Gamblin days

[Squirtkipfan01]

For a time a consistent with Pokémon games was having a casino where you could play slots for tokens to win prizes or Pokémon. Alternatively you could buy the tokens separately and win things that way. The last mainline game to have it was Heartgold and soulsilver where it was changed to voltorb flip, a new take with less luck and more skill. Ultimately these game corners were removed due to making it hard for games to retain ratings in other countries, so they were axed ultimately and havent been seen since.

Whats your opinion on them?

I ultimately THINK about them and miss them in concept, but ultimately were just massive time syncs of either luck or heavy money spending. Voltorb Flip though was my jam, actively played it just for fun and to get better. Kinda miss that one

 

[Explorer of Time]

As far as I'm concerned, good riddance to the Game Corner.

Everything up to Gen 3 was nigh-impossible to get without just buying tokens or hours of save scumming, and lots of important TMs were locked behind it.

Gen 4 slots were consistently profitable, at least, but still utterly tedious. Voltorb Flip is kind of fun though, but it's still too time consuming to get coins.

 

[Sweet Serenity]

I thought the Game Corner was really stupid. They introduced kids to actual simulated gambling, teaching them to wager their coins on realistic slot machines. In addition, winning was extremely difficult in the Game Corner because most of the games were luck based, and the pay outs were minimal. Thus, to win most of the prizes, which were typically very expensive, a player would have to literally spend the vast majority of their time wagering coins and playing the slots, potentially turning them into gambling addicts. Of course, this was often circumvented by simply buying coins in bulk, but if that was the case, then playing on the slot machines was pointless. Therefore, I'm glad the Game Corner is gone and it doesn't need to return, at least, not as a casino anymore. I am all in favor of the Game Corner returning as something like a feature for minigames that you can play with your Pokémon, similar to the minigames found on the Pokémon Stadium games. It can give you the opportunity to bond with your Pokémon more, play fun games without gambling, and result in bigger payouts that make it easier and more fun to win prizes.

 

[_confused_piplup_]

I like game corner. Prizes aside, it was pretty fun at times. I spent some time at the Veilstone Game Corner, because the song was catchy and the game was pretty fun. I also remember the Volorb one in HGSS. I wouldn't mind seeing a new game corner, but I would say that it's probably incompatible with the modern games.

 

[Devalue]

Liked it somewhat in the context of the early games. Never felt risky, given the ability to save beforehand. Offered multiple copies of good TMs, albeit at a high cost. Describes selling Pokemon as a double-edged sword. Sold Dratini, which could have been difficult to find without a guide. Charged an obscene amount for Porygon, though.

Highlights the flaw in a gambling-based means of alternative progression. Cannot reasonably offer things purely through normal slot machine odds. Would never reach the desired prize. Solves that by allowing you to buy coins. But, in that case, when is the slot machine way ever faster? Requires giving really good odds (for gambling, anyways) and a poor Pokedollar to Coin conversation rate.

Feels kind of unnecessary in modern games, though. Essentially recreated it as a better system than a long time/money sink. Replaced the TM part with Beach Points in Ultra Sun/Moon, Watts in Sword/Shield, and League Points in Scarlet/Violet. Introduced raid dens as a means to get unusual Pokemon early. Retained some of the randomness even.

Imagines a minigame arcade as a better Pokedollar sink alternative than a straight casino. Pay X Pokedollars for a game. Earn tickets based on your performance. Guarantees some minimum amount of tickets to keep things nice. Exchanges tickets for the prize you want. Add a free play option to keep it accessible too. Is this better than what the modern games have going? Shrugs. Would be awfully good flavor for cosmetic items in the Festival area of the Scarlet/Violet DLC, though.

 

[Corveone]

Allways considered it a silly and out of place addition that added nothing good to the experience.

It was somewhat lore-justified in the Kanto games because the whole casino thing was secretly ran by Team Rocket. But still, getting Pokémon as things you can just buy by gambling at a casino is pretty contradictory with the general tone and premise of the games.

And gambling for TMs was awful too. TMs should be all obtainable by exploring the region or as rewards for important battles or other activities actually related to Pokémon gameplay.

 

[stringzzz]

As a kid playing the original games, I liked the slot machines to some degree. I thought it made a lot of sense that Team Rocket were really the ones running the casino, it was fitting for them. Years later, however, I always chose to instead just buy the coins to get the prizes I wanted, because the games seemed like a waste of time due to it being mostly luck-based. Also, in general, I dislike gambling. For a video game to be for everyone, it doesn't really seem right to involve gambling in it, as that really teaches the wrong ideas especially to younger gamers. Given all that, I don't miss the casinos in the games at all.

I am all in favor of the Game Corner returning as something like a feature for minigames that you can play with your Pokémon, similar to the minigames found on the Pokémon Stadium games. It can give you the opportunity to bond with your Pokémon more, play fun games without gambling, and result in bigger payouts that make it easier and more fun to win prizes.

This sounds like a much better idea for it, and there really is a lot they can do with that.

 

[ReKoil]

I only briefly tried the Game Corners themselves before resorting to just saving up my money and flatout buying the prizes I wanted =P
The 'games' are not that interesting and I would often lose more than I'd win so just buying the coins was a no-brainer for me.

I quite like the Pokemon related minigames idea suggested above though. I wouldn't mind the Game Corner returning is such a manner. The Game Corner as it was though can stay away and I'll never miss it.

 

[Sheep]

Glad it's gone lol. The slots took way too long to earn enough to buy anything and it was also very expensive directly purchasing the items needed with game money. I don't miss spending 10,000 (iirc) at a time to buy sets of coins until I had enough to purchase x thing. Those TMs that I wanted back then are a lot easier to get nowadays, fortunately.