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

[Norzan]

completely undermine those improvements cause it's not "better"

Where does anyone undermines the improvements? i even acknowledged them in my last post there. But acknowledging the bad doesn't mean we are undermining the good.

when SOME of the dislikes are mostly nitpicks at best

You are gonna tell me which ones are nitpicks. Because the two major ones, pokemon being removed and graphics being underwhelming, aren't nitpicks.

 

[Phosphene]

Why do I feel this thread is going to get locked soon?

 

[Knightwolf09]

You told people not to talk about their opinions just three days ago.

I was mostly talking specifically to you, cause you tend to act like my personal parole officer, waiting for me to do something so that you can step in and undermine whatever I have to say. And it gets annoying to me. Even now you once again step in. Look I know you're not trying to make an enemy or trying to start any fight, but I ask if you can please just hold with hawking me. And maybe I won't feel as defensive

Why do I feel this thread is going to get locked soon?

Cause of me right?

Where does anyone undermines the improvements? i even acknowledged them in my last post there. But acknowledging the bad doesn't mean we are undermining the good.


You are gonna tell me which ones are nitpicks. Because the two major ones, pokemon being removed and graphics being underwhelming, aren't nitpicks.

Complaining about graphics and animations are definitely nitpicks, cause not everyone sees them a major faults. Dexit however I know isn't, cause it's a concern I do get

 

[PinkIceFox]

I can answer your questions easily. I defend these games cause I feel they don't deserve the flack it's getting.

Dude I'm still supporting the games and excited for them but even I feel they deserve some flack.

Locking pokemon of higher levels being caught behind badge acquisition is a terrible decision. They did not need to and should not have put that in.

The screenshots I've seen do make the wild area look pretty bare-bones. While I still think it's alright and doesn't really have a negative impact on me, I can see why people were expecting better for a Switch game. (I'm not surprised by this. There's a reason I've always side-eyed the idea of a fully open world pokemon game.)

Gamefreak isn't the greatest company when it comes down to programming and development (ONE MILLION LILLIES FOR ALL), and seem pretty backwards in a lot of places when making decisions about their games. Removing features to make each game a 'unique experience'? Yeah because no one would ever replay an old game otherwise right /s. Saying kids today don't have the patience or attention span to make post game/longer game a necessity? Probably not the best idea to insult your intended playerbase. On top of that, it's kind of stupid to focus only on the child demographic when you're producing a series that's over 20 years old and has players in their 30s who have supported you since the beginning.

 

[Esserise]

(ONE MILLION LILLIES FOR ALL)

obligatory

 

[Knightwolf09]

Dude I'm still supporting the games and excited for them but even I feel they deserve some flack.

Locking pokemon of higher levels being caught behind badge acquisition is a terrible decision. They did not need to and should not have put that in.

The screenshots I've seen do make the wild area look pretty bare-bones. While I still think it's alright and doesn't really have a negative impact on me, I can see why people were expecting better for a Switch game. (I'm not surprised by this. There's a reason I've always side-eyed the idea of a fully open world pokemon game.)

Gamefreak isn't the greatest company when it comes down to programming and development (ONE MILLION LILLIES FOR ALL), and seem pretty backwards in a lot of places when making decisions about their games. Removing features to make each game a 'unique experience'? Yeah because no one would ever replay an old game otherwise right /s. Saying kids today don't have the patience or attention span to make post game/longer game a necessity? Probably not the best idea to insult your intended playerbase. On top of that, it's kind of stupid to focus only on the child demographic when you're producing a series that's over 20 years old and has players in their 30s who have supported you since the beginning.

To be fair WE were those children they used to focus on too. And because we're not anymore doesn't the series has to ignore every other kid they can bring in, cause we can't live forever. And sure as heck pokemon won't either

 

[PinkIceFox]

I saw that post on reddit a bit ago. I'm still gonna make the joke. I think it's funny.

 

[PinkIceFox]

To be fair WE were those children they used to focus on too. And because we're not anymore doesn't the series has to ignore every other kid they can bring in, cause we can't live forever. And sure as heck pokemon won't either

This implies kids won't be interested in a game focusing on a wider audience. The fact kids want to play and do play games marketed for older audiences just shows limiting the range of appeal towards 'children' is just holding a game back.

 

[Knightwolf09]

This implies kids won't be interested in a game focusing on a wider audience. The fact kids want to play and do play games marketed for older audiences just shows limiting the range of appeal towards 'children' is just holding a game back.

The games are rated E for everyone, so the games of course appeals to all ages, but we're acting like the games should mainly be for us, and children should be an afterthought.

 

[Norzan]

Complaining about graphics and animations are definitely nitpicks, cause not everyone sees them a major faults. Dexit however I know isn't, cause it's a concern I do get

No, they aren't. Specially when the latter is related to the former. The reason Dexit happened is because they wanted to focus on better graphics and animations. Yet, look at them. You can be fine with them, but they are a genuine issue when they were meant to be better.

If Gamefreak literally never said anything about wanting to improve graphics and animations at the cost of pokemon being in the game, i don't think this many people would take issue with underwhelming graphics and animations. Pokemon has never been known for its great graphics and sleek animations after all. But Gamefreak actually saying they want to improve them and yet they came out this underwhelming, that's a genuine problem.

I mean,

Spoiler

sliding cover legendary

says it all.

 

[PinkIceFox]

The games are rated E for everyone, so the games of course appeals to all ages, but we're acting like the games should mainly be for us, and children should be an afterthought.

You're putting words in my mouth my dude. I've never once thought a game should be mainly for me. If that were the case I'd be arguing pokemon games should be 70% Pokemon Amie and the photo club, 20% random exploring, and 10% pokemon battles.

Saying they've removed content because kids don't have the patience to sit and do post game or the battle tower because of phones and stuff is basically saying that the kids, teens, adults who DO play and enjoy those features don't matter and they only care to market to the ones with a shorter attention span.

 

[Esserise]

To be fair WE were those children they used to focus on too. And because we're not anymore doesn't the series has to ignore every other kid they can bring in, cause we can't live forever. And sure as heck pokemon won't either

No one's saying they should. It would obviously be financial suicide to ignore the child audience. But modern GF's game design does feel like it talks down even to the younger players. You don't have to make the region as byzantine and full of backtracking as Sinnoh, sure, but kids aren't so stupid that they need everything to be a literal straight line, and they usually like the feeling of accomplishment that comes with solving a problem. And if anything, the prevalence of phones and the Internet these days should make it virtually impossible for most kids to get permanently stuck, since they can just look up an answer online.

 

[Knightwolf09]

No, they aren't. Specially when the latter is related to the former. The reason Dexit happened is because they wanted to focus on better graphics and animations. Yet, look at them. You can be fine with them, but they are a genuine issue when they were meant to be better.

If Gamefreak literally never said anything about wanting to improve graphics and animations at the cost of pokemon being in the game, i don't think this many people would take issue with underwhelming graphics and animations. Pokemon has never been known for its great graphics and sleek animations after all. But Gamefreak actually saying they want to improve them and yet they came out this underwhelming, that's a genuine problem.

I mean,

Spoiler

sliding cover legendary

says it all.

Did you ever think that maybe when they said that they didn't means starting with this game? Even though this game does have some great animations but I guess those don't cause There's a bad one huh?

 

[TechSkylander1518]

Well, the investors have their influence on that, whether we like it or not. They surely don’t care about emotions being stomped or fans complaining. At least, not to the degree we would wish. They want profits, and Pokémon is very profitable even with a moderate budget.

And, really, you can’t build a 200.000$ house if your investor gives you a budget of 100.000$.

Again-Game Freak is literally one of the investors here.

Originally named "POKEMON CENTER Co., Ltd." and founded in 1998, The Pokémon Company was established through joint investment by the three businesses holding the copyright on Pokémon: Nintendo Co., Ltd., Creatures Inc., and GAME FREAK inc

Company History｜The Pokémon Company

That’s the standard pricing of the Switch games, though. Just a look at the eShop should be proof enough of that. Like… Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Maker 2 and Luigi’s Mansion 3 have the exact same pricing despite being vastly different in terms of content

Standard pricing isn't the only option, though-you can also look at the eShop and see proof of that. And just because a price is standard doesn't mean a customer has to be

Besides, we have no clue how expensive is working on a Switch game in comparison to working on a 3DS game. The way I see it, part of the increased cost may go in tandem with the increased costs of software, hardware and programs to create and code the games.

I have a hard time believing that Switch development is suddenly that costly. You can look at Indie games like Wandersong, Cuphead, and Undertale, developed by small parties and sold for less than 30$, to see that it's not required.

And even if it did cost more to make these developments, a lot of what people are asking for wouldn't cost anything more. Game Freak has to already have the software to develop Pokemon models and move animations-asking for them all to be included wouldn't require them to buy any new software.

I was mostly talking specifically to you, cause you tend to act like my personal parole officer, waiting for me to do something so that you can step in and undermine whatever I have to say. And it gets annoying to me. Even now you once again step in.

"Your personal parole officer"? "Waiting for you to do something"? Do you realize what a ridiculous conspiracy this sounds like? What reason would I even have to try to trash your reputation here?

I'm posting on these forums to express my opinion, like anyone else, and I'm allowed to express that I disagree with someone. I do not center my posts around you. And if you'll notice, every time I've quoted your post on something, I'm not the only one arguing with you about something. People are allowed to express dissenting opinions. That's not a personal attack. And when a forum only has a couple dozen members and a few discussion threads, of course some people are going to interact more often. That doesn't mean anyone is hounding you and trying to make you look bad.

"Even now I stepped in" because you're falsely accusing everyone else of trying to silence you, when you're perfectly content to tell others to stop sharing their opinions. If you want to lament "being silenced", you can't tell other people they're not allowed to speak.

Look at how you're quoting other people's posts and disagreeing with their arguments right now. Are you waiting for their actions so you can undermine them, or are you just expressing why you disagree with them?

Look I know you're not trying to make an enemy or trying to start any fight, but I ask if you can please just hold with hawking me. And maybe I won't feel as defensive

If you stopped accusing me and others of being intentionally malicious, maybe I wouldn't have any problem with what you said.

 

[Cute Charm]

So, apparently there was a streamer that was streaming a hacked ROM to make the game look even more crappy looking apparently.

Spoiler: Tweet cut for Pokemon

So yep...that side of the fandom is super petty.

 

[Cresselia92]

…Anyway, to answer quickly, I think the answer to this thread boils down to this: most people don’t hate Sword/Shield, they are just disappointed because they wished for something better and more impressive. This is the crux of the matter.

Now, whether people are willing to put up with the changes is another story, but the general consensus is that many expected more out of a 60$ (50$ if you use the Nintendo voucher) game. Simple as that.

 

[Knightwolf09]

Again-Game Freak is literally one of the investors here.


Company History｜The Pokémon Company

Standard pricing isn't the only option, though-you can also look at the eShop and see proof of that. And just because a price is standard doesn't mean a customer has to be

I have a hard time believing that Switch development is suddenly that costly. You can look at Indie games like Wandersong, Cuphead, and Undertale, developed by small parties and sold for less than 30$, to see that it's not required.

And even if it did cost more to make these developments, a lot of what people are asking for wouldn't cost anything more. Game Freak has to already have the software to develop Pokemon models and move animations-asking for them all to be included wouldn't require them to buy any new software.


"Your personal parole officer"? "Waiting for you to do something"? Do you realize what a ridiculous conspiracy this sounds like? What reason would I even have to try to trash your reputation here?

I'm posting on these forums to express my opinion, like anyone else, and I'm allowed to express that I disagree with someone. I do not center my posts around you. And if you'll notice, every time I've quoted your post on something, I'm not the only one arguing with you about something. People are allowed to express dissenting opinions. That's not a personal attack. And when a forum only has a couple dozen members and a few discussion threads, of course some people are going to interact more often. That doesn't mean anyone is hounding you and trying to make you look bad.

"Even now I stepped in" because you're falsely accusing everyone else of trying to silence you, when you're perfectly content to tell others to stop sharing their opinions. If you want to lament "being silenced", you can't tell other people they're not allowed to speak.

Look at how you're quoting other people's posts and disagreeing with their arguments right now. Are you waiting for their actions so you can undermine them, or are you just expressing why you disagree with them?


If you stopped accusing me and others of being intentionally malicious, maybe I wouldn't have any problem with what you said.

Dude you have to have noticed when I post you're not too far behind, you either say something or like something that someone else responds to me about. Not to mention you go out of your way to backtrack to find my own words. Ihard not to think you have sone problem with me.

 

[Esserise]

Dude you have to have noticed when I post you're not too far behind, you either say something or like something that someone else responds to me about. Not to mention you go out of your way to backtrack to find my own words. Ihard not to think you have sone problem with me.

I mean, if it bothers you, there is an ignore function

 

[Phosphene]

Cause of me right?

No. I just felt that the thread was getting really heated.

So, apparently there was a streamer that was streaming a hacked ROM to make the game look even more crappy looking apparently.

Spoiler: Tweet cut for Pokemon

So yep...that side of the fandom is super petty.

Is there any proof of tampering? All I see is just the stream clip and an accusing tweet, but that means nothing if there isn't any evidence proving (or disproving) the fact that it has been tampered with.

 

[Tailisu10]

It's pretty disappointing how things are turning out for the first traditional mainline game in various aspects. :/