and speed changes? Important for moves like Heat Crash and Gyroball.

 

[Knightwolf09]

Maybe someone knows how a Dynamaxed pokemon weight and speed changes? Important for moves like Heat Crash and Gyroball.

You won't be able to use those moves when Dynamaxed anyway. They'd turn into max moves

 

[Juizel]

=/ Okay yeah, that rural thing is a problem that needs work. (Again, boyfriend has an issue with this.)

Maybe I'm secretly your boyfriend? Huehue. No, I think I'd know if I'd be a boy

I mean, just look at GO- that became a hit and what did they do? They made Let's Go to work with it like "Hey look, we can also do that thing that has your attention." If we get more spin-off hits, then what will their response be? "Hello guys, look what we just added to our game because of this other thing that has your attention!"

And that's how we use the mobile market to put features back in pokemon. >=3

That would be a great argument and all if not for one thing... I hate the Let's Go games with a passion for pretty much everything they are. ;D

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

Let's just hope Sword and Shield doesn't end up the same as X and Y did.