The Pokemon Switch Version

[Silktree]

Just for the record, XY's conceptual development started in June 2010:

..the conceptual planning for Pokémon X and Pokémon Y began before Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version were released. The idea for the game first rose around June of 2010. Then we spent three years developing the game, and, when you include the localization work, it ended up being a big project on which around 500 people were involved.

In light of the above and the fact that even Breath of the Wild's Switch version was only decided on in spring 2016, I highly doubt that Game Freak had time to start planning for the Switch before 2016.

They can release Switch games by late 2018, and that definitely seems to be the plan, but don't expect them to look much different than SM. As I see it, the next generation should be saved for when they can pull off a bigger leap.

 

[Desdar300]

If I had to guess, Gen 8 would come first since that installs hype and allows them to introduce new mons and mechanics to spice things up. Afterwards Kanto follow- ups would certainly be on the table because that would keep the hype going to insane degrees.

 

[Silktree]

How many people really want new Pokemon and mechanics two years after SM? The more frequent those additions become, the less special they will feel.

I think they should do something with Kanto and Johto before Go and the VC games are a distant memory. 2019 will be probably be a gap year if 2018 isn't one.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

It'd be weird to use GO as a reason, since its popularity is now almost nil. I cannot see GF changing their entire schedule due to a spin off (which was not predicted to do well, either).

 

[StandbyForBattle]

How many people really want new Pokemon and mechanics two years after SM? The more frequent those additions become, the less special they will feel.

I think they should do something with Kanto and Johto before Go and the VC games are a distant memory. 2019 will be probably be a gap year if 2018 isn't one.

Plus two years isn't enough to develop a New Generation, especially on a new system, if it was on the same system like 3ds, then sure, it would take two years to develop, but it's highly unlikely, because Gen VIII will be Switch Exclusive.

 

[Silktree]

App intelligence company Apptopia crunched the latest financial numbers for Pokemon GO, and the result is continues to be staggering. Having earned a total of $950 million in total revenue in 2016, that number has since increased to $1.2 billion in 2017. Couple those revenue numbers with a total of 752 million downloads, and there’s little doubt that Pokemon GO remains a money-making behemoth.

The data also revealed that Pokemon GO had approximately 60 million monthly players in June, with about 20% of those players firing up the app at least once a day. This is a little lower than the 65 million monthly players reported back in March, and well down from the game’s peak of 100 million monthly players when it initially launched, but it is hard to deny that the game is still remains massively-popular around the world.

A revenue of 250 million over the last 6 months, 60 million monthly players and roughly 12 million daily players, go to show that the popularity is anything but nil, even if it understandably lower than before. It should pick up now with the new features and events.

And they still haven't added trading or PvP battling yet, but the former is planned for later this year and the latter is probably for next year. Those features could definitely make a big difference.

 

[DoctorWhy]

I'm still hoping for the addition of a transfer feature, allowing Pokémon caught in Go to be transferred/copied to Switch Pokémon games. Unlikely but I've been hoping for a while. It would probably give a little boost to Switch Pokémon games, since they could advertise the new Switch game in the app with a compatible feature.

 

[Silktree]

I'm still hoping for the addition of a transfer feature, allowing Pokémon caught in Go to be transferred/copied to Switch Pokémon games. Unlikely but I've been hoping for a while. It would probably give a little boost to Switch Pokémon games, since they could advertise the new Switch game in the app with a compatible feature.

Let's see what Masuda said about this possibility for SM:

The popularity of the mobile app has caused many fans to wonder if it will connect with the upcoming Pokémon Sun and Moon games coming out later this year. Junichi Masuda of Game Freak has expressed that he would like to see some connectivity between the two titles, but only if they can make the games interesting.

Masuda explained that since Pokémon GO is about catching Pokémon found in the real world, it would be hard to determine how the different catch rates and appearance methods would affect the balance of each game. They probably mean that they don't want players easily catching powerful Pokémon in Pokémon GO and then transferring them to the 3DS games. While it would be neat to see the two games interact with each other, Game Freak wants to find a way to do it that doesn't make them boring and unbalanced.

Of course, the point is pretty moot for one-way transfers from Go to the main series, since you could say the same thing about Bank in general.

If they don't want transfers, they could implement a Mystery Gift feature where new items would be obtained both in Go and the Switch game, and the Go player would appear as an NPC in Viridian's Trainer House or somewhere similar.

 

[Lanstar]

This opinion might be unpopular... But if there's one thing I'd love the switch game(s) to have, it would be for trainer battles to be double battles by default, with wild battles remaining singles. This would utilize the increased performance of the switch, while making the games feel so much more fresh than previous ones.

I guess i can dream, anyways...

 

[BigBadButterfree]

This opinion might be unpopular... But if there's one thing I'd love the switch game(s) to have, it would be for trainer battles to be double battles by default, with wild battles remaining singles. This would utilize the increased performance of the switch, while making the games feel so much more fresh than previous ones.

I guess i can dream, anyways...

I agree with your opinion. One of my first games was Colosseum, so double battle format is my favorite. Also, they have a lot of attacks and strategies, even used by npcs in singles, that are only effective in doubles. Either give me a double battle every once in a while, or stop having a stupid pokemon use helping hand when battling alone.

 

[RileyXY1]

This is an unpopular opinion, but I do not want the franchise to become an open world game. I like Pokemon the way it is.

 

[StandbyForBattle]

I'm wondering how much Pokemon will change when it be on Nintendo Switch?

 

[Guzma]

This opinion might be unpopular... But if there's one thing I'd love the switch game(s) to have, it would be for trainer battles to be double battles by default, with wild battles remaining singles. This would utilize the increased performance of the switch, while making the games feel so much more fresh than previous ones.

I guess i can dream, anyways...

You know, I could almost see this happening since the VGC rules are Doubles only. It would be pretty alienating to a Single Battle die-hard like me, though.

 

[StandbyForBattle]

I'm confused of next year's pokemon game because with the announcement from the e3, Tsunekazu Ishihara announced the pokemon game for switch will be "more than a year", it would be likely to see pokemon game for switch, because of backlash to Pokemon Direct. With Nintendo Of America: Metroid Prime 4 And New Pokémon Are 2018 Games proves we'll get a pokemon game for 2018, but it never said what system it'll be on. The reason I'm confused because Nintendo Says It Will Support The Nintendo 3DS Beyond 2018 says they'll continue to support Nintendo 3DS beyond 2018, which means 3DS will be discontinued in 2019 (probably with the announcement of Nintendo 2DS XL). I think Tsunekzau Ishihara stated "More than a year", which means it'll not be next year, but in 2019 or 2020. It would be too soon for Gen VIII, when Tsunekzau Ishihara say they'll be a "Core RPG Pokemon game for Nintendo Switch", I'm wondering if he's referring to Gen VIII, because usually they don't have a new system in the Mid-Generation, They don't usually started with Sequels or Remake on a new system, maybe they'll continue with 3DS till 2019, so maybe the next pokemon game (Diamond/Pearl Remake) will be on 3DS (which will be a huge disappointment). I might be wrong, but I don't mind if I'm proven wrong.

 

[Guzma]

I'm assuming it won't come out until 2019, TBH. The only time a Pokémon game came out less than two years after its console was launched was RS in Japan. The general rule since Gen IV is two years. The DS launched in 2004, and DP was released in Japan two years later in 2006. The 3DS launched in 2011, and Gen VI was released globally two years later in 2013.

 

[Silktree]

One thing is for sure: The next game is going to be for Switch. That very article you linked to is about the Switch...

I'm assuming it won't come out until 2019, TBH. The only time a Pokémon game came out less than two years after its console was launched was Gen III.

Actually, you can add DP to that list. The 3DS was the only system not to get any main series game by the end of its second year.

The problem here is with SM not even being a year old yet.

 

[Guzma]

Actually, you can add DP to that list. The 3DS was the only system not to get any main series game by the end of its second year.

No, the DS launched in North America first in late November 2004, and less then two weeks later in Japan in early December of 2004, and then in South Korea shortly after Christmas; it was launched in Europe, Australia and China in different months in 2005. DP was released in Japan in 2006.

 

[Silktree]

If you mean that it was two years rather than less, then it was actually 22 months. In this case we could be dealing with 18-19 months. Anyway, let's look at what Reggie said:

Reggie Fils-Aimé: The response to what we’ve showcased, and it really is just a small tip for 2018, has been exceptionally positive. You’ve got fans seeing Metroid Prime 4, hearing that Mr. Tanabe, who’s been involved in all of the Metroid Prime games, is going to be at the helm of that, the fans are tremendously excited. To hear that there’s going to be a core Pokémon RPG experience on the Nintendo Switch, the fans are incredibly excited. To see a traditional Kirby experience, with him inhaling enemies and copying abilities, fans are excited about that. And then the Yoshi game that we showcased, with that unique, you know, motion to go “behind-the-scenes,” so to speak, has people really intrigued. So just by showcasing those four games, and giving a little bit of a taste, yeah there’s a lot of excitement to what 2018 can hold.

He is clearly generating hype for 2018. And you can't dismiss what he says considering that he is a PR guy who is usually careful with his words.

 

[StandbyForBattle]

I'm assuming it won't come out until 2019, TBH. The only time a Pokémon game came out less than two years after its console was launched was RS in Japan. The general rule since Gen IV is two years. The DS launched in 2004, and DP was released in Japan two years later in 2006. The 3DS launched in 2011, and Gen VI was released globally two years later in 2013.

With next pokemon in 2018, I'm thinking 2019 will be a break year and Gen VIII starts in 2020. I don't think it's likely for 2019, unless next year is a break, which is disapproved from the interview.

One thing is for sure: The next game is going to be for Switch. That very article you linked to is about the Switch...


Actually, you can add DP to that list. The 3DS was the only system not to get any main series game by the end of its second year.

The problem here is with SM not even being a year old yet.

I would prefer it being on Switch myself, the fans were disappointed because US/UM was not on Switch this year, they'll be more disappointed if it's on 3DS for next year too.

No, the DS launched in North America first in late November 2004, and less then two weeks later in Japan in early December of 2004, and then in South Korea shortly after Christmas; it was launched in Europe, Australia and China in different months in 2005. DP was released in Japan in 2006.

They were did announced Diamond/Pearl in 2004, but they pushed it back till 2006 in Japan and 2007 in North America. If they announced Gen VIII this year or next year, they might push it back till like 2019 or 2020 for Nintendo Switch.

 

[Guzma]

No, it's not because of Europe that it doesn't count; it doesn't count because back then the games were released in Japan before anywhere else; if we're going by "launch of console to first release" benchmark, the odd ones out are still Gen I (released seven years after the Game Boy launched) and Gen III (released in Japan about a year after the GBA launched). It's not like now, when the games are launched simultaneously in most regions (although admittedly ORAS and SuMo both launched in Europe a week after everywhere else for some reason despite XY launching in all regions simultaneously). As for the "months" rather than "years," I don't really see the difference unless you just want to get really precise...

I never heard of them pushing back DP after it was announced, though?