What if gamefreak stopped making pokemon games

[Kung Fu Ferret]

Lets be honest. Game freak won't stop making Pokemon for a very long time. It's the biggest franchise in the world right now! But if they did, I bet Nintendo would take over!

 

[Silktree]

It's the biggest franchise in the world right now!

Video game franchise.

 

[Matleo]

the petitions against it would be cosmic and then the ones every year to re-start pokemon even more.

 

[PinkIceFox]

As someone who's seen many video game series die after merely a FRACTION of total games compared to Pokemon, all I can do is shrug. Sure, I'd be sad there's no new pokemon but that doesn't mean I can't still play the old games.

It'd just leave space for something new to step up and fill the hole left behind. Hopefully something more akin to Dragon Quest Monsters and Digimon than Yokai Watch though.

Not that it has a snowball's chance in hell of happening anytime soon in my eyes, though. That's a big money printer to just throw away. Humans like money lots, y'know.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Nintendo and TPC would just find someone else to develop the games, or develop them internally. Pokemon is too big an IP to just end right then and there, they'd probably want to continue it as long as they can make money on it. Game Freak doesn't necessarily need to be in the picture for that to happen, if they don't want to make Pokemon anymore, they can just leave.

Personally, I'd like to see Nintendo develop Pokemon. Buy out Game Freak's stake in TPC and develop the games internally, they'll be better than anything Game Freak could hope to achieve in their current state.

 

[El_]

Game Freak needs Pokemon... but Pokemon does not need Game Freak. It has, evolved into something more than what they originally started with, and it's clear now that they are gradually losing control over what it has become. This focus on mobile style gaming is almost looking like a safeguard, in the event that the main series under-performs expectations, especially in light of the success mobile's Pokemon Go achieved.

I would love if Game Freak did exactly everything @Lumilite said in their post, bc that is what's needed to make a great, solid, Pokemon adventure that has (personal opinion) been absent for the last few Gens. Sure, the company's prerogative is to make money, but should that come at the cost of the passion originally felt in the creators and those that follow the series?

However, considering Game Freak's recent responses, I think it is looking like it could be for the best that another company may want to take up the reigns. Nintendo developing the main series in house, may mean the same release schedule and careful handling that Mario & Zelda games receive. I'd be perfectly okay with that.

I do fear that if they end up letting fans help make future games, they'll just make it incredibly violent, vulgar or...anything that gets it an AO rating.

To be fair, Pokemon Special is said to be closer to the vision of the actual Pokemon world than even the games are. Not suggesting that things need to go all Shadow the Hedgehog or anything ridiculous, but treating the world more seriously, (maybe like Zelda's atmosphere?) wouldn't be a terrible thing to me. If nothing else, end this ridiculous notion that the games need to be ultra easy and friendly for children to pick up, as if they are all brain damaged.

 

[Mirandagurl]

I would guess no thousandth pokemon until Gen 10, as Gen 8 would be like 810-900 and Gen 9 901-999
Even without new games though, the upcoming game is challenge enough to Ketchum all
the national dex that is
but they'll probably milk it like before with Gen 8 and be like hey lets have an ultra sword and shield, or something...

 

[Boss1708]

I think it is important to realize that Game Freak can't "end Pokémon games" even if they wanted to. They only own 1/3 of the Pokémon franchise. Nintendo and TPCi own the other 2/3.

 

[Silktree]

To be fair, Pokemon Special is said to be closer to the vision of the actual Pokemon world than even the games are.

Tajiri only said that Special was the closest manga to his vision: "This is the comic that most resembles the world I was trying to convey."

 

[hanecco]

If nothing else, end this ridiculous notion that the games need to be ultra easy and friendly for children to pick up, as if they are all brain damaged.

Yes. As someone who often interacts with young kids, they are far more intelligent than most adults (and a lot of books/media) give them credit for. They will make silly assumptions sometimes, but that's due to their lack of experience, not because of a lack of ability or intelligence. It always irritates me to see eight year olds treated in films/books like they're two...

 

[Mew2]

I think that if Game Freak stopped making Pokémon games, it would hurt them tremendously, while it would have little effect on Pokémon, itself. Pokémon has grown far beyond a simple series of console games, having tons of merchandise, a card game, an animé, several mangas, soon to be two mobile games (one of which seems to have more hype for it than Sword and Shield do at the moment), and even some children's books. If worst came to worst and Game Freak stopped making the games, Nintendo would contract some other company to make the games, or even make them, themselves. Game Freak, on the other hand, kind of relies on Pokémon at the moment financially. Besides Town, I know of no other Game Freak projects aside from Pokémon and I know that Pokémon makes them a ton of money. Take that away and unless Town does incredibly well, they will likely be hurting financially, especially if Sword and Shield are their last games (I'm almost certain they won't be) and they happen to underperform.

 

[hanecco]

If SwSh did underperform, it still doesn't mean they'll change their mindset. It would take several games in a row flopping for them to take the decision to change up the franchise.

 

[Boss1708]

If SwSh did underperform, it still doesn't mean they'll change their mindset. It would take several games in a row flopping for them to take the decision to change up the franchise.

If SWSH flops, I can already picture the conversation between Masuda and Ohmori:

- Masuda-san, SwSh is flopping tremendously! It's the worst selling game sofar! What should we do?

- Is that so? Hmmm... The players are obviously intimidated by the Wild Area. That's why the game is flopping. We need to streamline the Wild Area to make sure new players don't get lost!

- Masuda-san, are you sure the Wild Area is the problem? Maybe the game is flopping because of Dexit? Or because Dynamax is a poor man's Mega Evolution?

- No, Ohmori-san. It's the Wild Area. We need to streamline it into a straight corridor. That will help players finish the game. We need to release a patch fixing this.

- So you think that will boost sales?

- Yes, absolutely.

- Are you sure?

- Haha, I don't know ¯\(ツ)/¯