Examples of Damage Control in Gaming: Gotta Catch Most of ‘em
The Pokémon fanbase was mostly pleased with Pokémon Sword & Shield’s E3 2019 showing, which happened quickly after it was shown in detail in the Pokémon Direct aired prior to the convention. Note the use of “mostly,” because a couple of details left a bad taste in the mouths of fans. The biggest issue involved how Pokémon Bank, the service used to transfer Pokémon from a mobile app to a game, won’t be compatible with this installment. Instead, players will have to use the upcoming Pokémon Home cloud service to transfer them, which won’t be compatible with previous games. It was a big disappointment for anyone who adjusted to using the app, and spent a bunch of time (perhaps too much) documenting their Pokémon species.
The move to the new app is also because Sword & Shield won’t feature every Pokémon from previous installments with in the games’ Galar Region. Producer Junichi Matsuda explained in an interview with Japanese Famitsu magazine that it would have been too costly and time consuming for them to bring every variant back. This won’t be the first time Pokémon will be seen in HD, but Game Freak and The Pokémon Company are updating each one to be more expressive and animated compared to prior games. A pity this means they’ll have to modify or drop the “Gotta Catch ‘em All” slogan. Matsuda addressed the criticism from fans in a statement posted to the official website, but be warned: It’s not much.
Matsuda claimed it was a difficult decision for the team not to include every Pokémon in this title, and implied that they prioritized getting the game on shelves this fall over keeping fans waiting for a longer time. They were put in a tough position here; there’s upset about what’s happening now, but there would have been at least just as many if a new mainline Pokémon game didn’t arrive on Switch until its third year on the market. The Pokémon shown in Sword & Shield thus far are noticeably more detailed than those from, say, the Pokémon Let’s Go titles. So, they might be counting on fans being so impressed with them that they’ll stop complaints about several Pokémon being unavailable.
Matsuda also claimed that Pokémon that won’t appear in this game could reappear in future installments, meaning forgotten favorites (there will undoubtedly be some) won’t be that way for long.
The brief statement didn’t address much directly, but it’s notable for what it didn’t say. No companies involved have any intention of significantly changing their current plans. There’s likely no way to make the game compatible with Pokémon Bank at this stage without delaying everything, which would be expensive and time-consuming. Nor do they want the app or game displaying error messages when players try to transfer incompatible Pokémon, which would prompt a bunch of different complaints from those who aren’t following this news.
Sword & Shield will nonetheless allow for 800 Pokémon species, still quite a bit given that Game Freak is at least partially redoing the models. But the manifestation of these attitudes towards this change what happens when fans are conditioned to expect every Pokémon to return over decades. Every Pokémon installment since the first sequel, Gold & Silver, has included all species from previous installments. This was bound to stop being the case eventually, with the number of Pokémon growing with each installment over time; we’ve simply reached that point here.
Bizarrely enough, there were several fans saying Level 5 would never exclude creatures from a new installment of Yo-Kai Watch, and only some of them were sarcastic. Pokémon has been locked in battle with the franchise for the last half-decade, though mainly in Japan. But maybe that should be “had been locked in battle,” since it’s clear which one won out given Yo-Kai Watch 4’s first-week sales in Japan.
The fan comments humorously came just before development team members confirmed on a stream that the fourth game would launch with only 109 Yo-Kai out of around 800, while others will be added through free downloadable content. Yo-Kai Watch 3 comparatively included 698 total Yo-Kai spread across three versions, and the number was higher when including bosses. Perhaps this wasn’t the best comparison.
Most players will either be fine with, or will adjust to, what Game Freak and TPC are doing with Sword & Shield. But those disappointed about their favorite Pokémon potentially not making the cut are very vocal, and will continue to be for a while. There’s not much either company involved can say to assuage them now, but Matsuda gave it an honest shot through last night’s post, while making it clear they have no intention of altering the current trajectory. There’s a good chance those disappointed fans will be there for the game on day one anyway, which is likely what they’re depending on. The game will release worldwide on November 15th, and will probably still be fun regardless.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
