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

[TheRealMattHunt]

Maybe it's just me, but I thought Joe's tweet sounded harmless enough in that he felt that, by the sounds of things, they might be casualizing, and he expressed his opinion on that as not being a good idea? Not really crying about how they're definitely doing it, just that they might be and he's not on board with that direction.

I don't know about the person who responded to it saying that it was going to be bad- maybe they just hate Pikachu.

That's what I got from it too. I'm pretty sure Joe has known minute details about these games, but I don't think he knows more than the current leaked info we've seen. He's just giving his opinion (which is why said post is from his twitter, and not the Serebii twitter.)

I'm excited to see what these games have to offer. Much like any new game in the mainline series, it's bound to turn off some people in the fan base, for one reason or another.

 

[Silktree]

There should be no question that these games are the "core RPG titles" referenced in last E3. Even if they were spin-off games, that wouldn't make the next generation any closer. I think that the idea that these games would be better received as spin-off games is silly.

 

[Oriden]

I rise from the grave once again to voice my concerns, which are that these are main series games rather than derivative spinoffs. I, er, sort of bought the Switch banking on Gen 8 at some point and am very lucky that the console has had enough great titles to make it worth it beyond this particular IP. This franchise is very important to me. I admire the ongoing creativity and the overall feel of the series, and new Pokémon and places to explore are really what I follow the franchise for. So, you know, I'm all for a Yellow remake or a fun little game with Go features eventually, and the franchise has debuted on new consoles with spinoffs before, but the main worry for me is that the whole-ass new main series game on the Switch is a region we've already seen and know everything about. I think the Switch will live a long time and all companies go through rough spots every once in a while, but having them be fully-fledged RPGs expected to be the series' next step would be pretty damn disappointing. (To me personally, no shade on people who look forward to them).

I'm sure Gen 8 will come properly eventually, but I have to agree... this is not what I expected as the first Pokemon game for Switch, and I gotta say, I do not find it a very welcome surprise.

 

[Peachy]

These leaks sound like the complete opposite of what I want out of Pokemon. And at this point they sound pretty real and I'm not happy. Though I'm actually glad that these got leaked because they actually let me down pretty easy. But my expectations are at rock bottom so maybe I'll be impressed.

 

[Achrom25tic]

They might not be better received, but I think for a lot of people it would make it less of an alarming or upsetting thing if they were spin-offs, because that would at least mean there would still be a possibility for a new region in the future.

 

[Fairy Type Arceus]

View: https://twitter.com/pixelpar/status/996739944608620550?s=19
It's happening

I've been waiting since March to post this

Please have the seevi islands, and let mew be catchable (and not shiny locked) other than that I'm going in with zero expectations as to not disappoint myself. Revisting kanto isn't a big deal to me, only the go stuff worries me ATM, hoping there's a lock on button for when we throw the joy con.

 

[Poke Dragon]

There is still a chance that these games could be Gen 8 in a sense, but with a different way of defining what a generation is. I vaguely remember someone tweeting that these games could change the definition of a generation.

 

[multiingbe]

I am not sure how it could become too casual without it also becoming more sandboxy! "Make Your Story" will perhaps be indicated to relate to these games.

Switch does need as much support as possible to continue as a viable system and eventually host Gen 8, and, an "open world-ish" version of Kanto (with multiple difficulty levels or gameplay formats?) would allow many people across generations to really enjoy.

Yoshi's Island was arguably a "casualisation" of Super Mario but still an absolute and timeless milestone of interactive audiovisual experiences!!

 

[Silktree]

They might not be better received, but I think for a lot of people it would make it less of an alarming or upsetting thing if they were spin-offs, because that would at least mean there would still be a possibility for a new region in the future.

There will be a new region eventually, anyway. It may or may not have the same Go-related features.

No one promised a new generation for this year.

 

[Riahi]

well one thing is for sure now gamefreak always does the unexpected, they are so unpredictable

 

[Team Gaara]

Most peeps want these to be spin-offs because they want the usual, new generation, new region, new characters, new Pokemon as their first experience on the new console~ Which is understandable but I would think they would be happier if these were not "main series" since, technically, they will not be "Gen 8" as, the start of a generation is usually marked by a new region, not necessarily a new console.

 

[Aizen44]

Man i wish the names got leaked last week, so we would get the direct this week, but here we go. One last painful week left to our Salvation, tension is rising up and i‘m pretty hyped. Well we‘ll see how it will all turn out and another leak could also pretty much happen at this point, who knows.

To the graphical aspect, i know i‘d be a little dissapointed too, if they are just upscales of sun/moon, but hey these will be the first switch games and the graphics will clearly evolve with the following games, like they did from xy to sun/moon. Pretty sure they are holding glorious hd graphics back for gen8.

 

[Achrom25tic]

There will be a new region eventually, anyway. It may or may not have the same Go-related features.

No one promised a new generation for this year.

I know; in truth I wasn't expecting any main series releases this year, and if it's a debut spinoff I'm fine with it. It's just with the promises of a new core RPG, which have been posted and discussed in this thread previously, that's the worry; that this is that new core RPG.

 

[Cainhxrst]

Joe's expressed in the past that he felt that Go influencing the main series was inevitable, but he'd hoped that they didn't influence too much or take the wrong queues. He's just reiterating that

They could easily further casualize things by messing with the battle mechanics and simplifying things, stuff like that. IMO thats absolute worst case scenario

This kinda feels like a bit of testing ground situation too. If the go influence isn't well received, who says gamefreak needs to carry that stuff into gen 8?

 

[TheRealMattHunt]

They might not be better received, but I think for a lot of people it would make it less of an alarming or upsetting thing if they were spin-offs, because that would at least mean there would still be a possibility for a new region in the future.

But there still is that possibility...in fact, one of the leakers says it explicitly. Gen 8, proper, in 2019. Which is what most people here were hoping for anyway, so I'm not sure I see the negative there.

This kinda feels like a bit of testing ground situation too. If the go influence isn't well received, who says gamefreak needs to carry that stuff into gen 8?

Definitely. I don't think they'd follow Go's battle mechanics too closely, except for maybe being able to have your Pokemon dodge. But the catching mechanics being utilized makes a lot of sense with the Switch. I think we'll still get to weaken a Pokemon the normal way, but then the actual catching will shift to something in line with Go.

I think this game, which really is a Gen 7.5, is being used to acclimate both Gamefreak and the fans to what Pokemon will be going forward.

 

[Lillie Blossoms]

That's what I got from it too. I'm pretty sure Joe has known minute details about these games, but I don't think he knows more than the current leaked info we've seen. He's just giving his opinion (which is why said post is from his twitter, and not the Serebii twitter.)

I'm excited to see what these games have to offer. Much like any new game in the mainline series, it's bound to turn off some people in the fan base, for one reason or another.

Well hey can't please everyone please as many as you can.

 

[Icy Wind]

But the catching mechanics being utilized makes a lot of sense with the Switch.

Why? What is it about the Switch that makes using Go’s awful gameplay sense?

 

[TheRealMattHunt]

Why? What is it about the Switch that makes using Go’s awful gameplay sense?

Go's game play being awful is your opinion lol. (Granted, the battle system is definitely over-simplified, but it's a cell phone game, so I sometimes wonder what people actually expect from it.) When stacked up against the core games, it's definitely not anything to write home about, but as a time killer, it's fine.
They've also improved a lot since its inception, which has recently gotten me back into it. Big fan of how the weather system works.

But beyond that, the Joycons make it possible for you to actually simulate throwing a pokeball. If you're not going to utilize those features, there's no point in moving to the Switch. Regardless of Go integration, I don't think there was ever a chance of them not updating that aspect of the games for console.

 

[Silktree]

that's the worry; that this is that new core RPG.

They almost definitely are, since they have been carefully teased by Masuda, and the "core RPG" titles were given a "2018 or later" placeholder date (if they were separate from the Pikachu/Eevee games, there would be no chance of a 2018 release). Could they be the start of a new kind of RPG series? Maybe, but it's way too early to say. Either way, I doubt that Game Freak consider these games less "core" than remakes.

 

[TheRealMattHunt]

They almost definitely are, since they have been carefully teased by Masuda, and the "core RPG" titles were given a "2018 or later" placeholder date. Could they be the start of a new kind of RPG series? Maybe, but it's way too early to say. Either way, I doubt that Game Freak consider these games less "core" than remakes.

They're definitely core games. Made by Gamefreak, deal with the "narrative" of the other core games, and are releasing, in theory, for Holiday 2018.