[Sword & Shield] Could a delay or cancellation happen?

[Child Amnesiac]

If you at any point feel like your mental wellbeing is being jeopardized by a Pokemon game, you're taking it far too seriously.

Relax. It's just a game. It's meant to be fun.

It's not the games, it's the fandom.
The fandom has been acting toxic, and I think even calling them toxic is being generous.
The fandom has been acting radioactively toxic, not just toxic. But damaging if you come into contact with that side of the fandom.
Dare I say it, certain parts of the national dex group have been acting like (and yet again, I don't want to use this word on this site) communists.
This is truly a dark time for the Pokemon fandom.

 

[Fairy]

It's not the games, it's the fandom.
The fandom has been acting toxic, and I think even calling them toxic is being generous.
The fandom has been acting radioactively toxic, not just toxic. But damaging if you come into contact with that side of the fandom.
Dare I say it, certain parts of the national dex group have been acting like (and yet again, I don't want to use this word on this site) communists.
This is truly a dark time for the Pokemon fandom.

I'm not sure if 'communist' is really representative of how the fandom is acting. Also, you've been able to share your opinions on the forums without any dramatic reaction or toxicity, right? That's gotta count for something! Maybe things aren't so bad and we can just look forward to the games, yeah? :)

 

[Child Amnesiac]

I'm not sure if 'communist' is really representative of how the fandom is acting. Also, you've been able to share your opinions on the forums without any dramatic reaction or toxicity, right? That's gotta count for something! Maybe things aren't so bad and we can just look forward to the games, yeah? :)

When I say communist, it's kind of an In joke, based off of some comments I saw on youtube saying people who bought SW/SH "Capitalist sympathizers" or something along the lines of it, and calling Gamefreak "capatilistic". It's been a messy 3 weeks.

 

[Sydian]

literally why would they cancel a game when they have finally reached peak pokemon design

 

[Pokedigifan1178]

Good thing I quit playing the Pokémon games a long time ago.

Sword and shield will just be like any other Pokémon game with a few gimmicks thrown here and there.

Pokémon's formula is now starting to work against them aka repetition.

While I won't play digimon survive I can predict that the digimon survive game will be way better than sword and shield.

I believe that Sword and Shield will give digimon a chance to step out of Pokémon's shadow.

You might say I'm more of a digimon fan and that I should say this on a digimon forum but I don't play either Pokémon or digimon games. I just want digimon to be better than Pokémon that's all because Pokémon is overrated trash.

 

[Qu4ntumSh3rd]

I would rather wait a decade for a good game than play one that was rushed out to meet a deadline.

 

[Raicheot]

I wish they waited a couple of years so they could have made a epic game not the rushed out stuff we are getting now, they could of gave us a gen 4 remake instead, I don't know why they feel the need to release a game every year and get worse year after year, game play and pokemon designs are lacking more and more, waste of an opportunity

 

[Pokedigifan1178]

I wish they waited a couple of years so they could have made a epic game not the rushed out stuff we are getting now, they could of gave us a gen 4 remake instead, I don't know why they feel the need to release a game every year and get worse year after year, game play and pokemon designs are lacking more and more, waste of an opportunity

This is proof that Pokémon has lost its charm as every game is basically the same thing with a few gimmicks here and there sometimes.

This is also proof that the new digimon survive on Nintendo switch will get a chance to prove that digimon will step out of Pokémon's shadow.

 

[Fairy]

I wouldn't really consider that proof of anything??... Anecdotal evidence, sure, but proof that 'Pokemon has lost its charm' is highly subjective. I personally think that this generation is the most charming yet in terms of designs! :D Though I definitely agree with Raicheot's sentiments. I would rather wait for a better, more fleshed out Pokemon game than having an incomplete version released sooner. Like what Nintendo's doing with Animal Crossing: New Horizons - having a 2020 release to ensure player happiness will no doubt be worth it.

Unrelated, but I also don't understand why you think Digimon is in Pokemon's shadow?? It's very much its own established brand and appreciated in its own regard, even if it is inspired by 'catch a monster' boom of the 90s.

 

[Sydian]

the pokemon formula has been going flat, but at the same time, it's not like it's selling badly either. it's a case of if it ain't broke, don't fix it. and i can't say that i've ever played a main pokemon game and not had a good time. i might have had some grievances with some games and rank them lower than other games in the series, but i don't think any main pokemon games are inherently bad either. that's of course my own opinion. but they're still selling, they're still making money, and they're still overall a very successful line of games. something dramatic would have to happen in order for them to really rehaul what's already working for them. although i will agree that i wish the release schedule would slow down. it feels so strange that 7th generation is near its end and i don't think we had enough time to fully appreciate the generation. 6th generation went by especially fast, i believe. and i don't think they even let 6th gen reach its full potential by not releasing a third version of the kalos region, or at least some sort of follow up. it's almost like they wanted to hurry up and move on.

as for the digimon comparison, i'm with fairy. like. i fail to see how that even needs to be brought up? i don't see digimon getting the numbers and such that pokemon garners, but i don't consider them so much in 'pokemon's shadow' like they seemed to be in the late 90's/early 00's. they've very much distinguished themselves from it. that's like saying all games with a familiars system are in pokemon's shadow and i don't think that's true by any stretch of the means.

 

[Pokedigifan1178]

the pokemon formula has been going flat, but at the same time, it's not like it's selling badly either. it's a case of if it ain't broke, don't fix it. and i can't say that i've ever played a main pokemon game and not had a good time. i might have had some grievances with some games and rank them lower than other games in the series, but i don't think any main pokemon games are inherently bad either. that's of course my own opinion. but they're still selling, they're still making money, and they're still overall a very successful line of games. something dramatic would have to happen in order for them to really rehaul what's already working for them. although i will agree that i wish the release schedule would slow down. it feels so strange that 7th generation is near its end and i don't think we had enough time to fully appreciate the generation. 6th generation went by especially fast, i believe. and i don't think they even let 6th gen reach its full potential by not releasing a third version of the kalos region, or at least some sort of follow up. it's almost like they wanted to hurry up and move on.

as for the digimon comparison, i'm with fairy. like. i fail to see how that even needs to be brought up? i don't see digimon getting the numbers and such that pokemon garners, but i don't consider them so much in 'pokemon's shadow' like they seemed to be in the late 90's/early 00's. they've very much distinguished themselves from it. that's like saying all games with a familiars system are in pokemon's shadow and i don't think that's true by any stretch of the means.

I'm saying that because Pokémon and digimon are rivals. And I think this is their chance to become popular again assuming sword and shield becomes a failure.

Also when you reply to a comment quote the persons quote so that the person knows your replying to them.

 

[Sydian]

i don't think anyone has really seen the two as proper rivals since the early days enough to be sitting here and salivating at the thought of these games failing so that digimon can swoop in and be the hero. and i think the notion of getting cancelled can be thrown out the window as well w that new switch lite model featuring sword and shield doggies.

and i didn't quote you bc i was making a general statement and didn't want to engage in conversation w just you. absolutely no need to be rude about it. :)

 

[Ducolamia]

Short answer: I see them potentially delaying the next game due to the backlash. It's entirely possible

Long answer: As much as I see people's frustration, there's not much to do about it now and we aren't going to get proper answers NOW. I always believe in waiting for more info before claiming the game is going to suck. That being said, I completely understand feeling disappointed especially if you are a collector and for the fact that every pokemon is someone's favorite. However at the end of the day this is still business. It's far too late in the typical development cycle to delay this game, and even if GF wanted to, I doubt The Pokemon Company would let them.

People seem to throwing a lot of vitriol towards them, but I feel this wasn't their first decision nor was it one they wanted to come to. Even they have know that pokemon's biggest selling point is interacting with these fictional monsters, so I could only understand the disappointment if you couldn't have your favorite in the newest game. They aren't stupid. Many people might think so, but they aren't. I don't personally think they have their priorities in the right place sometimes, but there would be no winning in this situation. You add a lot of pokemon from the older games? Well you didn't all all of them! You add too few pokemon in the games with no form of compensation? It's not good either. What person, let alone developer would WANT to put themselves in this position? Especially with all the backlash? That being said, I firmly believe we should also see how Home and this is implemented into the game. My theory is just that legendaries/mythicals/alt forms/tapu/etc (which are over 100's of mons alone) are cut and nothing too far off from that.

Pokemon itself is just a huge monster on it's own. Serebii (Joe Merrick) already mentioned it, but Pokemon is much more than the games, and they HAVE to put them out first for everything else to come out (merch, TCG, etc.). I've heard theories of putting new pokemon out first before and THEN the games, but I firmly believe they stopped that after a while because it wasn't as profitable. And then you come to decision of which is the best option to make more of a profit. Delay the game 4 years and still potentially sell 15 million units OR just gain more than that by releasing a game annually each time? The games generally sell between 10-15 units per game. Even the more controversial ones such as Let's Go despite not doing as well in Japan did well internationally. And with the exception of 2015 we've gotten a game every year since B/W2. And they've all sold considerably well despite people's complaints. Now the quality of those games are up to you, but the fact remains is that they still sold well, which is what matters in the end.

I CAN see that from the backlash, they could be given more time to implement a patch (which I feel might happen first) or even just create a remake or sequel to rectify this problem for it. I get they shouldn't have to, but I don't think they have much of a choice at this point and it wouldn't be the first time they did that. And who knows? Maybe this will put a dent in sales and show people don't want this. But I don't see much changing soon unless that happens. And this doesn't even factor into whether the game is good or not either. There's just so much you could go over with this.

Edit: The Pokemon Company not Nintendo.

 

[Adam Levine]

Honestly, I don't really expect a delay, let alone a cancellation. Game Freak would most likely only want Sword and Shield to sell as quickly as possible, and as much as possible. Call me pessimistic, but that's how I'm seeing this right now.