Masuda, Sugimori, Tajiri, and the Future of Gamefreak/Pokemon

[Gabe]

With Pokemon achieving the 20 year-mark as a profitable franchise and SuMo fast approaching, it seems like this is as good a time as any to start wondering if will soon see infrastructure changes at Gamefreak and what possible effects might occur should they happen. More than Nintendo, The Pokemon Company International, and CREATURES, Inc. Gamefreak has the most important role in keeping Pokemon a successful franchise.

Personally, I expect the core three (Satoshi Tajiri, Junichi Masuda, & Ken Sugmori) to retire together or within months of each other soon after Gen 7's release. They've progressively had less responsibilities in game development (of their own volition) in recent years, grooming their successors. We've gotten hints like Yusuke Ohmura being heavily involved with art direction from BW on & Shigeru Omori handpicked as director for Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire by Masuda himself. I can't recall the context, but I remember initial discussion about "Pokemon Rainbow" included something hinting toward a "final game" -- but I could be misremembering. With Iwata's passing and recent infrastructure changes as Nintendo that looks like the company could be steering towards a sales-motivated direction instead of the innovative-focused one they've had for years, there could be other reasons why they step out beyond the fact that 20 years is as good a time as any to hand over the reigns to someone else. It's possible the re-release of RBY was also the beginning commencement of their departures.

Sugimori has said he wants the series to revert to simplicity design-wise and Masuda's focus is on a bigger platform to get players out of their houses more. Design-wise, Ohmura's contributions are promising (XY legends) & Omori has shown he's capable of great ideas like DexNav.

I think it's time the series changes hands because I think the series needs it. We've had some great ideas but the last three generations generally do not rank as most user's favorite from what I've observed. What I don't anticipate is the end of Pokemon -- no chance the franchise ends regardless who's in charge.

What do you think Smogon? Are you ready for a fresh direction or do you fear the series will lose guidance?

Some articles that contributed to this post:
WIRED | Pokemon's Junichi Masuda: 'We Were't Explicitly Targeting Children'
NintendoWorldReport | Who Owns That Pokemon?

 

[Kurona]

I think something fresh from a new direction would be interesting. The only cases I don't like seeing this happen are when I'd qualify the subject as art - and, yes, that is very subjective. But I think it's fair to say that beyond the first game or two, Pokémon has generally been made just for money and the games, fun as they are, don't quite qualify as art and something very meaningful.
So, it'd be nice to see what the games would be like with someone new handling them; especially as aside from a few innovations here and there like Mega Evolution and Trainer Customization they've been a little bit stale and a little bit too similar too each other. And that's not necessarily the worst thing; they're all similar so they're not bad games - just the same good one dressed up. So with new direction I think we'd definitely see something much more different than before.

 

[Gabe]

I think something fresh from a new direction would be interesting. The only cases I don't like seeing this happen are when I'd qualify the subject as art - and, yes, that is very subjective. But I think it's fair to say that beyond the first game or two, Pokémon has generally been made just for money and the games, fun as they are, don't quite qualify as art and something very meaningful.
So, it'd be nice to see what the games would be like with someone new handling them; especially as aside from a few innovations here and there like Mega Evolution and Trainer Customization they've been a little bit stale and a little bit too similar too each other. And that's not necessarily the worst thing; they're all similar so they're not bad games - just the same good one dressed up. So with new direction I think we'd definitely see something much more different than before.

Well I think games can be considered art, but as with other versions of franchised art -- comic books, films, television, etc-- games are definitely open to exploration from other creators. I do agree with you on the point of beyond the initial two games, there hasn't been much ground broken in the core series.

 

[Kurona]

Well I think games can be considered art, but as with other versions of franchised art -- comic books, films, television, etc-- games are definitely open to exploration from other creators. I do agree with you on the point of beyond the initial two games, there hasn't been much ground broken in the core series.

Oh no no; believe me, I am definitely in support of the notion video games can be art - Majora's Mask is my favourite game partly for that reason. It's just that Pokémon I don't think really qualifies, in my eyes. But again, it's subjective.

 

[Cresselia~~]

Core 3? Must be a word somebody negligible had invented.
I always referred them as Core 9. As in the 9 Game Freak members who stayed from the founding of Game Freak, up till now. They started off being real life friends.

Satoshi Tajiri had not involved in any of the Pokemon games since Red and Green. Not even Gold/ Silver, whatsoever.
He's the CEO of Game Freak, I get it, but he's not into Pokemon at all.

Ken Sugimori should be retiring quite soon. The new SuMo official artwork is NOT drawn by him, which is why the art style felt different.
His Twitter is filled with either rants of "I'm very stressed" or SEGA gaming stuff.
I seriously doubt he likes Pokemon at all.
Meh, if he retires, the art style of official artwork would change, but it's not like it's a big deal.
Many newer gen Pokemon are NOT designed by him, so we have already known what it's like for other designers to design Pokemon.

Junichi Masuda is the nicest guy and the one who has the most passion towards Pokemon.
Look at his Twitter.
I seriously hope he wouldn't retire so soon. Pokemon fans on Twitter all love him.

 

[WaffleTitan]

Although I've loved Pokemon for what it has been through the years, I'm okay with some changes. That being said, I just don't want them to stray too far from the formula. I'm fine with a few extra things, but I feel as though the past few generations have been adding too many things to the games. With mega evolution, dexnav, pokemon amie, etc. and now the possibility of burst evolution I think gamefreak may be trying to do too much. Fortunately I don't think the new squad will fail to right the ship, however it does worry me for subsequent generations. Who am I kidding, no matter who manages Pokemon and creates them, I'll still play it.

 

[PumpedAaron]

Hmm. This seems like a complicated discussion. "The Future of Pokemon"?


Personally, I kinda wish they'd flesh out the individual Pokemon more, instead of just adding more and more Pokemon. Quality> Quantity. I had a very lousy run competitively in Gen 6 for the most part. The few things I did passably good in were Triple Battles, and Kanto Classic. I didn't really feel calm enough to -enjoy- breeding, the way I do now when I go back and play Gen 5 games. I feel confident that SuMo can change things for the better.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Ken Sugimori should be retiring quite soon. The new SuMo official artwork is NOT drawn by him, which is why the art style felt different.
His Twitter is filled with either rants of "I'm very stressed" or SEGA gaming stuff.
I seriously doubt he likes Pokemon at all.
Meh, if he retires, the art style of official artwork would change, but it's not like it's a big deal.
Many newer gen Pokemon are NOT designed by him, so we have already known what it's like for other designers to design Pokemon.

I don't think he hates Pokemon but is just tired of almost exclusively working on it. He's drawn hundreds of Pokemon, characters, locations, and who knows how much supplementary material, promotional art, and concept/beta art. I think BW was the first generation he let others draw a design for a Pokemon (though he probably added some finishing touches) and XY he completely let another artist take over (and now for SuMo the art shown isn't his work). That tells me he may have done all the design ideas he wanted to do and is getting a bit burnt out.
I don't think he'll fully retire, I'd say he'll probably stay on as an executive art director and help mold and approve designs though for the most part staying out of the initial creation (besides I'm sure nowadays many Pokemon are made by committee so there's a whole team of artists).

Although I've loved Pokemon for what it has been through the years, I'm okay with some changes. That being said, I just don't want them to stray too far from the formula. I'm fine with a few extra things, but I feel as though the past few generations have been adding too many things to the games. With mega evolution, dexnav, pokemon amie, etc. and now the possibility of burst evolution I think gamefreak may be trying to do too much. Fortunately I don't think the new squad will fail to right the ship, however it does worry me for subsequent generations. Who am I kidding, no matter who manages Pokemon and creates them, I'll still play it.

Hmm. This seems like a complicated discussion. "The Future of Pokemon"?


Personally, I kinda wish they'd flesh out the individual Pokemon more, instead of just adding more and more Pokemon. Quality> Quantity. I had a very lousy run competitively in Gen 6 for the most part. The few things I did passably good in were Triple Battles, and Kanto Classic. I didn't really feel calm enough to -enjoy- breeding, the way I do now when I go back and play Gen 5 games. I feel confident that SuMo can change things for the better.

I do feel Pokemon needs a re-focusing. Not a "simplification" per se but rather going back and improving/expanding on thing. With so many years of advancement an innovation some of the older things aren't keeping up and it could call for a redo/re-evaluation.

I'm not opposed to change, infact I welcome it, but I want any changes done to be for making Pokemon have lasting appeal and do service to the world and lore they built up.

 

[HelenTheHero]

I'd be perfectly fine with changes. It may be time for them to retire, 20 years is a LONG TIME and I'd enjoy seeing what new people could come up with for the franchise. However, I wouldn't like it if they take a more selling approach compared to creating new things for the games.

 

[Cresselia~~]

I don't think he hates Pokemon but is just tired of almost exclusively working on it. He's drawn hundreds of Pokemon, characters, locations, and who knows how much supplementary material, promotional art, and concept/beta art. I think BW was the first generation he let others draw a design for a Pokemon (though he probably added some finishing touches) and XY he completely let another artist take over (and now for SuMo the art shown isn't his work). That tells me he may have done all the design ideas he wanted to do and is getting a bit burnt out.
I don't think he'll fully retire, I'd say he'll probably stay on as an executive art director and help mold and approve designs though for the most part staying out of the initial creation (besides I'm sure nowadays many Pokemon are made by committee so there's a whole team of artists).





I do feel Pokemon needs a re-focusing. Not a "simplification" per se but rather going back and improving/expanding on thing. With so many years of advancement an innovation some of the older things aren't keeping up and it could call for a redo/re-evaluation.

I'm not opposed to change, infact I welcome it, but I want any changes done to be for making Pokemon have lasting appeal and do service to the world and lore they built up.

I don't mean he hates Pokemon, but I definitely feel that he doesn't have the same passion towards Pokemon compared to Junichi Masuda.
The information that I gathered was, some Pokemon from DP aren't designed by him. In fact, some Pokemon from Gen 1 aren't designed by him.
But if you mean drawing, then I don't have much data, apart from how XY is drawn by many different people, including Tamori_is_taru, the manga artist of Robo-pon.

Anyway, that's not very important. Surely as you've suggested, I can see him becoming executive art director or something similar.
Point is, I wouldn't mind if he leaves.
I totally won't blame him for not liking Pokemon-- I think if I were him, I'd be really really bored after 10 years or so.

 

[Pyritie]

Please yes. I feel like the series has completely stagnated and the only things that can change that are a good shake-up at game freak or a dissolution of it altogether. There's so much potential in this franchise and it frustrates me to no end to see GF constantly take one step forward and two steps back all the time.

I do feel Pokemon needs a re-focusing. Not a "simplification" per se but rather going back and improving/expanding on thing. With so many years of advancement an innovation some of the older things aren't keeping up and it could call for a redo/re-evaluation.

I'd absolutely love a refactoring of older stuff. There's plenty of pokemon and moves that are straight up useless and there really isn't any reason why they should be that way. Everything should be able to hold its own competitively and have a niche that nothing else does. There is no reason for garbage like mothim to exist in its current state.

 

[Kurona]

Please yes. I feel like the series has completely stagnated and the only things that can change that are a good shake-up at game freak or a dissolution of it altogether. There's so much potential in this franchise and it frustrates me to no end to see GF constantly take one step forward and two steps back all the time.



I'd absolutely love a refactoring of older stuff. There's plenty of pokemon and moves that are straight up useless and there really isn't any reason why they should be that way. Everything should be able to hold its own competitively and have a niche that nothing else does. There is no reason for garbage like mothim to exist in its current state.

I agree with you for the most part, but competitively some things are just always going to be bottom of the barrel shite. Just look at Smash 4; Jigglypuff, Mewtwo and Ganondorf are just not gonna be great no matter what. I don't think there's a single competitive game where there's some characters with no niche or usability; and if there is, that'll generally be due to a very small roster.

 

[hypno28]

I'd absolutely love a refactoring of older stuff. There's plenty of pokemon and moves that are straight up useless and there really isn't any reason why they should be that way. Everything should be able to hold its own competitively and have a niche that nothing else does. There is no reason for garbage like mothim to exist in its current state.

What an absolutely ridiculous position. It's basically inconceivable that a good portion of the creatures in the world wouldn't be "useless" for competitive purposes. The world would just lose more credibility if everything in it just happened to be balanced relative to a game.

 

[Pyritie]

What an absolutely ridiculous position. It's basically inconceivable that a good portion of the creatures in the world wouldn't be "useless" for competitive purposes. The world would just lose more credibility if everything in it just happened to be balanced relative to a game.

It's really not difficult to make "shitmons" more viable. I'm not asking to make the game completely balanced, because I agree that that would be ridiculous, but there's no reason why certain pokemon have to essentially be "some other pokemon but worse". Give them certain things that no other pokemon can do, with the base stats to not be useless doing it. Some examples are Torkoal being the only fire type with rapid spin, or gourgeist being the only grass type that can learn fire moves. They don't even have to have a competitive use, like with bibarel being the best HM slave in the game!

Give some of these terrible pokemon better stats and a few extra moves that similar pokemon don't have, and people will figure out a niche for them. I'm sure something like masquerain would be far more usable if it had a BST higher than 414 -- it's already got a lot of unique things going for it.

 

[Codraroll]

The problem is, if shitmons were made better, the bar of what could be considered shitmons would simply be lifted, and different Pokémon would drop down to claim the title of "worst in the game". Every barrel has to have a bottom, and some Pokémon will have to be the worst. I suppose it wouldn't be too bad if every poor Jokemon was given a "saving grace" in the form of a move or ability with limited distribution, but still there would be plenty of other Pokémon out there which could do the same job better. After all, there are only so many niches in which a Pokémon can claim some sort of fame.

Anyway, this whole discussion is veering off-topic. Back to the subject of the thread, please, or it'll have to be locked.

 

[Pikachu315111]

I have no problem with their being "bad" Pokemon as long as:

1. In the main game they're early captures. Nothing like Chimecho which is a rare find in an out of the way area after beating the 6th gym.
2. They have some sort of gimmick which they can use. Like they still aren't the best choice, but if you want to use them there's something you can do with it so that it's not complete dead weight. Like Pyritie mentioned Mothim who does get Quiver Dance and a decent Special Attack movepool so it can run a Quiver Dance set.

On topic I sort of find it interesting that Ken Sugimori is tired but Junichi Masuda isn't. Both men are in charge of what could be argued to be the most creative parts of any game: art design and music. Just a heads up, I'm a bit naive in terms of music (I know when something sound good or bad, but that's about it) so if I say anything that seems rude or uneducated I apologize in advance, I mean everything in the kindest way possible. I find it odd they both have different attitudes as, from their profession, I'd thought the opposite would be true. With art design it seems like you can go any direction (well, within reason) and it would be alright as Pokemon are fantastical creatures in colorful regions filled with unique characters. Meanwhile I'd imagine many times the music would have limitations depending on what type of location it is (like you can't have a tropical beat for a snowy route). I would think that after working over 20 years with a franchise the music guy may want to branch out wanting to make different kind of music. Yet, it's Ken Sugimori who's feeling tired and letting other take over while Junichi Masuda is just as excited about the franchise. So I wonder why is that? Is it just how they are? Did Ken Sugimori maybe worked himself too hard (not that I'm saying Junichi Masuda doesn't but there's a difference between working hard and overworking yourself)? Is it the fact that since Ken Sugimori had so much creative freedom who went through all his design ideas and now burnt out while, having to follow within themes, has kept Junichi Masuda creativity focused allowing him to create new themes for themes he has already done while also having other ideas he hasn't had the chance to use yet?

 

[Koumashiki]

On topic I sort of find it interesting that Ken Sugimori is tired but Junichi Masuda isn't. Both men are in charge of what could be argued to be the most creative parts of any game: art design and music. Just a heads up, I'm a bit naive in terms of music (I know when something sound good or bad, but that's about it) so if I say anything that seems rude or uneducated I apologize in advance, I mean everything in the kindest way possible. I find it odd they both have different attitudes as, from their profession, I'd thought the opposite would be true.

Not someone who knows music either, but I think whether it's music or art, it can go either way with the same possibilities. What really matters is how they're passionate with the franchise, I believe. Maybe in an alternate universe Sugimori is the one who still loves designing Pokemon while Masuda is getting sick of the franchise.

If I were Sugimori, I might start to be tired of creating new species since gen 3 or so. Especially the franchise has some sort of 3 year basis of releasing a new gen, I could imagine he have to sit all day in a room constantly draw and think of new pokemon for the whole year. Well we have a team for that, not just him alone, but I can imagine it's still quite stressing if he isn't very passionate of Pokemon. He might as well have burned out of ideas (I remember some source said that he met art block when designing Xerneas, quite sure it wasn't the only instance). Being able to to create "fantastical" designs "freely" doesn't mean ideas will constantly float in your mind. And designs can be rejected.

So I wouldn't be so sad if he choose to completely not involved with the franchise, no man deserves to be burned out, give him a rest. The same goes for Masuda but I think he still wants to contribute to the franchise >.> Anyhow, as time goes on, those people will need to rest, and let the newer generation takes the lead, it's inevitable.

For Masuda, I imagined him be like "OMG I love Pokemon so much, I can make music for this game forever". He just simply enjoy it?

 

[Fluke]

I honestly think the Pokemon franchise will end after gen 10. At this point there will probably be over 1000+ pokemon and I don't know how much longer they can crank out the same game with little changes here and there. I love the Pokemon franchise and I honestly would embrace change, but what can they really do? At some point it has to end. Unless they are willing to spend lots of time making really top-notch quality games and be okay with not releasing a game every year or so.

I don't want it to end though -- but I'll be fine if it does ultimately do so. I would rather them end on a high note than end up cranking out shit-tier after shit-tier game in the future to maintain relevancy and generate sales off a dying IP. Not to say that that's what the games are coming to, just something that could happen.

With the rise of pay-to-win games and stuff, I honestly worry about what the future of the industry is going to become. I don't want a franchise I've loved ever since I was a child to stoop to that level, but it seems inevitable that everything is going to give in to whale hunting.

I hope the next few games turn out to be the fucking epoch of the franchise, something that will be remembered positively by even the salty bastards here. If they retire it after that, then I'm willing to accept that. In the meantime, I hope that the new direction brings some spark back to the games, because (for me at least) they lost something in Gen 6.

I want to believe that things will ultimately be good.

 

[Codraroll]

I wouldn't worry too much/have too high hopes about the Pokémon franchise ending any time soon. That's a decision for the executives of Nintendo to make, not for the game designers, and ultimately a financial question. And Pokémon practically prints money. As a franchise, it is successful enough to have a massive impact on the company's bottom line. It has an enormous fan following online, doing a finer job for free than any marketing department could with an unlimited budget. It is probably the biggest "hardware seller" franchise Nintendo has in its portfolio. It's at the point where not making another Pokémon game would practically be turning away money.

The executives will keep ordering Pokémon games for as long as it remains profitable. For a franchise on the scale and success of Pokémon, it would take a consistent line of flopping sales over several years to put it to rest. Nintendo could probably release poorly-received Pokémon games every year for more than a decade and still order more, because they have proven themselves to be consistent hits for twenty years now.

Just look at the Sonic franchise. Most Sonic games have been scolded for lack of quality and been poorly received for approximately 20 years. Yet new games keep being made, they're constantly creating new TV shows, and the blue fella keeps turning a profit to this date. Sonic hasn't been a serious contender to Mario since before the Nintendo 64 era, but he's still a money-maker because of the strength the brand built back in the nineties (a period of time shorter than the "bad games galore" era). Pokémon is a bigger cash cow than Sonic ever was, and the games have consistently been well-received for many years.

It'd probably take decades of declining quality, or a serious life-or-death controversy, to kill the Pokémon franchise in its current form. The IP will be worth billions even for years after that. Nintendo could put it down, go bankrupt in their entirety, the creators could abandon the franchise and all existing copies of the games be buried in the desert, yet somebody would probably buy the rights and revive it years later.

So yeah, unless the Gen 10 games decide to openly promote nazism to kids and feature several working bomb/drug recipes, I'd expect the franchise to continue for a while after that. I think none of us will be around for long enough to see the end of Pokémon.

 

[Cresselia~~]

I wouldn't worry too much/have too high hopes about the Pokémon franchise ending any time soon. That's a decision for the executives of Nintendo to make, not for the game designers, and ultimately a financial question. And Pokémon practically prints money. As a franchise, it is successful enough to have a massive impact on the company's bottom line. It has an enormous fan following online, doing a finer job for free than any marketing department could with an unlimited budget. It is probably the biggest "hardware seller" franchise Nintendo has in its portfolio. It's at the point where not making another Pokémon game would practically be turning away money.

The executives will keep ordering Pokémon games for as long as it remains profitable. For a franchise on the scale and success of Pokémon, it would take a consistent line of flopping sales over several years to put it to rest. Nintendo could probably release poorly-received Pokémon games every year for more than a decade and still order more, because they have proven themselves to be consistent hits for twenty years now.

Just look at the Sonic franchise. Most Sonic games have been scolded for lack of quality and been poorly received for approximately 20 years. Yet new games keep being made, they're constantly creating new TV shows, and the blue fella keeps turning a profit to this date. Sonic hasn't been a serious contender to Mario since before the Nintendo 64 era, but he's still a money-maker because of the strength the brand built back in the nineties (a period of time shorter than the "bad games galore" era). Pokémon is a bigger cash cow than Sonic ever was, and the games have consistently been well-received for many years.

It'd probably take decades of declining quality, or a serious life-or-death controversy, to kill the Pokémon franchise in its current form. The IP will be worth billions even for years after that. Nintendo could put it down, go bankrupt in their entirety, the creators could abandon the franchise and all existing copies of the games be buried in the desert, yet somebody would probably buy the rights and revive it years later.

So yeah, unless the Gen 10 games decide to openly promote nazism to kids and feature several working bomb/drug recipes, I'd expect the franchise to continue for a while after that. I think none of us will be around for long enough to see the end of Pokémon.

I think a bigger threat compared to not earning money is if the Game Freak staff decide they get bored from Pokemon, and they want to quit working for Nintendo.
I see this as possible, because every time I see Ken Sugimori's tweets, I strongly feel that he doesn't like Pokemon. His tweets are normally either SEGA stuff or food. He very very rarely talks about Pokemon. He's definitely a big fan of SEGA.

I just think that this can also happen to other core Game Freak staff. They have been working on POkemon for over 20 years by now, I'd be surprised if they aren't bored.

However, them leaving might not be bad at all.
I think Pokemon can still retain its quality even if there are major staff changes.

I personally think that if Ken Sugimori leaves, it could be better for Pokemon. I like the Sun Moon art way more than Ken Sugimori art. Ken Sugimori art also have very uneven/ unstable lines, which people can criticize. The way he draws human characters is also considered inferior, not well received compared to other more popular styles (at least, by Japanese people and Chinese people)
I'd say he was just lucky to be involved in Pokemon. Pokemon could really have hired better artists than that.

The new Sun Moon art is way more appealing to an Asian audience, and I predict it is also more appealing to Americans too, due to the brighter and bolder color scheme.
I consider it as a positive change.

 

[Codraroll]

I think a bigger threat compared to not earning money is if the Game Freak staff decide they get bored from Pokemon, and they want to quit working for Nintendo.

I don't think that would prevent the continuation of the franchise. Should Game Freak turn the offer down, Nintendo, Creatures Inc. and The Pokémon Company would simply hire another studio to do the next games. Game Freak has made the main series Pokémon games for over 20 years now, but it's not like new games couldn't be made without them. It would potentially include a very large change to the formula as we know it, but I think there are plenty of studios out there that could handle the IP just as well as Game Freak has. It is a strong, yet simple concept, with tons of marketing momentum to ensure success, and Nintendo, Creatures and TPC would put down quite strict guidelines for the studio to follow. Game Freak may be responsible for Pokémon as we know it, but I don't think they could stop the franchise.

 

[Pikachu315111]

I think a bigger threat compared to not earning money is if the Game Freak staff decide they get bored from Pokemon, and they want to quit working for Nintendo.

The thing about that is nothing is stopping GF from making other games, which they do. Tembo the Bad@$$ Elephant (whose title itself amazes me they got away with using the word "@$$"), Pocket Card Jockey (oh how I remember when that was announced and we thought it was going to be a big Pokemon announcement), Harmoknight (admittedly not the main GF team, but it was still very well received). And that's not looking at their past games like Drill Dozer, Pulseman, and other games general audience wouldn't know (Mendel Palace, Smart Ball, some games which existence is questionable). And I do feel whenever they feel tired of general Pokemon stuff that is when they go and make these other games, at least after Pokemon became popular.

 

[Cresselia~~]

The thing about that is nothing is stopping GF from making other games, which they do. Tembo the Bad@$$ Elephant (whose title itself amazes me they got away with using the word "@$$"), Pocket Card Jockey (oh how I remember when that was announced and we thought it was going to be a big Pokemon announcement), Harmoknight (admittedly not the main GF team, but it was still very well received). And that's not looking at their past games like Drill Dozer, Pulseman, and other games general audience wouldn't know (Mendel Palace, Smart Ball, some games which existence is questionable). And I do feel whenever they feel tired of general Pokemon stuff that is when they go and make these other games, at least after Pokemon became popular.

I know that Tembo is very well received, but I thought everyone thought Harmoknight was crap.

 

[Pikachu315111]

I know that Tembo is very well received, but I thought everyone thought Harmoknight was crap.

I was going by critic scores, I'm sure that a lot of people wouldn't like it since it's a rhythm game which is a niche to start with. It was also a budget game so, while it was cheap price, it wasn't packed with content (though that was mainly because you were meant to replay levels to perfect them, it was suppose to be replayable up to an extent).

 

[noobcubed]

I think the problem with Pokemon is that it's pretty much on autopilot now. Yes the games are still good but it's more of a case of cranking the handle and churning out games, and this may explain the fatigue that some at GameFreak are suffering - they want to do something new but don't seem to be able to do that within the current framework that the series has established - partly because of the unique requirement for games to have some sort of compatibility with their predecessors. Pokemon is perilously close to needing a reboot - and I say "perilously" because for every Rayman Origins or Tomb Raider 2013 where the reboot has given the series a shot in the arm, there's a Sonic '06 or a Paper Mario: Sticker Star where a game has deemed it necessary to re-invent the wheel and ended up with a product worse than where they started. (Paper Mario is a particularly egregious case - just make another turn-based game, for crying out loud, none of this Colour Splash bullshit!)

In many ways, perhaps Rayman Origins (and its spiritual twin, Donkey Kong Country Returns) provide something of a blueprint, by returning to fast-paced, precision-control 2D sidescrollers after experimenting in the third dimension (Sonic devs, if you're reading this, take note). It seems odd to say considering how little the series has changed, but go back to what made Red/Blue so popular in the first place. Cut down on the story, let us explore the world at our own pace, without constantly shepherding us from checkpoint to checkpoint. Maybe repeat the Black & White trick of having only new Pokemon, and limit pre-launch reveals, so that each new species is a mini-discovery. Find new ways of allowing players across the world to interact with each other in a way that you couldn't have dreamed of at the series' inception. Do old stuff but make it feel new. Make me feel like I felt when I was eight and played Pokemon Red until my GameBoy's batteries ran dry.

It won't be easy, but you've got twenty years' experience of doing this. It's not impossible.