Official Pre-Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield Speculation & Leaks thread

[Atomic Kote]

The thing is that a Kanto of the future wouldn't impress me either, so... XD

I'm on that fence where it's like... I don't want to go back to boring old Kanto, definitely not as the first Switch game, but I don't want to see it perverted into a new Kanto either. Let's just leave poor Kanto alone and not try to force it to be as interesting as a new region would be. I don't want to go down nostalgia road and I don't want nostalgia road to be paved over into nostalgia street- it's like going back to one of your favorite childhood spots and finding out that the area got turned into an apartment building.

Which... literally happened to me, because they went and turned the woods I used to play in as a child into several apartment complexes. It's painful to look at.

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot~

I mean, we can kinda expect that they will have to change things up in the next remakes anyway- that's a given, there has to be something new. But to push Kanto to a point where it would be on par to a new region in experience would require some really drastic changes that would just hurt Kanto and all nostalgia pertaining to it. It's dangerous and not very welcome territory.

Then the next game, presuming it's a remake/reboot of Kanto, probably isn't going to be for you.

I personally don't think that they'll reboot Kanto. If they did, though, I'd find it fascinating and lovely. It'd be amazing to see the same world that I saw as an eight year old kid on a tiny, crappy screen, revitalized, revived, put onto a TV, and made into what it could be today.

I'd be just as happy to see a new region, though.

Honestly, I'd just be happy for them to import GBA Emerald to the Switch and make it compatible with Pokebank, but that ain't gonna happen.

 

[Oriden]

Then the next game, presuming it's a remake/reboot of Kanto, probably isn't going to be for you.

Yeeeah, no more than USUM was, for sure- I'll be happy if I never see another Ultra Beast again.

But really, the point of this argument wasn't personal preference, it was more just trying to express the fact that a Kanto revisit as the debut Switch game is a terrible idea because either it's going to be underwhelming- which is sad, again, for the debut Switch title- or it's going to have to try really hard to look like a new area, and in doing so kick nostalgia in the head.

It just doesn't make sense as the first Switch game. As the first main series game to reach a home console, it makes more sense from a marketing standpoint to really make a big deal of it and step out onto the new platform with something fresh, new and exciting, that really showcases what it means to be Pokemon on the Switch. The message we're getting instead, with a Kanto remake, is "Hey wow, this is sure an upgrade from those GameBoy days, huh?" and that's not the comparison you want to make when talking about the Switch- the comparison should be to Sun and Moon, not FireRed and LeafGreen. But Kanto, being Kanto, is definitely going to draw a closer comparison to its last counterparts than it is to the latest region.

Basically, it's a huge missed opportunity.

I'd just sooner see Gen 8 first and a Kanto remake come second than the other way around. That's less pressure on Kanto to be anything more than a revitalized Kanto.

 

[Atomic Kote]

Yeeeah, no more than USUM was, for sure- I'll be happy if I never see another Ultra Beast again.

But really, the point of this argument wasn't personal preference, it was more just trying to express the fact that a Kanto revisit as the debut Switch game is a terrible idea because either it's going to be underwhelming- which is sad, again, for the debut Switch title- or it's going to have to try really hard to look like a new area, and in doing so kick nostalgia in the head.

It just doesn't make sense as the first Switch game. As the first main series game to reach a home console, it makes more sense from a marketing standpoint to really make a big deal of it and step out onto the new platform with something fresh, new and exciting, that really showcases what it means to be Pokemon on the Switch. The message we're getting instead, with a Kanto remake, is "Hey wow, this is sure an upgrade from those GameBoy days, huh?" and that's not the comparison you want to make when talking about the Switch- the comparison should be to Sun and Moon, not FireRed and LeafGreen. But Kanto, being Kanto, is definitely going to draw a closer comparison to its last counterparts than it is to the latest region.

Basically, it's huge a missed opportunity.

I'd just sooner see Gen 8 first and a Kanto remake come second than the other way around. That's less pressure on Kanto to be anything more than Kanto.

From a marketing standpoint, you could see it as grabbing the interest of people who really don't care about NEW REGION, NEW POKEMON, and instead, care about those original 150 critters that they had to catch as a kid, before getting alienated by it as adults due to the enormous amount of Pokémon that are now introduced. From the popularity of Pokémon Go, I would say that this is an audience that definitely exists. From the popularity of the Switch from people who are aged between 20-27, I would also say that this a viable strategy and would honestly sell oodles of copies.

But I know nothing about how to market Pokémon, or who the target audience is, even, and I'm going to assume that you don't either, though that could be a wrong assumption. It's pointless for me to try and argue a point about what looks better from a marketing perspective when I don't know the first scratch about it aside from making presumptions and assumptions, which, make an ass out of you and me.

 

[Oriden]

From a marketing standpoint, you could see it as grabbing the interest of people who really don't care about NEW REGION, NEW POKEMON, and instead, care about those original 150 critters that they had to catch as a kid, before getting alienated by it as adults due to the enormous amount of Pokémon that are now introduced. From the popularity of Pokémon Go, I would say that this is an audience that definitely exists.

But I know nothing about how to market Pokémon, or who the target audience is, even, and I'm going to assume that you don't either, though that could be a wrong assumption. It's pointless for me to try and argue a point about what looks better from a marketing perspective when I don't know the first scratch about it aside from making presumptions and assumptions, which, make an ass out of you and me.

XD Well I don't know for sure, but I have taken a few marketing classes, so I'm just looking at it from the perspective of what would appeal to the largest demographic. The nostalgia market is a small niche compared to "people who like brand new things."

 

[Icy Wind]

From a marketing standpoint, you could see it as grabbing the interest of people who really don't care about NEW REGION, NEW POKEMON, and instead, care about those original 150 critters that they had to catch as a kid, before getting alienated by it as adults due to the enormous amount of Pokémon that are now introduced. From the popularity of Pokémon Go, I would say that this is an audience that definitely exists.

If these people were alienated by the amount of new pokemon, then what's the point in trying to cater to them? They'll just move on from the franchise once a new region with new pokemon are introduced.

 

[Scarftail]

It's reportedly an internal demo.

But why would they pull from XY and ORAS instead of SM, the latest games, when designing a test map?

 

[Atomic Kote]

XD Well I don't know for sure, but I have taken a few marketing classes, so I'm just looking at it from the perspective of what would appeal to the largest demographic. The nostalgia market is a small niche compared to "people who like brand new things."

Again, I don't know the demographic or the market for Pokémon games, so I really can't comment.

 

[Cainhxrst]

I wonder if we'll get a glimpse of the eevee form or w/e in the trailer tomorrow night

the merch is set to be revealed on the 26th right? We'll need to have that revealed at some point this month as well

 

[Oriden]

I wonder if we'll get a glimpse of the eevee form or w/e in the trailer tomorrow night

the merch is set to be revealed on the 26th right? We'll need to have that revealed at some point this month as well

I think we're supposedly getting a Zeraora reveal on the 10th or so... but merchandise reveals on the 26th.

Which is an interesting gap, considering. >=/ Have any other mythical reveals had such a delay in revealing merchandise? I thought for sure that dusk lycanroc's official plush was revealed much much sooner after its announcement. Not that it's a mythical, but ya know- new pokemon reveal.

 

[Enryx25]

Pokemon Day had 7 memories for a countdown. Most of these are probably core features that GF will never remove in a new gen (or reboot).
7) Seven regions
6) Six Pokemon make a team
5) Five cards from the fifth Expansion
4) Four Elite trainers
3) Three starters
2) Two version
1) One champion

 

[LeukaHaruhana]

I really do not want a Kanto remake. As someone said, a new region for the Switch would be perfect.

If there is one, I want a MUCH better plot. The plot for R/B/Y and FR/LG was stale and boring, at least to me.

 

[Jukain]

I'm not the only one that would be massively cheesed off by essentially being told that I don't matter. Apparently, that doesn't make a difference for anything. I will only make that decision if I have to, and I will have to wait for the reveal for that.

 

[RileyXY1]

From the popularity of the Switch from people who are aged between 20-27, I would also say that this a viable strategy and would honestly sell oodles of copies..

It's not. Making the first game on the Switch a remake of a two decade old game will simply not work. It will be compared to the Game Boy games instead of the 3DS games. It also will sell less than the new region games due to a lack of new content. It won't show off the Switch's capabilities very well. This is why the debut games on a console are always a new generation.

 

[VelVoxelRaptor]

It's not. Making the first game on the Switch a remake of a two decade old game will simply not work. It will be compared to the Game Boy games instead of the 3DS games. It also will sell less than the new region games due to a lack of new content. It won't show off the Switch's capabilities very well. This is why the debut games on a console are always a new generation.

The aim might be different though. It could work well. I know people had the argument a few pages back that Pokémon is “aimed at children” but remember the Nintendo Switch trailer? Almost everyone there was an adult so they are changing directions and Pokémon might doing the same. Their new target could be people that grew up with Pokémon so Kanto would sell. And if it’s a reboot and they add something new, I believe it could be successful.

 

[RileyXY1]

The aim might be different though. It could work well. I know people had the argument a few pages back that Pokémon is “aimed at children” but remember the Nintendo Switch trailer? Almost everyone there was an adult so they are changing directions and Pokémon might doing the same. Their new target could be people that grew up with Pokémon so Kanto would sell. And if it’s a reboot and they add something new, I believe it could be successful.

That won't work well for GF. Kids will always be the target audience of Pokemon. Targeting adults will cause a decrease in sales.

 

[Enryx25]

The aim might be different though. It could work well. I know people had the argument a few pages back that Pokémon is “aimed at children” but remember the Nintendo Switch trailer? Almost everyone there was an adult so they are changing directions and Pokémon might doing the same. Their new target could be people that grew up with Pokémon so Kanto would sell. And if it’s a reboot and they add something new, I believe it could be successful.

Many adult Pokemon fans don't want a Kanto remake though. They're sick of it because they it would be their 5th time.

 

[RileyXY1]

Many adult Pokemon fans don't want a Kanto remake though. They're sick of it because they it would be their 5th time.

Plus all the Kanto references in XY and SM. People are growing sick and tired of Kanto.

 

[Cainhxrst]

from what I've seen around, a lot of the people that actually want kanto remakes are adults who played gens 1, 2, then haven't really been interested in the franchise since, or were brought back into the series with sun/moon

it's not like they can't make a game that targets both audiences imo. Black/White was made with older fans in mind (wanting to give people who played previous games their "first game" experience again), and elements of X/Y were clearly intended to draw lapsed fans back into the games (older protags, kanto starters, megas, etc)

 

[VelVoxelRaptor]

Many adult Pokemon fans don't want a Kanto remake though. They're sick of it because they it would be their 5th time.

While that might be true, I believe Gamefreak loves Kanto and they “think” everyone else does to. Regardless of wether or not it would sell well, it is not out of the realm of possibility gamefreak would do such a thing.

 

[RileyXY1]

While that might be true, I believe Gamefreak loves Kanto and they “think” everyone else does to. Regardless of wether or not it would sell well, it is not out of the realm of possibility gamefreak would do such a thing.

Do you really think that having the first home console Pokemon game being a remake of a 22 year old game is a good idea? It's not. It will lack new content unless they kick nostalgia in the face (which I don't think that they'll do) and it will not show off the Switch's capabilities well. A new region is better suited for showing off the capabilities of a new console than a remake, and the new gen games always sell better than any remake.