Why I think Gen 9 Shouldn't Happen This Year

[Poke Dragon]

With the news that Sword and Shield had too little development time, I thought it would be a good post to make on why Gen 9 definitely shouldn't happen this year:

-The developers just finished Legends Arceus-

This is a very good reason to delay Gen 9, being burnt out from working on a project is definitely not a good feeling to have, especially when the next project is also big. Having a new generation needing to be released in the same year as a very ambitious game where the same developers have just finished means they are forced to help finish Gen 9 as soon as possible. This is why I say that it will most likely lead to burnouts.

-The games need more time-

Relating back to the news of how much time Sword and Shield got, it's revealed it wasn't as much as it needed. There are clearly things that seem to not be in line for a high-quality game, like untouched plot points, flat textures, and more.

-BDSP still need updates-

Whether we like it or not, BDSP still needs major updates, it's clear when the GWS is still not available despite the game releasing last year, it severely needs it. Not only that, but BDSP still misses the compatibility with Pokemon HOME, which is surprising considering that both BDSP and HOME are both made by ILCA, so if anything, they should've made that update sooner. Oh yeah, the Mythical Pokemon events in BDSP are still locked from the player (unless you play on an older version and perform glitches in the game or edit the data).

-Conclusion-

With many reasons, including development burnouts, more time to make the game more polished, and the current games still needing major updates, it's clear that Gen 9 really shouldn't come out this year. There's probably a lot more reasons than this, but I feel like these three reasons aren't stated enough. Unfortunately though, it wouldn't surprise me that Gen 9 would come out this year, all because Pokemon seem to be allergic to breaks recently.

 

[Ryoma Maser]

Even if Gen 9 is in the works, they wouldn't release it this year anyways I think since Legends is taking the spot that GameFreak's usual spot for their yearly release plus it is most likely to get DLC, taking up the whole year.

I might see it being teased this year but it probably won't. I would hope GameFreak takes a slight break from the new Gen's and let Gen 8 run a bit longer for development sakes and just so more can come besides a New Gen every two years. We are reaching nearly 1000 Pokémon sans forms, I feel like we can stagnate a bit instead of new new new.

 

[R1ke]

Yeah Gen 9's gonna take a while. I'm glad they didn't immediately jump into it, instead focusing on fleshing out Sinnoh with LA. But I also think it's being released too soon, it still looks unpolished imo. I'm not a fan of this 3 year time gap they keep doing either, it starts to take away from the quality of each gen. They should do more quality > quantity, otherwise everything starts to blend together.

 

[MobiusKipper]

This is going to ring true, at least, I think. Legends Arceus is going to take up the spot for this year. The advertising is going to be everywhere for this game, they wouldnt (at least, in my understanding of business) release two big things in one year, thats why we got BDSP this year haha.

 

[CuboneKing]

Agree with everything you said. My money’s on Legends DLC this fall/winter (Sinjoh Ruins anyone?) and gen 9 next year. Please god fix the pop-in next time Game Freak.

 

[Kung Fu Ferret]

I honestly think we might get both Legends Arceus DLC and gen 9 this year. Not at the same time, obviously.

 

[henrymidfields]

Nah, to be honest, I wouldn't mind if we see a 4-5 year cycle for the future. I wouldn't mind if Gen 9 was 2023 or even later. I think because, with games relying on 3D graphics and whatnot, I think video games are inherently becoming more labour-intensive (and time-consuming) to design and make.

• I know Final Fantasy had several mainline entries during the 90s and early 2000s, (we had III and IX in 90s, then X to I think XIII during 2000s, then only to XV for the last decade)but notice how their mainline entries become less frequent?
• Mario had, what? Mario World, Mario Kart, Yoshi's Island, and 64 versions of World and Kart for the 90s, then Double Dash, Sunshine, Galaxy and maybe New Bros DS for 00s. Last decade saw Galaxy 2, a couple of iterations for New Bros, Kart Wii, Kart 8, and the New Switch mainline. It might be worth noting that New Bros may have recycled assets, and Galaxy 2 almost certainly do. I also did not include re-ports.
• DKC had 1-3 on the SNES, then 64, then a couple of spinoffs in the 00s, and the Returns duology for the last decade.

Might explain the relatively small content for XY, or the mess when SwSh transitioned into the Switch. Either GF should hire more people with the programming side of things, or allocate an extra year or two. Granted, there's probably a lot of talk needed between GF, Nintendo, TV Tokyo, and TPCI etc as the game schedule relies on other stuff like the anime, manga, merches etc. But a talk is definitely warranted, I think. The merch may bring in the cash, but GF would still call the shots in when the new Pokemon be revealed.

Looking back, I'm actually kind of amazed that the quality for Pokemon's mainline games have been more or less consistent until this Gen despite the higher pace of releases compared to a lot of other franchises. Maybe relying on sprites have helped for the first five generations? Mario also churns a lot of admittedly consistent quality games (even though I dislike that franchise nowadays), but that one's had some content recycled between a few games and not being as story-heavy probably helped as well. As a semi-regular player of Fire Emblem, there were ups and downs in quality. Radiant Dawn is said to be the gold standard in storywriting, while Fates Conquest is the opposite. And look what happened with Sonic - we all thought it and Sega was here to stay during the 90s, and look what happened during the 00s. Even Final Fantasy had some arguable misses like VIII (I'm personally am okay with it, but I heard it has been controversial.), XIII and the old XIV.

 

[FelipePR]

I believe that Gen 9 will only be released at the end of 2023, or at least in the second half.

 

[KerfishSea]

How do we even know that gen 9 would even be a big thing. It could end up being like SWSH, I sure hope not. But another project like Legends is gonna be massive.

 

[Dorothy]

I've been saying for a while that Pokemon should stop being an annual series.

 

[SeanWheeler]

Well, this thread aged well. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were announced to be coming later this year.

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

It shouldn't but it will. Just like the dexcut should be undone but it wasn't. TPC is greedy