They gotta slow down on the new Pokemon, but that's the brand. The money is mostly made in merch and everything else serves that. The anime, games and all that pretty much exist to supplement and justify the real cash cow. However, Pokemon is actually the number one most profitable intellectual property of all time. They have resources beyond understanding and could improve gameplay and presentation, but it's also proven they don't have to cause they'll sell like hotcakes and each new gen brings with it a new season of an anime and a massive wave of new merch. There is some laziness on the corporate angle, but it's financially rewarded. They don't need to make the games actually good, they just need to be satisfactory to people that like Pokemon already and pop culture will cover the rest.
I stopped after Gen 2 but picked up Heart Gold when it came out and was impressed by the advances in the core RPG system and got really into Gen 4 online battles while only ever using Pokemon up to gen 2. I love the core concept but wish they'd make a seperate series for adults, doesn't need to be darker or whatever, just a more quality game for fans who have been here for 20 years. We're still the ones buying the most merch
If you're ever interested in playing another one for some reason, I'm pretty confident in saying that Black2/White2 are the best games in the series. They basically nailed down the current RPG mechanics in the Heart Gold generation of games, then spent the next generation on nothing but polish and boatloads of variety. Very few pokemon are outright bad, battles are sped up, trainers don't fuck around for once.
Have you played Pokemon Colosseum? It's a Gamecube game so it shows it's age now, but it also shows what a dedicated JRPG team could do with the Pokemon franchise if let loose on it. Personally I think that after that game and it's sequel The Pokemon Company permanently blacklisted the idea of letting another company do a standard jRPG with their franchise, because it made the core Game Freak product look bad by comparison.
I have played XD and if I recall it was similar to the other 3D pokemon games in terms of story? Except less pokemon were available? I don't mean to be negative of course, they're good games and Mirror B is best girl forever
Maybe I'm overselling it a bit, but consider it came out alongside Firered/Leafgreen and Emerald. The jump to 3D, the new capture mechanics, the story that took place in the Pokemon world but didn't revolve around just ranking up as a trainer and becoming the champion - it's the high water mark of the franchise for me.
But it also came out riiiiiiiight at the end of my being in the target demo for Pokemon, so maybe it was just exactly what 13 year old me wanted.
I don't think it's laziness but rather they're being forced to shit out a jrpg with 900 playable characters every 2 years or whatever.
I think a pretty pokemon game is possible, they just need a longer development cycle.
They gotta slow down on the new Pokemon, but that's the brand. The money is mostly made in merch and everything else serves that. The anime, games and all that pretty much exist to supplement and justify the real cash cow. However, Pokemon is actually the number one most profitable intellectual property of all time. They have resources beyond understanding and could improve gameplay and presentation, but it's also proven they don't have to cause they'll sell like hotcakes and each new gen brings with it a new season of an anime and a massive wave of new merch. There is some laziness on the corporate angle, but it's financially rewarded. They don't need to make the games actually good, they just need to be satisfactory to people that like Pokemon already and pop culture will cover the rest.
Exactly, they'll always be rushed because they're now a franchise with investors and a schedule.
Funny how people always talk about how profit motive creates innovation but there are plenty of times I can think of profit motive hurting a product.
I mean, I still enjoy Pokemon but I think it could be a lot better
I stopped after Gen 2 but picked up Heart Gold when it came out and was impressed by the advances in the core RPG system and got really into Gen 4 online battles while only ever using Pokemon up to gen 2. I love the core concept but wish they'd make a seperate series for adults, doesn't need to be darker or whatever, just a more quality game for fans who have been here for 20 years. We're still the ones buying the most merch
I totally agree, and Heartgold is probably the best one so nice choice lol.
Hopefully, Pokemon Legends fills that role but I'm not going to hold my breath.
Heart Gold slapped so fucking hard. Said JRPG/MMO addict partner from our other conversation. She got soul silver and we'd battle every day
If you're ever interested in playing another one for some reason, I'm pretty confident in saying that Black2/White2 are the best games in the series. They basically nailed down the current RPG mechanics in the Heart Gold generation of games, then spent the next generation on nothing but polish and boatloads of variety. Very few pokemon are outright bad, battles are sped up, trainers don't fuck around for once.
Have you played Pokemon Colosseum? It's a Gamecube game so it shows it's age now, but it also shows what a dedicated JRPG team could do with the Pokemon franchise if let loose on it. Personally I think that after that game and it's sequel The Pokemon Company permanently blacklisted the idea of letting another company do a standard jRPG with their franchise, because it made the core Game Freak product look bad by comparison.
I have played XD and if I recall it was similar to the other 3D pokemon games in terms of story? Except less pokemon were available? I don't mean to be negative of course, they're good games and Mirror B is best girl forever
Maybe I'm overselling it a bit, but consider it came out alongside Firered/Leafgreen and Emerald. The jump to 3D, the new capture mechanics, the story that took place in the Pokemon world but didn't revolve around just ranking up as a trainer and becoming the champion - it's the high water mark of the franchise for me.
But it also came out riiiiiiiight at the end of my being in the target demo for Pokemon, so maybe it was just exactly what 13 year old me wanted.
True, when I think about it they were pretty good for the time. I kinda feel like revisiting them.