{"id":17310,"date":"2022-12-19T13:30:03","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T04:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=17310"},"modified":"2022-12-19T13:30:04","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T04:30:04","slug":"20221219-17310","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/column\/20221219-17310\/","title":{"rendered":"Should Pok\u00e9mon games spend more time in development?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n



Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet<\/em> and Violet<\/em><\/strong> have proven themselves to be extremely popular after selling over 10 million copies globally in just three days. The games have been praised by fans and critics for taking on new challenges for the series, but the overall reception has been mixed due to the number of performance issues and bugs the games have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But should Pok\u00e9mon<\/em> spend more time in development in order to improve their reception? The fact that the answer isn\u2019t simply \u201cyes\u201d is part of what makes the series unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before we think more about this question, let\u2019s first look at what Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet<\/em> and Violet<\/em> get right and what they miss the mark on.


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

-The main story<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous titles in the series crammed three different story components into one main route. These components are player growth through collecting badges, human drama through battling an evil organization, and the myths involving Legendary Pok\u00e9mon. By putting all of these together into one scenario, elements from each can feel out of place at times, and the power balance and standing between characters gets ambiguous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet<\/em> and Violet<\/em> break up this single route format into something more open ended. By doing so, they were able to dig deeper into each component of the scenario and succeeded in crafting a more satisfying story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–\u00a0 The open world<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What connects these three scenarios together are the games\u2019 open world. It doesn\u2019t just keep players on track through a story but provides a place for players to have their own unique experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–\u00a0 No random battles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The games do away with random battles in favor of encountering Pok\u00e9mon<\/em> in the world directly, which makes filling up the Pok\u00e9dex<\/em> easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the improved quality of the Pok\u00e9mon models and the soundtrack featuring music from Toby Fox can also be listed as points in favor of the games.


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bad<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

–\u00a0 Performance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the issues, the poor performance stands out above anything else. Beyond the low frame rate, there have been frequent reports of the games crashing. The games are generally slow overall for modern titles, and that includes the load times. Not even the menus are snappy, with there being noticeable wait times when they load 3D models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–\u00a0 The quality of the open world<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compared to other open-world releases in recent years, the quality of Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet<\/em> and Violet<\/em>\u2019s open world is pretty low. There are numerous buildings, but only a small handful offer any substance. In contrast to the scale of the towns, there aren\u2019t a lot of NPCs, and their actions don\u2019t make the world feel lived in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

–\u00a0 Compatibility with the open world<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such is the fate of open-world games that use leveling systems to generally have a predetermined route. While the game tells you to take on challenges in any order you want, the possible routes you can take are actually limited. On top of that, open worlds where players are free to explore and turn-based battles that bring the game speed to a halt don\u2019t mesh well. I (the original author of this article) remember feeling like someone threw on the emergency brake when getting thrust into a battle while exploring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Lack of customization options<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While you can change your character\u2019s look, it\u2019s limited to unisex school uniforms. Despite one of the themes of the game being diversity, the customization options are limited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– The UI in the menus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The menus haven\u2019t progressed beyond previous titles. Firstly, it\u2019s hard to intuitively understand if you can move the cursor between the left and right windows, and there\u2019s no way to directly search for or sort items in your bag. The Auto Heal and existence of TM Machine seem like stopgaps to reduce the amount of time players spend with the menu system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of these issues have been solved by other open-world games, which just makes them stand out that much more.


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strength of the Pok\u00e9mon IP<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Why can\u2019t Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet<\/em> and Violet<\/em> do what other open-world games do? You could say it has something to do with the unique strength of the IP that\u2019s kept it popular for over 25 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– The speed at which new content is released<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strength of the Pok\u00e9mon<\/em> IP is how fast it gets updated with new content. Mainline titles are released every year or two, each introducing around 100 new Pok\u00e9mon and characters with new settings for their adventures to take place. Offering so much at such a pace is astounding when compared to other video game IPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of the speed, it stays relevant and on peoples\u2019 minds. Because of how many there are, they can meet a wide range of demands. The rich world also makes it ripe for cross-media development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– The core remains the same<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The core of the mainline titles remaining the same is another strength of the series. Players catch Pok\u00e9mon, fill their Pok\u00e9dex, and raise their Pok\u00e9mon through turn-based battles. It offers existing fans a sense of familiarity. It also makes it easier for fans to recommend to others because they know what to expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And because the core of the mainline series stays the same, it makes players want to branch out and try different Pok\u00e9mon experiences such as the trading card game, Pok\u00e9mon UNITE<\/em>, Pokk\u00e9n Tournament<\/em>, and Pok\u00e9mon Snap<\/em>. Players will want to watch the anime and try other media that expand the series beyond what it\u2019s limited to in the mainline games. Conversely, those who were introduced to the series outside of the mainline games will want to play them to see what the core of the series is all about.


<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A brochure for spinoffs and cross-media development<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In general, gaming is a medium that is expected to change and progress. The mainline Pok\u00e9mon<\/em> games are able to stay the same because of how the IP is handled as a whole with the games, spinoffs, and other media all supporting each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When thinking about how this applies to Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet<\/em> and Violet<\/em>, the poor performance of the games is due to them prioritizing updating the IP which didn\u2019t leave them enough time. Resources could be put into updating the menus, but that update doesn\u2019t increase the appeal of the IP as a whole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The open world itself might not be great, but they can compromise by supplementing it with the anime and other media. Food and making sandwiches might feel clumsy and awkward, but the Pok\u00e9mon <\/em>series can collaborate with a real caf\u00e9 to offer real food for fans. We can surmise that, ultimately, they\u2019re taking an approach where features are prioritized in service to the IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not trying to say that the flaws of these games should be accepted because they\u2019re due to the direction of the IP. <\/strong>I\u2019m pointing out that a gap has formed between what the team behind Pok\u00e9mon<\/em> wants to do and the demands of consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quality players expect from games is continually on the rise. Within that, we have both \u201ctaking years to meet demand and making an overall higher quality product\u201d lined up beside \u201cmaking a product that prioritizes acting as a brochure to draw more players into the IP as a whole.\u201d We now have a situation where the two approaches are constantly being compared. It has to be said that trying to both routinely update the IP while meeting the constantly growing demands of players is reaching its limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This approach of making compromises is starting to show itself more so than in previous generations. Naturally, players will expect more from the next game. Putting aside whether they\u2019ve met players\u2019 expectations at this current phase, will they be able to meet the even higher expectations with the next one? It remains questionable whether they will be able to leverage the strength of the IP while supplementing the shortcomings of Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet<\/em> and Violet<\/em> with other games and media going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Pok\u00e9mon<\/em> series to do what other games can do, I think it will require an appropriate amount of resources and development time be poured into it. But pouring in time and resources takes away the IP\u2019s strength of offering steady content at a high rate. Those resources aren\u2019t guaranteed to solve the series\u2019 problems either and could just create a drought between new content. That alone would bring other related media and merchandise to a halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What direction do you think Pok\u00e9mon<\/em> should go? Would you prefer they continue regularly putting out new games in a short time span, or should they switch to longer development cycles to make more complete games?




<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by. Nick Mosier based on a script written for AUTOMATON JP’s YouTube video<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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