Pokemon Legends: Arceus General Discussion

[EmpoleonProd]

I don't think they will do DLC for Arceus Legends, since they won't know how well it will do compared to traditional Mainline games. Imagine if Arces Legends flops sales wise, then they basically need to shelve the DLC that is already produced. I think Arceus Legends is more a test game to see if the concept is viable in the long rung sales wise.

I mean you could’ve said some of the same things about BotW and they did DLC. Game Freak is trying to copy everything they can from BotW so I’m expecting at least one DLC. They don’t need to have it ready to go on launch, they can easily develop it on the side for half a year while the primary team gets to work on the next game.

 

[nickdt]

I mean you could’ve said some of the same things about BotW and they did DLC. Game Freak is trying to copy everything they can from BotW so I’m expecting at least one DLC. They don’t need to have it ready to go on launch, they can easily develop it on the side for half a year while the primary team gets to work on the next game.

While this is true, we shouldn't disregard the possibility of gen 9 coming late 2021 (Since why release Arceus Legends early 2021 if they don't have anything else major planned for late 2021).

 

[Greninjaman]

While this is true, we shouldn't disregard the possibility of gen 9 coming late 2021 (Since why release Arceus Legends early 2021 if they don't have anything else major planned for late 2021).

If that were the case, why were they not announced at the same time as Legends and the Diamond and Pearl Remakes?

 

[KirbyBulba737]

If that were the case, why were they not announced at the same time as Legends and the Diamond and Pearl Remakes?

Isn't a gen usually announced within it's year of release?

 

[Joker901]

While this is true, we shouldn't disregard the possibility of gen 9 coming late 2021 (Since why release Arceus Legends early 2021 if they don't have anything else major planned for late 2021).

That would be the worst scenario ever. Legends looks still very unpolished. If they are working on two main games that will both launch next year, I predict two big disasters.
This time the anime isn't really focusing on a single region or just on new pokemon, and Legends and BDSP may feature new pokemon to deal will for the next year, so I really hope we will not see Gen 9 till late 2023.
I would also suggest that Legends and the remakes could have been delayed because of covid, maybe they were both 25th anniversary titles. Or simply Nintendo wanted a Pokemon title to launch with the Switch Pro early next year.

 

[nickdt]

That would be the worst scenario ever. Legends looks still very unpolished. If they are working on two main games that will both launch next year, I predict two big disasters.
This time the anime isn't really focusing on a single region or just on new pokemon, and Legends and BDSP may feature new pokemon to deal will for the next year, so I really hope we will not see Gen 9 till late 2023.
I would also suggest that Legends and the remakes could have been delayed because of covid, maybe they were both 25th anniversary titles. Or simply Nintendo wanted a Pokemon title to launch with the Switch Pro early next year.

tbh, the only reason i can see Nintendo wanting a Pokemon title to launch with the Switch Pro is because they don't have any Zelda and Mario games in the works for early or late 2021, so they need a big seller for it.

 

[Bolt Strike]

That would be the worst scenario ever. Legends looks still very unpolished. If they are working on two main games that will both launch next year, I predict two big disasters.
This time the anime isn't really focusing on a single region or just on new pokemon, and Legends and BDSP may feature new pokemon to deal will for the next year, so I really hope we will not see Gen 9 till late 2023.

Even 2023 feels too soon for Gen 9, I can't even see them releasing two major projects like LA and Gen 9 back to back, there are very few developers that can pull that off successfully and most of them have more experience and resources to make it happen. I think LA is a Gen 8.5 in a way and Gen 9 is a lot further off than we thought, not releasing until 2024 or 2025. 2023 might be another smaller project like DLC, or a Let's Go Johto or Unova remakes by ILCA.

I would also suggest that Legends and the remakes could have been delayed because of covid, maybe they were both 25th anniversary titles. Or simply Nintendo wanted a Pokemon title to launch with the Switch Pro early next year.

I'm not feeling BDSP as much as an anniversary title because it's just a faithful remake and an outsourced one that's probably low budget at that, it doesn't feel like a grand celebration of the series. LA though, that does feel like it's meant to be a big 25th anniversary celebration due to it being big, ambitious, and what fans have been begging for since Pokemon jumped to the Switch. I suspect that BDSP was meant to be an early 2021 release (maybe even on Pokemon Day) and LA was supposed to be a big holiday 2021 release, but then COVID pushed things back about 6 months.

tbh, the only reason i can see Nintendo wanting a Pokemon title to launch with the Switch Pro is because they don't have any Zelda and Mario games in the works for early or late 2021, so they need a big seller for it.

And I doubt this is the case, because they have BotW2 in the pipeline that may be a late 2021 release and Splatoon 3 coming in 2022 (and probably a lot more that we don't know about). I think they have big games coming soon, they don't need Pokemon for that.

 

[nickdt]

tbh, if Nintendo wanted to have something Pokemon for the Switch Pro, they could have easily put pushed back the remakes for early 2021.

 

[Emmy]

Any thoughts on the location of the Hub Town?

Assuming that it still exists in the modern day, my guess would be that it is Eterna Town. It being relatively flat and grassy yet surrounded by rocky slopes kinda matches. The Map description talks about the town showing "signs of ancient history" which is solidified by the Dialga/Palkia statue. The fact that Professor Oak has a home there could be a holdover from the Professor from Legends. Plus if the Galactic-looking logo on the MC's sleeve actually means anything then the Team Galactic Building could also be connected.

Just my ten cents.

 

[Joker901]

Even 2023 feels too soon for Gen 9, I can't even see them releasing two major projects like LA and Gen 9 back to back, there are very few developers that can pull that off successfully and most of them have more experience and resources to make it happen. I think LA is a Gen 8.5 in a way and Gen 9 is a lot further off than we thought, not releasing until 2024 or 2025. 2023 might be another smaller project like DLC, or a Let's Go Johto or Unova remakes by ILCA.



I'm not feeling BDSP as much as an anniversary title because it's just a faithful remake and an outsourced one that's probably low budget at that, it doesn't feel like a grand celebration of the series. LA though, that does feel like it's meant to be a big 25th anniversary celebration due to it being big, ambitious, and what fans have been begging for since Pokemon jumped to the Switch. I suspect that BDSP was meant to be an early 2021 release (maybe even on Pokemon Day) and LA was supposed to be a big holiday 2021 release, but then COVID pushed things back about 6 months.



And I doubt this is the case, because they have BotW2 in the pipeline that may be a late 2021 release and Splatoon 3 coming in 2022 (and probably a lot more that we don't know about). I think they have big games coming soon, they don't need Pokemon for that.

Maybe the way the anime was structured this time is really a suggestion that we will not see gen 9 for a long time. We are no more in the 3ds era and if Game Freak has taken open world pokemon seriously (as I hope) we cannot have a new gen every 3 years. In the last days I've thought a lot about this and I'm on board about gen 8.5. I think among Legends and d/p remakes we will have around 20-30 new pokemon (or maybe just forms) that will lead us to the next game around late 2023, maybe a let's go Johto developped by another studio and then in 2024 gen 9 (maybe on a new console).
About the early 2022 release of Legends, I wouldn't discard the Switch Pro launch so soon. According to rumors and leaks, Nintendo has planned a release for late 2021, so we can be in the 2017 scenario with Zelda releasing at lunch and Pokemon taking the place of Mario and releasing after 5-6 months.

 

[KirbyBulba737]

Maybe the way the anime was structured this time is really a suggestion that we will not see gen 9 for a long time. We are no more in the 3ds era and if Game Freak has taken open world pokemon seriously (as I hope) we cannot have a new gen every 3 years. In the last days I've thought a lot about this and I'm on board about gen 8.5. I think among Legends and d/p remakes we will have around 20-30 new pokemon (or maybe just forms) that will lead us to the next game around late 2023, maybe a let's go Johto developped by another studio and then in 2024 gen 9 (maybe on a new console).
About the early 2022 release of Legends, I wouldn't discount the Switch Pro launch so soon. According to rumors and leaks, Nintendo has planned a release for late 2021, so we can be in the 2017 scenario with Zelda releasing at lunch and Pokemon taking the place of Mario and releasing after 5-6 months.

You're saying that TPC actually listened and gave GF more time?

 

[Joker901]

You're saying that TPC actually listened and gave GF more time?

For the first time in history a couple of main serie games is developed by someone that is not GF. Something has changed for sure. The funny thing is...I don't think they made this decision after gen 8 crisis.
If you think about it, after Masuda finished the work on Let's go P/E (around half of 2018) the team that was working on those titles began a new project. We know they work like this at GF, because they have said it themselves in the past (there are two teams that work on different projects at the same time).
Considering how ambitious Pokemon Legends is for a studio like GF, I think it's safe to assume that in 2018, when the other part of the team was already working on sw/sh, GF may have felt that sw/sh wouldn't have been received "that" well after what Zelda and Mario did to the videogames market and looking at how well those games were selling and how well they were received by people, they probably thought that it was the perfect time to risk something new, something like the open world game that the world had been screaming for the last 25 years and that would have drastically increased their sales too. There the decision to give remakes to someone else.
It's just weird to think that while the world was leading a war against GF in 2019, they were probably already working on the first open world pokemon game.

 

[Bolt Strike]

You're saying that TPC actually listened and gave GF more time?

Again, this game's mere existence is may be a sign of that. If TPC wanted them to rush, do you think we'd be getting this game in the first place? They'd be saying "No, we want Gen 9 in 2022, this game would cannibalize sales".

 

[Joker901]

Despite everything, I'm just happy for the developers at GF. I mean, working on the same thing over and over must be frustrating expecially with that strict schedule of a game every year. Now that "main serie" may mean Let's Go or Legends too at least they can breath something new here and there. Just imagine how they would have felt if after sw/sh storm they had to 1:1 remake a 15 years old game that people wouldn't have received that well anyway. At least now they can work dreaming some sort of redemption.

 

[Bolt Strike]

For the first time in history a couple of main serie games is developed by someone that is not GF. Something has changed for sure. The funny thing is...I don't think they made this decision after gen 8 crisis.
If you think about it, after Masuda finished the work on Let's go P/E (around half of 2018) the team that was working on those titles began a new project. We know they work like this at GF, because they have said it themselves in the past (there are two teams that work on different projects at the same time).
Considering how ambitious Pokemon Legends is for a studio like GF, I think it's safe to assume that in 2018, when the other part of the team was already working on sw/sh, GF may have felt that sw/sh wouldn't have been received "that" well after what Zelda and Mario did to the videogames market and looking at how well those games were selling and how well they were received by people, they probably thought that it was the perfect time to risk something new, something like the open world game that the world had been screaming for the last 25 years and that would have drastically increased their sales too. There the decision to give remakes to someone else.
It's just weird to think that while the world was leading a war against GF in 2019, they were probably already working on the first open world pokemon game.

Not as sure about Game Freak starting on this before SwSh, but the rest I agree with. There's definitely a change in development practices at play here. My guess is that the expectations for full open world and the backlash against LGPE and SwSh has caused them to take a step back and say "Okay, maybe we really shouldn't be rushing our games". Because everything they've been doing is very unlike them, the Game Freak we know would've never done something like this. I think the realities of console development are setting in for them and they're adapting.

 

[Joker901]

Not as sure about Game Freak starting on this before SwSh, but the rest I agree with. There's definitely a change in development practices at play here. My guess is that the expectations for full open world and the backlash against LGPE and SwSh has caused them to take a step back and say "Okay, maybe we really shouldn't be rushing our games". Because everything they've been doing is very unlike them, the Game Freak we know would've never done something like this. I think the realities of console development are setting in for them and they're adapting.

If what you say is true, with an early 2022 release, Legends development would cover a total of 2.5 years. Don't you think that's bit too short for GF to develop its first open world game with a totally new plot, an entire map to redesign in 3D and different mechanics for catching and probably battling too to establish?

 

[Bolt Strike]

If what you say is true, with an early 2022 release, Legends development would cover a total of 2.5 years. Don't you think that's bit too short for GF to develop its first open world game with a totally new plot, an entire map to redesign in 3D and different mechanics for catching and probably battling too to establish?

Hmm, well they might have been working on it at the same time as the SwSh Expansion Pass, which isn't favorable, but far better than working on USUM, LGPE, SwSh, and Town at the same time.

 

[Silktree]

They tend to develop new generations in 2-3 years, so let's not act surprised and keep expectations in check.

As for the next generation, I think they'll release it in late 2023. Legends can't be counted as "Generation 8.5" when it lacks a multiplayer, and BSDP aren't even going to feature any post-DP critters (except for maybe relatives and a new mythical). This means that VGC will be stuck with SwSh until 2023. By the end of that year, another remake isn't going to cut it. So even if the development is rushed (which isn't necessarily the case), I don't see a good way around it with BSDP and Legends having these deliberate limitations.

Legends could absolutely get DLC for late 2022 unless an actual spin-off game ends up being the focus that year (which is hard to imagine). The Battle Zone would be a crummy option, though. It should be worth the wait (so yes, Sinjoh).

 

[KirbyBulba737]

Legends can't be counted as "Generation 8.5" when it lacks a multiplayer

Where did you get that from? They never announced anything about it.

and BSDP aren't even going to feature any post-DP critters (except for maybe relatives and a new mythical).

Are you sure about it?

 

[Joker901]

Hmm, well they might have been working on it at the same time as the SwSh Expansion Pass, which isn't favorable, but far better than working on USUM, LGPE, SwSh, and Town at the same time.

I don't know. They are also working on gen 9 for sure, so I don't think they could have managed an open world game in almost the same amount of time they usually have for a remake. Not counting that I find it incredibly difficult for a franchise as big as Pokemon to believe that from late 2016 (when gen 8 began development) till late 2019 (when sw/sh were released) they didn't plan what to do after sw/sh. Don't forget that usum and s/m were developed at the same time and so did x/y and oras.
Nah...I'm still convinced they began planning Legends after they finished working on Let's Go.