Yep, seems to be a new move for Pikachu this game. Probably because of Brock lol, even though the game forces you to catch a Grass or Water-type mon before you can fight him in this game. Hence the Oddish in Virdian Forrest.
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Pokémon Let's Go! - Pikachu and Eevee
- Thread starter Codraroll
- Start date
Just quoting myself in light of the relization from xJoelituh that the Pikachu has a Lonely nature. Also added in stat ranges!
Maybe the starter Pikachu and Eevee are special and have boosted stats but cannot evolve because Game Freak?
It's already confirmed they can't evolve, so the boosted stats make sense. Hope theres a way they'll be in gen 8 though. Not sure if I'd use Pikachu with those stats without Fake Out + Lightning Rod, but its better than the shit show it is now lol.
Boosted Eevee with its Z move could be scary though LOL
Serebii confirms that Mew from Pokémon Go cannot be sent to Let’s Go. You have to buy the Pokeball Acessory for Mew. Talk about a complete scam.
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lol wow that sucks. Guess I'll save that Mew to get stardust then LOL
So some things I noticed from the Playhouse playthrough of "Let's Go":
Poke Ball Plus & Mew: I guess this makes sense. Stinks they won't have a free event, though I guess you can also transfer a Mew from GO so maybe they count that as the free event. Though unless they make getting Mew mandatory for completing the Dex I don't think it's such a big loss. These games are spin-offs and even if there's a competition scene around these games it'll probably be small. If you don't get a Mew for Let's Go it's not that bad, so having it as a bonus for getting the Poke Ball Plus I think is alright (and hey, since they're having that dual game and Poke Ball Plus pack maybe it'll give some people the excuse to buy them).
Party Gains Experience With Captures: Well that answers one major questions. Outside of Trainer Battles how was your Pokemon suppose to gain experience? Every capture gives all Pokemon in your party experience. Now does this make them removing wild battles alright? Of course not! If you want to bridge the two playerbases together I think letting you weaken the wild Pokemon (and in return letting it attack your Pokemon putting them at risk, thus a reason for you to question whether to continue doing the battle or running away) while also having the GO's way of throwing the Poke Ball would still have worked better. However after watching the Treehouse I'm having another feeling why they changed it to be like that... and I don't like it (looks down to the rival change to hear my theory).
Wild Aura: I noticed after catching a Pokemon, other Pokemon of that species would sometimes have an aura around them. I wonder what that is, an indication that Pokemon is slightly stronger? Can you find stronger Pokemon the more you catch a member of its species? That would be one reason to capture more of the same species, at least until you reached the limit.
Different Heights & Weights: I was right! Each member of the species have slightly different heights and weights, the Dex recording the biggest and smallest specimens you had caught. And it looks like when you encounter an especially small, big, light, heavy Pokemon you'll get a notice of the Pokemon having that unique trait. Though, why? Is there going to be a mechanic or competition which involves this?
More Pikachu & Eevee: So you can get other Pikachu and Eevee in both versions. Well, at least Pikachu. Curious if Eevee is going to be put someplace in the wild. Wouldn't seem fair for Pikachu to remain an easily obtainable wild Pokemon while Eevee is kept as a gift Pokemon.
Special Partner: Speaking of which, as talked about above, looks like the stats of the partner Pikachu is higher than usual. This is great, unlike in Yellow it means the partner Pikachu and Eevee won't be dead weight. Not only that, but they looked to have changed/added to their movepools. Pikachu getting Double Kick (and wouldn't be surprised if Eevee got it too) would help with battling Brock using them (who's Pokemon is immune/resistant to their STAB). Reminds me of them giving Charmander Metal Claw for this exact reason in FRLG. Curious what other moves they might have given them.
Your Rival Trace: ... NO! BAD GAMEFREAK!
Looks, I'm fine with them changing somethings around in sake of trying to "bridge" the fanbase or just to have something different. But changing the Gen I rival? GameFreak, are you stupid?
Oh, but I know why they did it... which makes this decision even more stupid and infuriating. They changed the rival from Blue to this Trace because they didn't want to hurt the little kiddies feelings by having a mean rival. Trace gives you helpful info and free items while Blue would insult you and provide a tough battle. GF were afraid kids were too much "special snowflakes" to handle a rival who actually, you know, opposed them.
This is by far the BIGGEST mistake GF made. Why? Because it completely removes one of the driving force of the game, or at least lessens it. Why did you want to become the Champion? Because you rival is a jerk who thinks they're superior to you and only way to prove them wrong is to become the strongest trainer in the region by becoming Champion. When you became rival in the Gen I games by defeating you rival, it's a very cathartic and satisfying feeling, not only have you proven you're the best but also knocked them down a peg (which later causes him to go through character development we see in later games like HGSS and Gen VII). But now that the rival is friendly? Even if they change the scenario to being a "race you to the top" it removes any urgency to become Champion or the tension you feel when you're having the Champion battle. It won't feel you're overcoming a great obstacle, you're just having a battle with a friend. No matter how tough it is, there won't be any emotional intensity to it.
And I'm not slamming friendly rivals, but note that until USUM we haven't had one as Champion since Gen I. It's not just because they already did that and so they can great an interesting character as Champion, but friendly rivals provide a different push for the player. They're encouraging and want to see the player succeed, so having them as Champion makes it feel like they're making themselves a stepping stone than an obstacle. USUM is an exception because YOU were the Champion so you were the obstacle that Hau was trying to overcome, not the other way around.
I'll be honest, this might have made me lose the most interest in getting the game if I were in position to get it. Yes, it may sound shallow, but to me this is the crossing line into unacceptable changes. This isn't a change to draw in players or try something new, it's a change made because GF underestimates the little kids who will play these games... even though when Pokemon first came out the kids back then had no problem having a jerk rival you want to beat (I being one of those kids).
Slowpoke Side Quest: So looks like they added those USUM-level side quests to Let's Go. Which, alright, though a bit annoying you got a Big Pearl for doing nothing. Like, at least have the player have to do a battle or something. And, asking the same question that I asked USUM, how much of these side quests are there that they could have instead used to develop the important NPCs?
Gym Quiz: Okay, the level of handholding is getting ridiculous. REALLY? We can't enter the Gym unless we have a Grass- or Water-type? And what if I have a Fighting-type? Or what if I have a Pokemon which has a move of those Types? Also having the weakness isn't necessary to beat the Gym, you can have a neutral battle and still win and the awards aren't any different. Come on GF! Kids figured this out in 1998 without this!
Good Ol' Brock: Well at least they didn't change the Gym Leaders... or at least the first one (I swear if they changed Giovanni from being the last Gym Leader). Brock's looking good, and I like the change done to the Gym with having an audience area (though does that mean people just sit there waiting for trainers to challenge Brock or does Pewter Gym have a secondary function?).
BTW, can you do the two player co-op against the Gym Leader? That kind of feels like it cheapens the experience. Who needs type advantage when it's a two on one?
Poke (Park)ing Out The Safari Zone: So they replace the Safari Zone with the Poke Park, which I guess makes sense as the entire game now works like the Safari Zone. Guess the Pokemon exclusive to Safari Zone will be distributed to other routes.
Candy Here, Candy There: Ah, so a Pokemon sent from GO leaves candy behind when transferred to Let's Go, I suppose that's a good reason to transfer them there instead of to Willow (though there has to be a limit or else there would be no reason to ever send a Pokemon to Willow again).
And in Let's Go you can send extra Pokemon to Oak who'llgrind them exchange them for candy that increases one of your Pokemon's stats. I guess this is how they're getting rid of IVs and EVs, in order to really get your Pokemon stronger you'd need to catch a lot of Pokemon and send them to Oak for stat raising steroids candy. And if I'm right that catching more Pokemon lets you find stronger Pokemon of that species means once you get enough candies to level up the one you grinded you'd then want to catch another one which would become stronger if you trained it up instead. Thus, sort of cheapening the feeling of raising up a Pokemon you caught when it might be better to catch and train up another one later after having caught a batch of them.
Poke Ball Plus & Mew: I guess this makes sense. Stinks they won't have a free event, though I guess you can also transfer a Mew from GO so maybe they count that as the free event. Though unless they make getting Mew mandatory for completing the Dex I don't think it's such a big loss. These games are spin-offs and even if there's a competition scene around these games it'll probably be small. If you don't get a Mew for Let's Go it's not that bad, so having it as a bonus for getting the Poke Ball Plus I think is alright (and hey, since they're having that dual game and Poke Ball Plus pack maybe it'll give some people the excuse to buy them).
Party Gains Experience With Captures: Well that answers one major questions. Outside of Trainer Battles how was your Pokemon suppose to gain experience? Every capture gives all Pokemon in your party experience. Now does this make them removing wild battles alright? Of course not! If you want to bridge the two playerbases together I think letting you weaken the wild Pokemon (and in return letting it attack your Pokemon putting them at risk, thus a reason for you to question whether to continue doing the battle or running away) while also having the GO's way of throwing the Poke Ball would still have worked better. However after watching the Treehouse I'm having another feeling why they changed it to be like that... and I don't like it (looks down to the rival change to hear my theory).
Wild Aura: I noticed after catching a Pokemon, other Pokemon of that species would sometimes have an aura around them. I wonder what that is, an indication that Pokemon is slightly stronger? Can you find stronger Pokemon the more you catch a member of its species? That would be one reason to capture more of the same species, at least until you reached the limit.
Different Heights & Weights: I was right! Each member of the species have slightly different heights and weights, the Dex recording the biggest and smallest specimens you had caught. And it looks like when you encounter an especially small, big, light, heavy Pokemon you'll get a notice of the Pokemon having that unique trait. Though, why? Is there going to be a mechanic or competition which involves this?
More Pikachu & Eevee: So you can get other Pikachu and Eevee in both versions. Well, at least Pikachu. Curious if Eevee is going to be put someplace in the wild. Wouldn't seem fair for Pikachu to remain an easily obtainable wild Pokemon while Eevee is kept as a gift Pokemon.
Special Partner: Speaking of which, as talked about above, looks like the stats of the partner Pikachu is higher than usual. This is great, unlike in Yellow it means the partner Pikachu and Eevee won't be dead weight. Not only that, but they looked to have changed/added to their movepools. Pikachu getting Double Kick (and wouldn't be surprised if Eevee got it too) would help with battling Brock using them (who's Pokemon is immune/resistant to their STAB). Reminds me of them giving Charmander Metal Claw for this exact reason in FRLG. Curious what other moves they might have given them.
Your Rival Trace: ... NO! BAD GAMEFREAK!
Looks, I'm fine with them changing somethings around in sake of trying to "bridge" the fanbase or just to have something different. But changing the Gen I rival? GameFreak, are you stupid?
Oh, but I know why they did it... which makes this decision even more stupid and infuriating. They changed the rival from Blue to this Trace because they didn't want to hurt the little kiddies feelings by having a mean rival. Trace gives you helpful info and free items while Blue would insult you and provide a tough battle. GF were afraid kids were too much "special snowflakes" to handle a rival who actually, you know, opposed them.
This is by far the BIGGEST mistake GF made. Why? Because it completely removes one of the driving force of the game, or at least lessens it. Why did you want to become the Champion? Because you rival is a jerk who thinks they're superior to you and only way to prove them wrong is to become the strongest trainer in the region by becoming Champion. When you became rival in the Gen I games by defeating you rival, it's a very cathartic and satisfying feeling, not only have you proven you're the best but also knocked them down a peg (which later causes him to go through character development we see in later games like HGSS and Gen VII). But now that the rival is friendly? Even if they change the scenario to being a "race you to the top" it removes any urgency to become Champion or the tension you feel when you're having the Champion battle. It won't feel you're overcoming a great obstacle, you're just having a battle with a friend. No matter how tough it is, there won't be any emotional intensity to it.
And I'm not slamming friendly rivals, but note that until USUM we haven't had one as Champion since Gen I. It's not just because they already did that and so they can great an interesting character as Champion, but friendly rivals provide a different push for the player. They're encouraging and want to see the player succeed, so having them as Champion makes it feel like they're making themselves a stepping stone than an obstacle. USUM is an exception because YOU were the Champion so you were the obstacle that Hau was trying to overcome, not the other way around.
I'll be honest, this might have made me lose the most interest in getting the game if I were in position to get it. Yes, it may sound shallow, but to me this is the crossing line into unacceptable changes. This isn't a change to draw in players or try something new, it's a change made because GF underestimates the little kids who will play these games... even though when Pokemon first came out the kids back then had no problem having a jerk rival you want to beat (I being one of those kids).
Slowpoke Side Quest: So looks like they added those USUM-level side quests to Let's Go. Which, alright, though a bit annoying you got a Big Pearl for doing nothing. Like, at least have the player have to do a battle or something. And, asking the same question that I asked USUM, how much of these side quests are there that they could have instead used to develop the important NPCs?
Gym Quiz: Okay, the level of handholding is getting ridiculous. REALLY? We can't enter the Gym unless we have a Grass- or Water-type? And what if I have a Fighting-type? Or what if I have a Pokemon which has a move of those Types? Also having the weakness isn't necessary to beat the Gym, you can have a neutral battle and still win and the awards aren't any different. Come on GF! Kids figured this out in 1998 without this!
Good Ol' Brock: Well at least they didn't change the Gym Leaders... or at least the first one (I swear if they changed Giovanni from being the last Gym Leader). Brock's looking good, and I like the change done to the Gym with having an audience area (though does that mean people just sit there waiting for trainers to challenge Brock or does Pewter Gym have a secondary function?).
BTW, can you do the two player co-op against the Gym Leader? That kind of feels like it cheapens the experience. Who needs type advantage when it's a two on one?
Poke (Park)ing Out The Safari Zone: So they replace the Safari Zone with the Poke Park, which I guess makes sense as the entire game now works like the Safari Zone. Guess the Pokemon exclusive to Safari Zone will be distributed to other routes.
Candy Here, Candy There: Ah, so a Pokemon sent from GO leaves candy behind when transferred to Let's Go, I suppose that's a good reason to transfer them there instead of to Willow (though there has to be a limit or else there would be no reason to ever send a Pokemon to Willow again).
And in Let's Go you can send extra Pokemon to Oak who'll
Wait, so you're pissed off (along with ranting about special snowflakes and some other dumb crap that i think you might have some issues there, and I also find it hilarious, considering it's you) that they've done the exact same thing since generation 3? Did you like, run out of actual reasonable critiques and need to scream about something for no reason?
First, if you read it carefully, I'm not ranting about "special snowflakes" but rather how GF thinks younger players are "special snowflakes". There's a major difference there.
Second, what do you mean by done since Gen 3? You mean the friendly rival? Once again, I specified that I have no problem with the friendly rival and went into detail how it doesn't work for the Gen I games which originally had a jerk rival.
I have no complaints about the rival. Blue being a jerk for no reason just made him annoying, not an actual rival. I'll take the likes of Barry, Hugh or USUM Hau, who provide healthy competition, a thousand times over the likes of Blue and Silver (before their respective character developments).
I technically don't have any complaints either about "you can't challenge Brock without a Grass or a Water type"... but I do find it really weird. I mean, they did bother to give Pikachu Double Kick, so why that? Either one or the other would have made sense to me, but both at the same time is strange.
I technically don't have any complaints either about "you can't challenge Brock without a Grass or a Water type"... but I do find it really weird. I mean, they did bother to give Pikachu Double Kick, so why that? Either one or the other would have made sense to me, but both at the same time is strange.
I think it would be more interesting and realistic for you to start off rivals with a friend, who then gets mad at you because you keep beating them and becomes a bit antagonistic only for you two to mend your relationship somewhere down the line (probably by helping them with a problem).
Based on what’s been shown, they don’t appear to have expanded areas (more buildings, other detail, etc.) to keep up with how the graphics are scaled at all. It’s actually less of a problem in this region than in Alola or Kalos, but that’s a very, very discouraging sign for Gen VIII.
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Still optimistic that the 2019 games will be decent, but I'll probably skip these ones if they're going for the full $60.
>Forcing people to have a Water or Grass-type in order to face Brock
>Blue being completely removed and replaced with some timid kid
>Forcing EXP Share-like system (I think at least this aspect could be turned off like in the Gen 6 and 7 games, but I doubt it)
WHY.
And about wild starters, it reminds me of those amateur Pokemon hacks where they have like wild Mudkip on early routes because the creators don't know how to program people giving the starters out.
I do have to say that the starter Eevee and Pikachu being buffed is actually pretty cool and doesn't make them dead weight like I feared they would.
>Blue being completely removed and replaced with some timid kid
>Forcing EXP Share-like system (I think at least this aspect could be turned off like in the Gen 6 and 7 games, but I doubt it)
WHY.
And about wild starters, it reminds me of those amateur Pokemon hacks where they have like wild Mudkip on early routes because the creators don't know how to program people giving the starters out.
I do have to say that the starter Eevee and Pikachu being buffed is actually pretty cool and doesn't make them dead weight like I feared they would.
Betting only the Starters and they can't transferred out of the game.
I saw this video in my YouTube subscriptions from a guy I like to watch on YouTube and felt it was quite interesting. He brings up the fact that Let's Go could be just a ground to experiment with new features they may add to the series later. (He brings up that X and Y felt too unfinished, and yeah a lot of features that would be brought to the forefront in Sun and Moon did have a precursor in X/Y (notably PokeRides, which seem to be a series staple at this point)) He compares the backlash Let's Go gets to the backlash that Metroid Prime: Federation Force got, and how the latter game did deserve its backlash far more since Metroid has far less games and we haven't seen a Metroid game for a few years prior to Federation Force's announcement. (And yeah I do agree some of that backlash went too far (like with the 'cancel this game' petitions))
I think he should've brought up abilities in Gen 3 and the removal of HMs in Gen 7 though, which did shake up at least one aspect of the games. (the battling and the overworld respectively)
So someone cracked how the Combat Points (CP) translates to Pokemon stats:
It seems to work out for everything except the starter Pikachu, which as expected, seems to have buffed stats. This guy estimates its BST to be around 460ish, which would put it in the high range of my base stat estimates!
So I did some fun calcs that assume this base stat spread for Pikachu, and it holding Light Ball (I hope to god thats in lol): 50 HP / 85 Atk / 50 Def / 80 SpA / 65 SpD / 125 Spe
For all of these except one calc, these also assume a specially based mixed Pikachu due to its... movepool lol. To show you what I mean, here's what most Kanto Electric-type switch-ins take from it.
252 SpA Light Ball Pikachu Hidden Power Ground vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Jolteon: 104-124 (74.2 - 88.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Light Ball Pikachu Hidden Power Ground vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 120-142 (71.8 - 85%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Light Ball Pikachu Hidden Power Ground vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Nidoking: 126-150 (80.7 - 96.1%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Light Ball Pikachu Hidden Power Ground vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Magneton: 180-212 (114.6 - 135%) -- guaranteed OHKO
So yeah, Pikachu is gonna be hard to switch into when most of the Electric resists are 2HKOed and outsped. Don't even think about Ground-types, since Grass Knot is pretty bad news for them! Should note that if it gets Surf, then Alolan Marowak and all the Ground-types straight up get OHKOed lol. Jolteon is sorta interesting though, since with a Life Orb, Jolteon actually OHKOs Naive Pikachu with Hidden Power Ground itself (could be a reason to use Hasty I guess)
Now as for Volt Tackle, it straight up OHKOs Alakazam, which sounds great since its likely to be faster than it! However, it fails to 2HKO defensive Snorlax or Chansey without a lot of investment sadly! Could be a reason to use a physically based set, even if it doesn't really get many good physical moves. Just for fun though, I have to include this calc:
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Volt Tackle vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mewtwo: 169-199 (93.3 - 109.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
lol sorta makes me hope those Pikachus have an imperfect Speed IV. Can you imagine Pikachu being an offensive Mewtwo check with like base 135 Speed or something?!
Otherwise, this realllly makes me hope held items are a thing, since that'll make Pikachu interesting in online play. Regardless though, I think its safe to say that unlike Yellow version, Pikachu isn't a Pokemon that you want boxed!
It seems to work out for everything except the starter Pikachu, which as expected, seems to have buffed stats. This guy estimates its BST to be around 460ish, which would put it in the high range of my base stat estimates!
So I did some fun calcs that assume this base stat spread for Pikachu, and it holding Light Ball (I hope to god thats in lol): 50 HP / 85 Atk / 50 Def / 80 SpA / 65 SpD / 125 Spe
For all of these except one calc, these also assume a specially based mixed Pikachu due to its... movepool lol. To show you what I mean, here's what most Kanto Electric-type switch-ins take from it.
252 SpA Light Ball Pikachu Hidden Power Ground vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Jolteon: 104-124 (74.2 - 88.5%) -- 6.3% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Light Ball Pikachu Hidden Power Ground vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Marowak-Alola: 120-142 (71.8 - 85%) -- 75% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Light Ball Pikachu Hidden Power Ground vs. 0 HP / 0 SpD Nidoking: 126-150 (80.7 - 96.1%) -- 12.5% chance to OHKO after Stealth Rock
252 SpA Light Ball Pikachu Hidden Power Ground vs. 252 HP / 0 SpD Eviolite Magneton: 180-212 (114.6 - 135%) -- guaranteed OHKO
So yeah, Pikachu is gonna be hard to switch into when most of the Electric resists are 2HKOed and outsped. Don't even think about Ground-types, since Grass Knot is pretty bad news for them! Should note that if it gets Surf, then Alolan Marowak and all the Ground-types straight up get OHKOed lol. Jolteon is sorta interesting though, since with a Life Orb, Jolteon actually OHKOs Naive Pikachu with Hidden Power Ground itself (could be a reason to use Hasty I guess)
Now as for Volt Tackle, it straight up OHKOs Alakazam, which sounds great since its likely to be faster than it! However, it fails to 2HKO defensive Snorlax or Chansey without a lot of investment sadly! Could be a reason to use a physically based set, even if it doesn't really get many good physical moves. Just for fun though, I have to include this calc:
252 Atk Light Ball Pikachu Volt Tackle vs. 0 HP / 0 Def Mewtwo: 169-199 (93.3 - 109.9%) -- guaranteed OHKO after Stealth Rock
lol sorta makes me hope those Pikachus have an imperfect Speed IV. Can you imagine Pikachu being an offensive Mewtwo check with like base 135 Speed or something?!
Otherwise, this realllly makes me hope held items are a thing, since that'll make Pikachu interesting in online play. Regardless though, I think its safe to say that unlike Yellow version, Pikachu isn't a Pokemon that you want boxed!
I hope just a thing on LGP and LGE, I would like that he keeps the day care.Because we do not change a team that wins and more if remove the functionality of the mega evolution and the day care for breeding the iv the game will be impossible for getting to have the egg moves who will be impossible at the competitive level and mostly for the VGC it could be problematic. I do not think so dare to do it if not i am disappointed if remove these functionality. :'(
I've listened to a very interesting opinion regarding PLGO release, announcement and stuff, and wanted to share it with the board to hear your thoughts.
They essentially were saying that Pokemon Company actually has aknowledged that a lot the fact that Pokemon is slowly becoming a game played a lot by adults, but is not ACTUALLY amazed by it since it's much harder to sell multiple games to adult people who have less time to play videogames, let alone to have them hooked into the game for a lot of time or buy collateral merchandising like dolls and stuff.
Thus they decided to come up with the idea of releasing more blatantly aimed at kids (in fact, even saying "the sons of people who played pokemon 20 years ago") hoping to possibly start bringing the merchandising back to attract younger "buyers", which ultimately generate much more income as, exactly as it happened to us, can potentially be hooked into the franchise while growing up and for several years in a row as well as be more interested in actually buying toys and other types of collateral things.
It has indeed shown in both their latest events (VGC, the PLGO announcement, etc) that Pokemon Company seems to insist in trying to keep the announcement / interests toward young people.
Some examples provided were how at the pre SM VGC they announced.... "Crabrawler, a pokemon that fighs with punches in a ring!" to a public composed of mostly 20+ year olders or even people that were over 30, who were there with carefully trained Pokemon by doing often complicate math work, or with elaborate combat tactics featuring potential mindgames and unexpected choices, which could instead have been much more interested in soon-to-be competitive features like Hypertraining IVs with bottle caps for example.
Think of the PLGO announcement as well, the adult playerbase was actually never directly mentioned, they always said "this game is for everyone! Enjoy it with your friends and kids! Also it is a main series game!" while just adding a remote mention of "But don't worry, in 2019 there's another game coming out that could interest other type of players! Not you specifically, just, other people I'm not mentioning with PLGO announcement" in order to keep the adults somewhat interested.
Rather than publically aknowleding that, no matter how hard they deny it, a very large chunk of both the player and buyer base of Pokemon, let alone people who partecipate at their own tournament, is actually adult, it looks evident TPCI has much more interest in going forward with their younger and essentially more money-profitable buyer base.
Which looks like a huge waste. Think of how different PLGO could have been received by the community if, aside from like, not being done in a close room with few journalists it was actually done worldwide like every other company does, it started with something like "While we are polishing up the major release of the new core RPG coming for 2019, we meanwhile announce you this new Project, PLGO, which will both introduce new and returning players to the world of Pokemon by playing a signature adventure in a new improved light, as well as allowing parents who grew up with Pokemon to play with their sons and daughters!"
Am I the only one who finds those thoughts actually looking very realistic? That Pokemon Company actually has some sort of shame/non-interest in the mature playerbase and would rather have more kids/youngs get to their games instead of us "smogon nerds"?
They essentially were saying that Pokemon Company actually has aknowledged that a lot the fact that Pokemon is slowly becoming a game played a lot by adults, but is not ACTUALLY amazed by it since it's much harder to sell multiple games to adult people who have less time to play videogames, let alone to have them hooked into the game for a lot of time or buy collateral merchandising like dolls and stuff.
Thus they decided to come up with the idea of releasing more blatantly aimed at kids (in fact, even saying "the sons of people who played pokemon 20 years ago") hoping to possibly start bringing the merchandising back to attract younger "buyers", which ultimately generate much more income as, exactly as it happened to us, can potentially be hooked into the franchise while growing up and for several years in a row as well as be more interested in actually buying toys and other types of collateral things.
It has indeed shown in both their latest events (VGC, the PLGO announcement, etc) that Pokemon Company seems to insist in trying to keep the announcement / interests toward young people.
Some examples provided were how at the pre SM VGC they announced.... "Crabrawler, a pokemon that fighs with punches in a ring!" to a public composed of mostly 20+ year olders or even people that were over 30, who were there with carefully trained Pokemon by doing often complicate math work, or with elaborate combat tactics featuring potential mindgames and unexpected choices, which could instead have been much more interested in soon-to-be competitive features like Hypertraining IVs with bottle caps for example.
Think of the PLGO announcement as well, the adult playerbase was actually never directly mentioned, they always said "this game is for everyone! Enjoy it with your friends and kids! Also it is a main series game!" while just adding a remote mention of "But don't worry, in 2019 there's another game coming out that could interest other type of players! Not you specifically, just, other people I'm not mentioning with PLGO announcement" in order to keep the adults somewhat interested.
Rather than publically aknowleding that, no matter how hard they deny it, a very large chunk of both the player and buyer base of Pokemon, let alone people who partecipate at their own tournament, is actually adult, it looks evident TPCI has much more interest in going forward with their younger and essentially more money-profitable buyer base.
Which looks like a huge waste. Think of how different PLGO could have been received by the community if, aside from like, not being done in a close room with few journalists it was actually done worldwide like every other company does, it started with something like "While we are polishing up the major release of the new core RPG coming for 2019, we meanwhile announce you this new Project, PLGO, which will both introduce new and returning players to the world of Pokemon by playing a signature adventure in a new improved light, as well as allowing parents who grew up with Pokemon to play with their sons and daughters!"
Am I the only one who finds those thoughts actually looking very realistic? That Pokemon Company actually has some sort of shame/non-interest in the mature playerbase and would rather have more kids/youngs get to their games instead of us "smogon nerds"?
We're far from being the target demographic, it's pointless to think otherwise.
Game Freak most likely realized it's pointless to market the regular games, with its strong competitive fanbase, as games for children so they made Let's GO and just split the main series into games for different demographics.
Or at least, that's what I hope.
It is kind of sad that they really seemb like treating us "adult playerbase" as an inconvenience rather than something that they could really make use of, even if only for sheer money gain.
I am one of those who doesn't think that PLGO is a bad title. Ok, a bit overpriced I guess, but not a bad title per se, in fact I think it's likely going to be a good one.
But it really saddens me to see that they look like actually trying to *get rid* of the adult playerbase rather than embracing the fact they can have the opportunity to produce both games for adults and kids and essentially end up earn twice the money.
Nobody would be angry, if anything we'd be happy, if they for example kept 2 separate game styles, one for younger / kids like PLGO, and one aimed at adults with the main series (or having a hard/challenge mode in the main series like in gen 5, why not, that'd probably work too).
That's mostly my thoughts on it, but I do as I repeated a few times find it very sad/weird that we're treated as the "unwanted child" rather than welcomed as "unexpected yet good"
I am one of those who doesn't think that PLGO is a bad title. Ok, a bit overpriced I guess, but not a bad title per se, in fact I think it's likely going to be a good one.
But it really saddens me to see that they look like actually trying to *get rid* of the adult playerbase rather than embracing the fact they can have the opportunity to produce both games for adults and kids and essentially end up earn twice the money.
Nobody would be angry, if anything we'd be happy, if they for example kept 2 separate game styles, one for younger / kids like PLGO, and one aimed at adults with the main series (or having a hard/challenge mode in the main series like in gen 5, why not, that'd probably work too).
That's mostly my thoughts on it, but I do as I repeated a few times find it very sad/weird that we're treated as the "unwanted child" rather than welcomed as "unexpected yet good"
It's nothing new really, and let us not forget that Game Freak admitted to purposefully half-assing their games to stay 'relevant'.
From the ORAS player guide.
Now, I wouldn't mind the existence of Pokemon Let's Go if I wasn't so sure it'll set the tone of the next set of games regardless of whatever collective set of lies Ohmori and Masura are feeding me.
From the ORAS player guide.
They know their games are rushed and aren't as high quality as they could be and they're not ashamed of it. Now, kids will read something like this and just be happy new games are coming out every other year, but as now an adult who values his money I personally feel insulted. Game Freak acts as if they are the ONLY devs with such preassure over their shoulders. Sakurai gets a lot of trolls over Smash, Square Enix got a lot of shit for a long time for XIII-Versus/XV and now for the FFVII remake. Itsuno and Capcom for DMCV. Pokemon has a huge amount of side-media and merch to stay relevant which none of these games have. I don't get why they are so scared of their fanbase.
Now, I wouldn't mind the existence of Pokemon Let's Go if I wasn't so sure it'll set the tone of the next set of games regardless of whatever collective set of lies Ohmori and Masura are feeding me.