Game News 10 years before the next Pokémon generation?
Long debated among video game players, the technique and graphics of Pokémon games have been talked about again with the release of Pokémon Scarlet / Purple on Nintendo Switch. An opus synonymous with 103 new Pokémon but which has provoked, more than ever, the anger of the players. What will change things for Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures? What if they decided to take their time for the tenth generation of Pokémon?
Summary
- Pokémon: more than ever, players are pointing the finger at technique and graphics
- A big break for the next console, but in the meantime?
Pokémon: more than ever, players are pointing the finger at technique and graphics
Released exclusively on Nintendo Switch on November 18, Pokémon Scarlet / Purple marks the arrival of the ninth generation of pocket monsters. Although they are synonymous with enthusiasm for trainers veterans or newcomers (especially in view of the sales figures recorded three days after launch) the 103 new Pokemon reignites the fiery debate already seen when Pokemon Legends Arceus was released: Are Game Freak, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company releasing games at too regular intervals?
An assertion made by many players around the globe, disappointed by the technique and graphics of this new opus: fluctuating frame rate, a clipping too present and bugs (sometimes blocking) which can cause the hilarity of the players.
However, it is the form of Pokémon Scarlet / Purple that appeals to players. Should it really be released less than a year after Pokémon Sparkling Diamond / Sparkling Pearl and Pokémon Legends: Arceus? Many players agree on the fact that they would have preferred to wait to benefit from a better-made episode.
This can also be seen on the metacritic ratings aggregator: the game displays a user rating of 3.1/10 and is the worst opus of the main saga. If players’ dissatisfaction with the technical quality of the license has always existed, it was stronger than ever this year with the ninth generation. What may convince the decision makers behind the video game license to give developers more time. However, this is something that is not always possible, especially with a license as lucrative as Pokémon is and on which the release of a multitude of derivative products depends.
A big break for the next console, but in the meantime?
It is therefore always interesting to lend oneself to the exercise of projection as did the MGG media and imagine that Nintendo decides to develop a new opus with the tenth generation. To hit hard, he decides to give himself a period of ten years to refine and refine something never seen in the license. Like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild for the Nintendo Switch, this new opus could be the flagship of Nintendo’s next-generation console: something far from unthinkable, especially since the firm of Kyoto seems to be preparing the Nintendo Switch transition behind the scenes and creaturesthe third licensee of the rights and involved in the 3D modeling of the pocket monsters, has already eyes on the future.
There would therefore be several question marks around this tenth generation of Pokémon, which could bring a real renewal to the license (even more than the transition from 2D to 3D for example). But it is especially around the plans envisaged around the maintenance of the craze for the license that the questions emerge. How to stay as lucrative (if not more?) by not releasing new little creatures?
Regarding the sole field of video games, several options are possible. As shown in the past, the remake of the old opuses of the saga on more modern consoles is always a sensation. The next on the list being Pokémon Black Version / White Version (last opus really in 2D) is an option as much as it is often considered as one of the best of the license. We can always think of spin-offs, like versions of Pokémon Stadium (Nintendo 64) and Pokémon Colosseum (Nintendo Gamecube) modernized in the New Pokémon Snap way.
Pokémon Stadium, Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Colosseum.
It remains to be seen how the rights holders (Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures) can decide to focus derivative products without real new content over ten years. It’s easy to think of several ways of reinventing the card game (with special sets, a new type of trading card…) but it’s probably the anime series (whose the story arc with Ash and Pikachu ends soon) which will not be able to count on new Pokémon.
In any case, it is very interesting to know how the mixed reception of Scarlet / Violet (despite, once again, colossal sales) will change things (or not) on the side of the rights holders. Anyway, no new game (whether spin-off or not) has yet been announced. In any case, it will be necessary to be patient to know the video game future of Pokémon
