SwSh Why is the reception for Sword and Shield so polarizing?

[Titania]

* Though honestly, we really freaking should ask for the moon.

We already got Moon, unfortunately.

On a serious note, I do agree that it's not okay to set our expectation to rock bottom, especially with the price is getting higher and other games getting better.
Even though I bought the game and feel indifferent to dexit and a few of its controversial aspects, I do still have expectations on the other aspects (like the story). I do hope GF will learn from this and do better on gen 9. If they're not and the actual game turns to be disappointing, then I will most likely won't looking forward for gen 9.
(But to be fair even-numbered gens tend to be rather lackluster compared to the odd-numbered gens. At least for me.)

 

[Dead Moth]

(But to be fair even-numbered gens tend to be rather lackluster compared to the odd-numbered gens. At least for me.)

No offense, but that just sounds superstitious. It's not like GF is like, "relax guys; this is gen 10. We only need to try on odd gens."

 

[Aurorus]

No offense, but that just sounds superstitious. It's not like GF is like, "relax guys; this is gen 10. We only need to try on odd gens."

No, but it might be that they get burnt out from a "good" gen (odd numbered) and then end up not really trying for the next gen (even).

 

[Titania]

No offense, but that just sounds superstitious. It's not like GF is like, "relax guys; this is gen 10. We only need to try on odd gens."

Well, I'm just stating what I feel, and for me, odd-numbered gens do have much improvements compared to the even-numbered gens. (perhaps because even-numbered gens are their first attempt to the new console) But I didn't say that GF should take it easy on odd-numbered gens, though.

 

[godiego]

This is especially considering that Pokemon is the highest grossing media franchise of all time. It's estimated that Pokemon has brought in more than 92 BILLION dollars in revenue. The Zelda franchise and Mario franchise's combined revenue doesn't even scratch that, coming in at less than half. The quality of content being produced is not consistent with other 60 dollar games, and certainly doesn't approach what you'd expect from a franchise bigger than Star Wars and the Avengers. Does this mean Pokemon games need to consistently be contenders for game of the year? No! It should mean that proper turning animations for the games mascots should exist, however. Instead, we get moonwalking wolves and levitating wingulls.

the bulk of Pokemon's revenue doesn't come from the games. (also revenue ≠ profit) Zelda and Mario don't even come close to scratching it because they're pretty much entirely a video game franchise. Pokemon's revenue comes from pretty much everywhere except the console games. there's literally next to no financial incentive for any party associated with Pokemon to invest more money into the games.

 

[Aurorus]

I just found this video and I think it sums up why people are angry pretty nicely. It's buggy, the animation is terrible (and not worth losing over 600 Pokemon for), and the battle music is... well... I guess it's a subjective thing but I think it's pretty awful.

 

[AngryBinacle]

the bulk of Pokemon's revenue doesn't come from the games. (also revenue ≠ profit) Zelda and Mario don't even come close to scratching it because they're pretty much entirely a video game franchise. Pokemon's revenue comes from pretty much everywhere except the console games. there's literally next to no financial incentive for any party associated with Pokemon to invest more money into the games.

What? Selling tens of millions of copies is quite lucrative (euphemism).

Anyway, while I agree with the disappointing bits of Sword/Shield many here have mentioned, I fail to believe we know how it goes down at Gamefreak. We don't know if things went wrong, we have no idea whether they're incompetent or not at programming or whether the title was originally meant to be on a handheld (the oddest one out there). So, please, refrain from drawing quick conclusions without the facts to back it up. Being critical isn't wrong or bad, but we have no clue how Gamefreak works.

 

[DarkraiKnight]

What? Selling tens of millions of copies is quite lucrative (euphemism).

Anyway, while I agree with the disappointing bits of Sword/Shield many here have mentioned, I fail to believe we know how it goes down at Gamefreak. We don't know if things went wrong, we have no idea whether they're incompetent or not at programming or whether the title was originally meant to be on a handheld (the oddest one out there). So, please, refrain from drawing quick conclusions without the facts to back it up. Being critical isn't wrong or bad, but we have no clue how Gamefreak works.

I wish we did. I wish they were more open with us. That's all I've ever really wanted out of this whole sordid affair.

 

[UxieLover1994]

I've preordered Shield, and my friend intends to get Sword when the games come out on Friday. Even with only 400 Pokémon, both of us see SwSh as a huge improvement over LGPE, and look forward to visiting Galar. In my view, SwSh is just another testing game for the Switch, and the next games will most likely build on the experience from it. Like maybe adding another 100+ older Pokémon.

The issue today is many people have very high expectations, and are violently entitled. If a game, or even a film or TV series adds something these fans don't like, then they'll find an excuse, any excuse, to bash the writers/developers, their families, other fans, or just random people over it. This can devolve into fandom heresy, leading to fatal cyberbullying towards developers or more positive fans. In worst case scenarios, fan backlash might cause franchise (or even genre) to end, either because the developers fear for their lives, or because of protests from overzealous parents who thinks the franchise corrupts people.

So in this case, Game Freak may face being shut down (or worse burnt down) because of the backlash, and SwSh to be the final game of the franchise, provided Nintendo doesn't hand over development rights to another studio. Especially since it's hard to tell if someone's criticism is legit, or rage based.

 

[IncineROAR]

I think some of the criticism is legit, but GF has been churning out games year after year like a factory. We didn't need LGPE, I know GF planned workforce accordingly, but it's a drain on resources.

I have the same criticisms of the game that I had several weeks ago, I'll wait and play the game before I say anything deeper.

 

[UxieLover1994]

I think some of the criticism is legit, but GF has been churning out games year after year like a factory. We didn't need LGPE, I know GF planned workforce accordingly, but it's a drain on resources.

A shame, too, that certain people believe that they can't take breaks in order to meet certain deadlines, which can affect the welfares of their employees. If they must release new content yearly, the overwork will tire them out or make them less creative, and lead to lower quality works. Entitled fans will harass the developers, affecting their mental health, and putting them at risk of suicide.

I think the last time we've had two or more years pass between main series games was from ORAS in 2014 to SM in 2016. The earlier games allowed more time for development compared to today. Game Freak could've delayed SwSh from Q4 2019 to Q1 2020 to program several hundred more Pokémon in, but that would delay the merchandise and anime. And we know what can happen if the anime is forced to pad out its run with fillers, even with the chance to finish leftover arcs. It's a morton's fork either way; release on time and be harassed by pro-dexers, or delay but lose millions of dollars in halting merchandise.

Yearly releases leading to lower quality works aren't exclusive to Pokémon. Look at Disney after 1995. Development for Beauty and the Beast required little breaks. Although later films starting with Aladdin went easier on their employees, the quality eventually went down after The Lion King because a film had to be released each year. By 2006, we get bad films such as Home on the Range and especially Chicken Little from this mentality.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Seriously another thread on the topic? And the opinionated title literally sounds like bait.

 

[Phosphene]

The issue today is many people have very high expectations, and are violently entitled.

Is expecting a Pokemon game on the same level as BotW or Mario Odyssey really that high of an expectation? From what I've seen, what most people expected from SwSh isn't that extreme; some of what people wanted in SwSh, such as properly scaled in-battle models or high quality graphics, has already been shown to be possible. Plus, while adding all Pokemon seems a little unfeasible, many would be satisfied with free DLC or patches. And most people were fine with the state of SwSh until Dexit and the reasonings behind it caused them to scrutinize the games.

If a game, or even a film or TV series adds something these fans don't like, then they'll find an excuse, any excuse, to bash the writers/developers, their families, other fans, or just random people over it. This can devolve into fandom heresy, leading to fatal cyberbullying towards developers or more positive fans. In worst case scenarios, fan backlash might cause franchise (or even genre) to end, either because the developers fear for their lives, or because of protests from overzealous parents who thinks the franchise corrupts people.

So in this case, Game Freak may face being shut down (or worse burnt down) because of the backlash

While I don't doubt that some fan backlash is definitely too aggressive and can have very negative consequences, I think you're making a mountain out of a molehill overall. Dexit backlash isn't going to absolutely ruin GameFreak.

 

[Norzan]

Agreed. Which makes me upset that whenever people try to bring these valid points up, reasonably, it's mischaracterized as unnecessary complaining and a toxic attitude. That's why this Sword & Shield controversy is as notable as it is. It's not solely just the condition of how these games are being released with the content they do and do not have, no-it's a culmination of years of Game Freak choosing not to make effective gameplay choices, choosing to constantly disregard amazing features, purposefully releasing remastered versions of the same game unnecessarily, etc. Bringing a mainline game to the Switch was their chance to tip the point back in their favor; instead, they didn't and because they took away even more of precedent staple than ever before (Dexit) without really offering up any type of reasonable compensation for denying fans such an integral part of their Pokemon experience (because, yes-every Pokemon is someone's favorite), and doing so in light of other very successful Switch releases such as Breath of the Wild, here we are.

It's really frustrating giving constructive criticism and then have that misconstrued as being "toxic" or "being an hater". When i criticize something in the series is not because i'm hating on it or want the company to fail, the exact opposite. I want the company to succeed, so when i make points about something being poorly done, it comes out of a sense of wanting the series to improve.

Will this game be a complete disaster like some people are claiming it will be? I highly doubt it. Could have been much better? Yes, it could have had.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

The issue today is many people have very high expectations, and are violently entitled.

I literally went in expecting something better than USUM and was disappointed...

 

[Knightwolf09]

Is everybody just going to be in reviewer mode these next couple a days? I heard of the phrase everybody's a critic, but this is ridiculous

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Is everybody just going to be in reviewer mode these next couple a days? I heard of the phrase everybody's a critic, but this is ridiculous

You don’t want people to review a game?

 

[Knightwolf09]

You don’t want people to review a game?

I'm just wondering why all of a sudden every pokemon fan I see are suddenly video game critics

 

[Esserise]

I'm just wondering why all of a sudden every pokemon fan I see are suddenly video game critics

People have opinions about the games they play?!

 

[Knightwolf09]

People have opinions about the games they play?!

You know what I mean beyond just opinions