How do you pick which version to buy?

[Hiatus]

I always buy both in the end, but the first game I buy is totally dependent on version exclusives and mascot.

I'm sort of the same; wind up buying versions eventually. I haven't done it with X and Y, but definitely would have if it weren't for me getting myself a set of PowerSaves, haha.

 

[Juno]

For Gens II and III, I just bought both versions (and Crystal). Gens I and IV I picked purely on box art appeal, and Gens V and VI were the only ones I actually researched to see what the differences were.

 

[Virtual Headache]

I look at the available Pokémon and pick the one with the Pokémon I like better. Legendaries have a priority though and the box art may also have an influence on my decision.
I still can't decide between OR and AS. AS most likely has Latias but primal Groudon looks pretty cool and I like Team magma better.

 

[.Missingno]

Mine went like this (I ended up purchasing all versions of each for the most part so I'll just list the first I Recieved! Haha)

Gen 1: Red
Gen 2: Silver
Gen 3: Ruby and Leaf Green
Gen 4: Diamond and Heart Gold
Gen 5: Black and White 2
Gen 6:??????

So for me for the most part it was based on Mascots and even leaf green to an extent mainly I chose it originally over Fire Red because I though "Well I've had a game
With Blastoise, Charizard, and even Pickachu on the cover and I never would have thought of getting one with Venasuar" (And also because I ALWAYS wanted a copy of green because it seemed so rare to me at the time) and Then with the other remake (HGSS) I went with Heart Gold because I originally got Silver and will more than likely do the same with Alpha Sapphire but with X and Y I am tore because I honestly LOVE the mascots of both!

 

[SaniOKh]

When I was a kid, I used to pick "second" versions (Blue, Silver...) because a friend I regularly traded with back then bought only the "first" versions.

Currently, now that I make my own money and don't have many people to trade with (the only person I know who plays Pokémon couldn't care less about Pokédex completion) , I always get both. I could use the GTS to find the Pokémon I need, but I prefer the old school method of trading with myself ^^ .

 

[Veil]

I always buy the second game, title-wise, in each generation. Like Diamond/Pearl, Black/White, X/Y.

I always end up getting both eventually and version exclusives don't matter much to me, so that's how I've always done it.

 

[Bretifur]

I have always played the Pokemon games with one of my friends. I let him pick which one he is going to get and I always just take the counter part to it so that we are able to trade with each other and obtain the full Pokedex.

 

[Imperator161]

I now buy both versions at once to avoid this issue, but when I used to get both versions, I decided based on a number of factors:
1. Which game name (or color) did I like better? E.g., I liked "gold" better than "silver" and "sapphire" better than "ruby." Red was the odd one in this case--blue is my favorite color, and Blastoise is my favorite Pokemon, yet I went for Red because that's what everyone I knew had.
2. Version exclusives, including legendaries
3. If there's a difference in plot, team, etc., which version do I like better? I normally based my decision more heavily on the first two factors, though.

I still use these factors to decide which game to make my "main" file, even though I now buy both versions at once. For example, I went with X rather than Y because I liked the letter X better and liked that it was colored blue. The two versions are generally similar enough that it doesn't really matter, but if I have any sort of a preference, I tend to start with the version I like more.

 

[XtinaIsMeLuvinWWE]

For me my basis for choosing depends on the game, for some it's based on the colour (picking Yellow over Red/Blue for example), some on the mascot (Black, White 2) and some on the version exclusives (Silver and Soul Silver).


For the other games it's been a combination: for Emerald it was cause of the mascot as well as preferring emeralds to rubies/sapphires; Leaf Green was down to colour preference as well as version exclusives; X was due to the mascot and version exclusives and finally Diamond was because of the mascot, preferring diamonds to pearls/platinum and also version exclusives, as I wanted to use Honchkrow on my team and he wasn't in Platinum.


With Omega Ruby I have a completely unique reason for picking it as I prefer Team Magma (and also Groudon) :)

 

[Maserati777]

I think I picked Sapphire because I liked blue and I think I picked Fire Red becaue I like fire pokemon.


In recent sets I've mostly gone with legendaries so I picked Black 2 and Y version.

 

[Relica]

It really depends at what age you asked me about what Pokemon game I wanted. While I was the kid who always ended up having both versions eventually, by having siblings around my age also into Pokemon, I would choose my versions differently based upon a few different factors.

For example, when I was very young, I would always go with what color, or metal, I liked more. This was also in combination of what was on the cartridge itself. So, I got Red versions for myself because I liked the color more and I liked charizard more. Ignore the fact that my first starter was Venasaur though.... My sister picked blue in comparison to me. When Gold and Silver came around, I went with Silver since I liked the color more, and I actually thought Lugia looked really cool. Also ignore the fact that I like Ho-oh more now as well!

Eventually as I got older I'd start to look into what exclusives each version had as well. Like, when Ruby and Sapphire came out, I picked Sapphire for not only having Kyogre, but also because Seviper was the exclusive in it as well. Ignore I like Zangoose more now too.

This trend would really continue, however, the last game I actually bought new was Ruby and Sapphire. I skipped several generations until Black and White 2 came out. I restarted with Emerald and sort of caught up from there usually going with the third version first, and then playing the original releases second. This has led to some interesting comparisons, like playing Pearl after playing Platinum, and realizing that I can't stand how utterly slow Diamond and Pearl are. For X and Y, it was picking my favorite of the two legendaries, and that was easily Xerneas. Topically I actually preordered Alpha Sapphire for nostaglia reasons today, since, I had Sapphire first, and, I can easily get a Zangoose from the GTS or trading one over.

While I don't really have a 'favorite version' these days, I still will list the versions I would of picked.
Gen 1: Red
Gen 2: Silver
Gen 3: Sapphire
Gen 4: Pearl
Gen 5: Black/Black 2
Gen 6: X

 

[Gulpin]

I look at version exclusives, box legendaries, and honestly whichever version sounds better, if that makes sense. To me, Blue, Silver, Sapphire, FireRed, Diamond, SoulSilver, White, and X all sound more appealing than Red, Gold, Ruby, LeafGreen, Pearl, HeartGold, Black, and Y. I always end up buying the second version later, however. Sometimes, especially in the case of the Unova games, I resort to the exclusives - I really wanted a Reuniclus on my team so I chose White.

 

[NearEDGE]

When I was younger, it didn't really matter as much what my reasons were. It wound up being an intuitive thing. I can't say why I picked Blue, but I picked Blue. I now regret this and would not be caught dead with a copy of Blue.
I actually was given Gold and Silver for Christmas in 2000, so I never had to pick between the two of those. Interestingly enough, I wound up losing both of them, then I bought a new copy of silver at some point, then lost that. I wound up finding my original copy of Gold in a couch as we were throwing it away. It literally just fell out like "Hey, it's just Ho-Oh. What's going on?". I kept it with me for a few years before trading it to some guy for his Red. I then bought Silver on eBay. :>
In Generation III, Ruby. Rreaking RWBY ALL THE WAY. I don't know why, but I found Kyogre irksome. Now I just simply don't care for Generation III at all.
Oh, and Pearl. Very Pearl.

 

[BrandoSheriff]

It's always the mascot for me. Whichever version has what I think is the cooler looking mascot, I choose that one. I didn't start buying my own games until Gen 3, so I won't include those.

Gen 3: I chose Ruby, Groudon looks b0ss.
Gen 4: Pearl, Soul Silver (even though I had Gold back in Gen 2, but I prefer Lugia)
Gen 5: White (I did buy Black later on to play through the story again lol), Black 2
Gen 6: Y (Skybacon ftw)

I actually had all 3 Gen 1 games, but back then, I'd have chosen Red.

 

[Polizard]

I buy both immediately, but My sister and I have both played Pokémon since the Red and Blue days so she always plays one as well. I usually let her decide which game she wants to play because I really don't mind and if by chance she picks the one that has a version exclusive I want I just get her to catch me one and we trade.

One of my sisters favourite legendary Pokémon is Groudon looks like I'm going to be playing Alpha Sapphire. Same as when we were kids.

 

[Yato]

I end up getting both at some point, and I used to pick based on which legendary I liked more, but at one point I discovered I was following a certain pattern: I always bought the "red" game first. I had Gold (Ho-oh's orange-y red; it counts) before Silver, Red before Blue (which I never did buy), Ruby before Sapphire, FireRed before LeafGreen, Red Rescue Team before Blue Rescue Team, and Pearl before Diamond. After discovering this pattern, I decided I'd get the "red" localized game first. That's when I started getting the duos together (HGSS I didn't have at once since I was out-of-state when they were released; I had my father purchase SS the same day I got HG, though), so I ended up playing the "red" game first. HeartGold before SoulSilver, Black (Reshiram's got red on it) before White, Black 2 (I guess it's more "blue" than "red", but I was basing it off the fact I played Black first) before White, and Y before X. I'm also planning on getting OR before AS. Of course, I've also noticed that I generally like what's included in the "red" game more in terms of version exclusives and other changes, haha.

 

[zaneburk9]

Usually base it on which mascot I like more, though on occasion one game has many more pokemon I like in it's version exclusives than the other, so I select that game.

 

[Tetra]

When I was smaller, I picked the one my friends recommended me, because I wouldn't know which one to choose. Right now, like I did for X/Y I chose Y because I thought Yveltal looked epic. Seriously though <3 I did buy both of them though, X at a later time. I'll be choosing Alpha Sapphire first, because I originally played through Sapphire years ago on my GBA <3

 

[BLACKOUT]

Well Kyogre has the classic and boss ability/move set of Drizzle+ Thunder, Ice Beam, Calm Mind, and Surf/Water Spout. That makes it a No-brainer for me in terms of ORAS^^

 

[Sydian]

I buy them both and don't have to make the choice! But really, it's just all down to random reasons about which one I favor. I like Red more than Blue because Charizard, Silver more than Gold because I got Silver first, Sapphire more than Ruby because GIANT WHALE, Diamond more than Pearl because Palkia looks disgusting, White more than Black because Petilil (same for the sequels), Y more than X because I like flying bacon...that sums it up pretty well. All my good gen VI stuff is on X though oddly enough, so you'd think I like X more. lol I just happened to buy it before Y cause I was short on money and couldn't get both the same day like I normally do.