Games Beaten 2018

[ElkinFencer10]

ugh, that game looks so good but 99% of the appeal for me is that I want to see those nice new HD visuals on a big TV with Pro Controller in hand. So annoying.

Yeah, that's one of the reasons that it got a 4/5 instead of a 5/5 on my blog post review. I agree that that's a bummer especially since the Pro Controller has the gyroscope; you could totally have it act like playing handheld.

[noiseredux]

It bugs me further that it's a remake of a GB game that obviously was perfectly playable and awesome without any sort of motion controls. So why not have that same option in the remake? They totally dropped the Poke Ball on that one... Bah!

[Arenegeth]

The sad part is, the series needed some refreshment, the formula was stale since the DS era, for some people even before that.

But they went a little overboard in this one, in trying to appeal to casuals/children, I mean this is a series that was pretty casual and child friendly to begin with, a lot of us got into it as kids after all, though it seems the standards of what kids are supposed to handle/understand has diminished these days.

Sure there was depth, but you had to dig to find it, most casual players didn't even know about IV's and breeding perfect Pokemon and all that which involves the meta, that was always a niche community thing.

Some additions, like the overworld visible Pokemon, are good, there was no benefit to random battles after all these years, being able to control what Natures your newly caught Pokemon is, getting perfect IV's, and the easier way of getting Shiny's seems to be good new alterations, since the old process was busywork anyway, and more than tiresome after so many games...

Is the obvious Pokemon GO influence, including direct Pokemon Go integration which gates the game's one true new Pokemon (and its evolution), that's the real problem, and the lack of Pro Controller support is an extension of that.

[BogusMeatFactory]

In May 2018 there was 147 million players of Pokemon go, it would be asinine to not try and capture some of that user base by developing a more traditional game in that style to sell more switch units and to get people back into the main franchise.

I love how folks rag on pokemon let's go for, "diluting the franchise," without considering pokemon ranch, pokemon channel, poke Park 1 and 2, pokemon chase, pokemon Rangers, pokemon quest and on and on and on and on.

[Arenegeth]

In May 2018 there was 147 million players of Pokemon go, it would be asinine to not try and capture some of that user base by developing a more traditional game in that style to sell more switch units and to get people back into the main franchise.

Well yeah, it might not have been a bad plan from a business perspective, if a bit short sighted, since I don't think Pokemon GO will have near enough the longevity of the main series (though its longevity so far was a surprise to me, so time will tell). And this new direction may end up alienating old school fans.

But why the hell should I care? I'm not a Nintendo shareholder, I'm not a causal player or a child. I'm an old school core gamer, with different sensibilities than their obvious target demographic for this game, though they also obviously aimed for nostalgia with the Red & Blue remake so they wanted to capture both audiences to some extend, their design could have reflected that more.

I don't think your comparisons are fair by the way, those are obvious spin offs, easy for most main series fans to ignore, this may be the new direction the main series is taking, which for some is very bad.

Personally, I don't care all that much, the series as it was, was the same game reheated and served again many times over, it needed an update, and I'm not talking about a visual update, I'm not necessarily fond of this direction, but I wasn't fond of playing the same game again and again either.

So meh, time will tell I suppose, next main game in the series will show us where they are really going with this. But I can understand why some people would be upset, especially since some consideration could be shown for the core fanbase while also simultaneously catering to the GO audience.

[BogusMeatFactory]

The consideration being given to the, "hardcore," fan base is that this is not a mainline title. They established this from the get go. They did not mince words in what this was, a segue for pokemon go players to move into mainstream pokemon games. And the comparison is fare since the, "hardcore," audience is complaining that this non traditional pokemon game is not traditional yet we have a plethora of non traditional pokemon games out there that did not receive a peep from the, "hardcore," audience.

[Arenegeth]

The consideration being given to the, "hardcore," fan base is that this is not a mainline title. They established this from the get go. They did not mince words in what this was, a segue for pokemon go players to move into mainstream pokemon games. And the comparison is fare since the, "hardcore," audience is complaining that this non traditional pokemon game is not traditional yet we have a plethora of non traditional pokemon games out there that did not receive a peep from the, "hardcore," audience.

Actually...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjQAaL5YeiE

It looks like they are sending mixed signals here.

That's why I say that the next proper new game in the series will really show, because even if it was intended as a spin off, the game was successful, maybe they will turn it into a main game? I don't know.

But even as a spin off, I can understand people getting jittery about it, because of how closely it resembles the main series, since it basically is the main series only more streamlined and with motion controls. Is too close for comfort as it were, while most spin offs in the past were nothing like the main series, well nothing this close anyway.

But why do you seem to have a dislike against the core segment of Pokemon fans? If fans are upset is their right as consumers to express it, is also Nintendo's (or the Pokemon Company's and Game Freak technically) right to do what they want with their own franchise.

[BogusMeatFactory]

I think it is silly and unnecessary that the fan base that is upset (not the core fan base), is because that they are not getting a mainline game in the series even though they will be getting a mainline game in the series. That just seems odd. It further feeds the idea that there is a very very vocal minority that craves instant gratification and for every single video game released to cater to their needs specifically.

I would like to also make it clear that I was not insinuating that you were stating this as a person, but making a general statement on the online reception of Pokemon let's go. (wpuld also like to mention that the title of the game references pokemon go, so no... There is no mixed messaging.)

[Arenegeth]

I think people are most upset about the series main games changing direction to the imprint of Pokemon Let's Go, than Let's Go itself.

Many have opted not to buy it and they just waiting for the next 'main' game, I don't know if they are a 'vocal minority' but they definitely not the majority in numbers as usually the majority is silent and not invested.

But in all the Pokemon communities online I took a peek at (since I don't and have never participated with the fandom) it seems that the majority are upset, and though they may not be the actual majority of the people who bought the game, they are the overwhelming majority of people who are going to talk about it online and probably buy every game in the series (up to this point at least) sight unseen.

Since they are the most invested fans it makes sense for them to be upset if, I say if cause nobody (except the makers themselves and even that is not 100%) knows yet, if they change the main series direction for more casual appeal.

Maybe somebody more invested in this side of the argument can bring up some better points, since I'm clearly not invested in this, I may be a Pokemon fan (as in I like the games) and a core gamer, but I'm not a core Pokemon fan if that makes any sense. But maybe you should be a little more charitable to their argument and not generalize them as a single entity? Since different fans express themselves differently even if they have a similar point of view. And they do have a right to want what they want you know, they just have no right to force Nintendo to give it to them.

I'm playing a bit of a devil's advocate here because I understand how they feel even if I don't share their sentiments, I like the games, but I think there's been enough of them, if Pokemon games stopped coming out tomorrow I'll be fine with that, the series had its day.

And Pokemon Let's go is not that bad, I don't mind the causal stuff that much or even the motion controls, which I generally dislike, because flicking the analog stick wouldn't be much better anyway. The Pokemon GO connection is the worst part for me since I don't even own a smart phone and I have no desire to ever touch GO, and is also the major reason behind the game's design maladies when it comes to a core direction. But that was clearly intentional so...

But heck, if they don't Mystery Gift Melmetal in the future I could always hack him into existence at some point anyway, is how most of us got Mew back in the day.

[PartridgeSenpai]

The game is hardly a failure. The game sold 3 million units in its first week, making it the fastest selling Switch game up to that point (perhaps Smash Bros. has dethroned it, but that's beside the point). It's also given hardware sales a really serious bump as well. The "hardcore" Pokemon minority may be complaining about the changes in the new game as they do with every new game, spin-off or otherwise, but the game is still selling really well. It's hard to really compare the hard-numbers to things like the last two main-line games because the 3DS has has a much larger install base for much longer, but trying to paint Let's Go as any kind of commercial failure is just ignoring reality.