The Future if Pokemon

[CyberSinner]

I know this is going to sound really stupid. But I have friends who work at Gamestop and I have worked at Gamestop before. Gamefreak needs to really get their ostrich like heads out of the sand to realize the majority of Pokemon players are still somewhere between 20-39 age range. I know a lot of 30 something years old who still play Pokemon. I'm 22 and I play Pokemon.

I was discussing this idea with a few friends about the future of Pokemon. I need Gamefreak really needs to look at who is really buying their games. And I think instead of making Another Region, with Another Set of 200 Pokemon. I think Gamefreak should go for an RPG.

Wait wait before you bring in your pitchforks and torches. Here me out on this one. Pokemon is already a kind of RPG. And when I say RPG, I mean the slightest minor alterations of the game. I don't want some fancy complicated RPG for Pokemon because that isn't what Pokemon is. Instead, I'd like to see a better variation with the trainer customization maybe allow the option for some different eye shapes to make the character younger or older.

Second I like them to simply add all the regions they have now, Kanto, Johto, Unova, Kalos, etc. And then have the trainer pick out which is their starting home. Then allow us to persue a choice of trainer. These are very minor, but have a overall goal such as:

Ace Trainer, you would become the champion of each region
Beauty Trainer, I liked the tournaments so becoming the reigning tournament champion
Ranger, complete the Pokedex

These would be goals to reach as an end game puzzle.

Nothing to big and fancy. I just think this is something that would become appealing.

 

[Elfgore]

Though you just described the west's dream pokemon game, I don't believe we'll ever see it made. Gamefreak is a Japanese company. That means that they care first and foremost, for their Japanese customers. We just happen to like the games they release. So unless the Japanese crowd wants a pokemon game like this, we won't be seeing one anytime soon.

 

[Hero of Lime]

Your idea isn't bad by any means, especially the idea of choosing a different kind of career in the Pokemon world other than trainer. I feel like that is something better explored in a spin-off type game. That is not to say I don't want those in a main series game, but I would just want it to be as well implemented as possible.

That being said, it sounds cool to have one game where you can go to each and every region along with choosing a home region to start with, but doing that would make the other games kinda useless. It's sort of the same reason why I don't want a Pokemon MMO, amongst other reasons.

Overall, I wouldn't mind seeing Pokemon games where you have more goals than being champion, filling the Pokedex and stopping the villain team. Yet, I doubt we will get those kind of games for a long time, or get them at all. The Pokemon formula works incredibly well for Gamefreak, and I doubt they want to change anytime soon.

 

[Aerosteam]

I know this is going to sound really stupid. But I have friends who work at Gamestop and I have worked at Gamestop before. Gamefreak needs to really get their ostrich like heads out of the sand to realize the majority of Pokemon players are still somewhere between 20-39 age range. I know a lot of 30 something years old who still play Pokemon. I'm 22 and I play Pokemon.

Not sure how that links to the rest of your post but okay.

I hate the idea of having all the region's available in one game. (I think the Wii U would struggle to handle that and I don't want to play Pokemon on a home console anyway.) What if we return to Kanto? You're still going to go from town to town earning badges, which we've already done twice before even excluding the remakes, so what's the point?

Also Ranger =/= Trainer.

 

[elvor0]

eh I'm okay with the current formula as it is. I'd like some variation in the storyline, although recent games have been doing some steps to mix the /journey/ up a bit, even if it is still 8 badges, evil team etc. Black and White was pretty cool on that front, with N and whatnot. I'd be cool with them sticking with the 8 badges, but I'd like a different story to the evil team, yet again.

Ultimately Pokemon is and has always been designed to be a multiplayer game, as once you've finished the league, the only thing to do is either the battle frontier (and even then, only from Emerald onwards) or complete the pokedex, the frontier is fun, but the items there are designed to help you forward the multiplayer. Especially these days where you can play online and you don't need to link up.

The 8 badges pretty much just serve as a wall to introduce people to the new world and make sure they learn any mechanics, the games have put in a lot of elements to help people understand EVs and IVs, and to make it easier to do so, with the destiny knot, everstone for natures and the super training for IVs. Fuck knows I'm glad I don't have to spend so much time on that stuff as I did prior to X/Y because it's tedious as fuck. And if you don't want to do super training, you can summon hordes at will, couple that with pokerous and it takes no time at all.

Trainer customisation is something I'd like to see though, that's not going to effect the formula in anyway, beyond allowing players to better represent themselves, something I'm sure would go down well in both West and East.

Really, good things transcend ages, it's marketed to children in Japan, who still love as much as they ever did, but older western gamers still love it, because it's a good game. The DC animated universe was for kids, but we all love it because it's /good/. Same with any of those classic cartoons, or for newer stuff, Adventure Time.

 

[Sean Hollyman]

Well it's primarily aimed at younger players, so changing the main series would alienate the younger players.

HOWEVER I would love a console spinoff again, like Colosseum and XD. Seriously I LOVED those games wtf hapened?

 

[Lieju]

I don't see that happening in the main series, but aren't there already Pokemon Ranger games?
As well as mystery dungeon ones where you play as a pokemon, and the Nobunaga game I know very little of?

It seems like they'll explore those kinds of things in their spin-off games.
It's not that I wouldn't enjoy the kind of game you're proposing, but I suspect it would suffer a lot from being spread too thin. It's better to have games more dedicated to one thing.

I would love to see better writing for the main story, though, and deep world-building.
Also difficulty settings.

Pokemon already allows you to approach it in different ways; that's why it's popular.

You can enjoy the main story, explore the world, try to collect them all, or battle competitively.

 

[Auron225]

I'm guessing you've never been to Japan OP. Pokemon is still huge there and aimed first and foremost at kids. It isn't just the games series that sells over there; everything else does too and it's all aimed at kids. Few adults take much of an interest unless their kids do.

The game you just described does sound fun but it would cost far too much to make it - Nintendo wouldn't make it back in sales. And I personally don't like the idea of having all regions in one game; I wouldn't want to use the same team to take down 6 regions, 48 gyms and 5 leagues. You could include some kind of feature that limited the number of Pokemon you bring across regions but then why not just play a different Pokemon game? And levels become a problem too. In Gold/Silver, anytime I finished Johto and then Kanto, my team of 6 were all above level 70 by the end. What would they be like after 4 more regions? You'd need to raise the level cap of 100. What I'm trying to say is Longer =/= Better.

I like the idea of having more customization options but I think Nintendo already realised that with X/Y and are working on it. You shouldn't have to pick a goal from the outset either - what if you change your mind midway? Most RPGs don't do that, you can turn from goody-two-shoes to murderous psychopath in an instant if you want (not saying I want to be a murderous psycho in Pokemon).

I've always thought it'd be nice to have the option to become a gym leader (or hell even an Elite Four member), or join Team Evil, or become a full-time breeder, or anything else aside from regular trainer turned Champion.

 

[Shpongled]

I'm guessing you've never been to Japan OP. Pokemon is still huge there and aimed first and foremost at kids. It isn't just the games series that sells over there; everything else does too and it's all aimed at kids. Few adults take much of an interest unless their kids do.

The game you just described does sound fun but it would cost far too much to make it - Nintendo wouldn't make it back in sales. And I personally don't like the idea of having all regions in one game; I wouldn't want to use the same team to take down 6 regions, 48 gyms and 5 leagues. You could include some kind of feature that limited the number of Pokemon you bring across regions but then why not just play a different Pokemon game? And levels become a problem too. In Gold/Silver, anytime I finished Johto and then Kanto, my team of 6 were all above level 70 by the end. What would they be like after 4 more regions? You'd need to raise the level cap of 100. What I'm trying to say is Longer =/= Better.

I like the idea of having more customization options but I think Nintendo already realised that with X/Y and are working on it. You shouldn't have to pick a goal from the outset either - what if you change your mind midway? Most RPGs don't do that, you can turn from goody-two-shoes to murderous psychopath in an instant if you want (not saying I want to be a murderous psycho in Pokemon).

I've always thought it'd be nice to have the option to become a gym leader (or hell even an Elite Four member), or join Team Evil, or become a full-time breeder, or anything else aside from regular trainer turned Champion.

I'm sorry, but ANYONE who releases a half-decent, well polished pokemon game that isn't part of the main series will have more than enough sales. There are plenty of us out here who still enjoy the pokemon concept but got bored of the incredibly formulaic main series a while ago. There's a huge pool of untapped money waiting for a pokemon game that isn't almost the same game as the one we played 15 years ago.

 

[xaszatm]

I'm guessing you've never been to Japan OP. Pokemon is still huge there and aimed first and foremost at kids. It isn't just the games series that sells over there; everything else does too and it's all aimed at kids. Few adults take much of an interest unless their kids do.

The game you just described does sound fun but it would cost far too much to make it - Nintendo wouldn't make it back in sales. And I personally don't like the idea of having all regions in one game; I wouldn't want to use the same team to take down 6 regions, 48 gyms and 5 leagues. You could include some kind of feature that limited the number of Pokemon you bring across regions but then why not just play a different Pokemon game? And levels become a problem too. In Gold/Silver, anytime I finished Johto and then Kanto, my team of 6 were all above level 70 by the end. What would they be like after 4 more regions? You'd need to raise the level cap of 100. What I'm trying to say is Longer =/= Better.

I like the idea of having more customization options but I think Nintendo already realised that with X/Y and are working on it. You shouldn't have to pick a goal from the outset either - what if you change your mind midway? Most RPGs don't do that, you can turn from goody-two-shoes to murderous psychopath in an instant if you want (not saying I want to be a murderous psycho in Pokemon).

I've always thought it'd be nice to have the option to become a gym leader (or hell even an Elite Four member), or join Team Evil, or become a full-time breeder, or anything else aside from regular trainer turned Champion.

I'm sorry, but ANYONE who releases a half-decent, well polished pokemon game that isn't part of the main series will have more than enough sales. There are plenty of us out here who still enjoy the pokemon concept but got bored of the incredibly formulaic main series a while ago. There's a huge pool of untapped money waiting for a pokemon game that isn't almost the same game as the one we played 15 years ago.

Shin Megami Tensei, Fossil Fighters, and Conception II are all 3DS games that feature similar mechanics to Pokemon. Guess what sells better? Hell, you want to play a serious, mature-rated Pokemon game? Play Shin Megami Tensei for crying out loud! It came before Pokemon and will take care of all your gripes. Just don't demand a game to become something else just to suit your own needs. Also, potential sales =/= actual sales. How many times have we seen people demand something and, when someone does it, fails because those mysterious people decide not to buy it.

OT: No, no we are not. We are not the primary audience of Pokemon. GET. OVER. IT. It's fine that you outgrew Pokemon, people outgrow things all the time due to changing tastes and preferences. What isn't fine is demanding that Game Freak drives its primary audience away just to satisfy the loud minority focus group. Said focus group already being the center of attention of 99% of other games anyways. And, in fact, Pokemon X and Y was designed so that parents could play with their children and bond together.

Furthermore, why is everyone saying that all the regions would be a good thing? No, think about it. The entire reason for the regions is to gather Pokemon from a small level and level them up as you move along the path. Once you finish one region, how are you going to do the other ones? Gold and Silver had this problem and it will be compounded by more regions. Just because it sounds nice doesn't mean that it will translate into a better game.

 

[Saltyk]

I know I'll get hate for this, but Nintendo focuses on games aimed at younger players. Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, even Metroid are all created with children in mind.

Making Zelda, but with blood, would restrict the game from younger audiences. Not to mention, can you imagine the shitstorm that would follow from parents buying "kid friendly Zelda" for their kid, but getting God of War? People have enough trouble grasping that ratings exist and that maybe the game with the "M" on the cover isn't suitable for little Timmy.

Besides, making the games accessible for younger audiences works for Nintendo. Largely as the games they make tend to be quality games and even older players can enjoy Mario games.

Making Pokemon for older players may cut off a decent percentage of their audience. Sure, you think that it's only 20 somethings and up playing Pokemon, but there are children playing it as well. Even if younger players only makes up 10% of the player demographic, it would still take a bite out of the possible profits. To cut out that market is short sighted. Besides, Pokemon can be seen as a gateway drug to more complex RPGs.

Bottom line is that Pokemon is fine as it is. There will likely never be a Pokemon MMO game, no matter how much you want it. Nor will there ever be a traditional Pokemon game on a console. Nintendo likes to use the Pokemon games as a Killer App for their handhelds and to give them something truly unique from the consoles.

 

[TheWorstMuppetEver]

I don't mind that the series stays close to the formula. It's so close to nailing down the perfect mix. There are some weird game design choices that Game Freak leave out from previous games. To name a few...
-Challenge Mode:
I don't really understand the idea of locking this away from the very beginning. Soooo they should bring this back for future instalments. Or just have a difficulty mode introduced at the start. That would be dandy.

-Post Game Content:
B/W2 nearly had this down, what with the Pokemon World Tournament, the Yancy side-quest (although that wasn't really fun, but it was in the right spirit) and finding all the Sages. I do like travelling through another region, but going through all of them would create a major balancing issue. Would we still be earning badges? What would the level-capping be like? I didn't know how easy it would be to earn all the badges in Kanto playing through Heartgold for the first time.

-Bring back Contests:
I'm sure OR/AS will bring back Contests in their original form, but hopefully it won't be a one-time dealie. I spent many nights trying to win the Master-Level Contests back in the day and I'd love to see them return for future games. Less of the musical stuff, please.

-Pokemon following you again:
That would be a welcome return.

I do like your idea of choosing a class of trainer though. And which town you start in. Those sound really cool!

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The create-it-yourself avatar is... cosmetic. The career/hometown idea isn't half bad at all though.
Just so we're clear though I think Pokemon will always be primarily a kids' game, sort of an initiation to RPGs.

 

[CyberSinner]

I was saying give the option. Because I find the bubbly eyes kind of disgusting. I hate my sprite having such bubbly eyes. The Ace Trainer gets older looking eyes, the rich kid does too, etc. I am just asking for the briefest most simple extra to the customization

 

[AntiChri5]

What pokemon needs most is to focus less on quantity and more on quality. Scale back the amount of pokemon introduced and focus instead on improving interactions with them.

Made some good strides in this generation with X/Y. But more is needed.

 

[Goliath100]

I'll say fix the GTS so you can only ask for legendaries for other legendaries. Finding a Slowpoke with regenerator is a nightmare when everyone want a Mew for it.

Edit: On the other hand, people will jump on the change if I'm being reasonable.

 

[CyberSinner]

I just returned from vacation in Japan, I went to mooch around the Pokemon Center and got there during an event, I can safely say that its primary audience is children, the place was swamped primarily with children with their parents. Oh there were a fair few adults in there fair enough, but as far as Pokemon goes, its a game ultimately targeted for kids but has elements aimed towards more older players (such as the meta-game) I think Pokemon games would benefit from a Hard mode (available from the beginning, not as a reward for beating the game once) for older players, but Pokemon does well in making it enjoyable for kids and adults.

Also, "simply add all the current regions" is easier said then done, they would have to be redone to fit the game and that isn't getting into balancing issues, having all regions in one game would also be redundant, we have seen Kanto 3 times now, do we need to see the same place for a 4th time?

I think a Pokemon RPG would be neat, but I would rather a new region to explore than ones we already have explored recently.

It was done in Silver. It can be done elsewhere. I found that twenty times more neat to go from Johto back to Kanto. All the Pokemon are kind of unimaginative now. I mean a keyring Pokemon, really?