Is the era of Pokémon remakes over?

[BettyNewbie]

I'm not sure where you get that idea from since D/P and Platinum have sold more copies than R/S and Emerald respectively.

There actually isn't any correlation between how well the originals sell and how well their remakes sell. RBY sold more than GSC, yet HGSS sold more than FRLG.

Unlikely. You're overlooking one crucial detail, which is the sole reason for these things in the first place: profit. Game Freak don't give a damn about whether it's strictly necessary to remake a game, they care about one thing and one thing only: profit. That's the whole reason they make games.

None of the highest-selling main series games are remakes, though. Even the worst-selling main pair (XY) still sold $2 million more than the best-selling remakes (HGSS). New games are what turn the highest profits for GF, and GF has less time to make those if they're too busy cranking out remake after remake.

 

[pkmin3033]

None of the highest-selling main series games are remakes, though. Even the worst-selling main pair (XY) still sold $2 million more than the best-selling remakes (HGSS). New games are what turn the highest profits for GF, and GF has less time to make those if they're too busy cranking out remake after remake.

Because multitasking is out of the question, of course. They can't just do both.

Part of the issue here is the secrecy surrounding new releases, making it very difficult to know exactly what they're doing and how they're doing it...I'd be willing to bet remakes are designed to be stopgaps between the release of new generations though. After all, they have to do the research, create the new designs, and lord only knows what else. There is much less effort involved in just remake a game. Personally, I'd rather have remakes every other game than have irritatingly long two year or more gaps between releases because they're constantly making new titles and nothing else...or, worse, third versions that are just the game we got a year ago with added extra features that should have been in the game the first time around. Those are far worse than remakes in my opinion.

 

[COOLTRAINER♂]

There actually isn't any correlation between how well the originals sell and how well their remakes sell. RBY sold more than GSC, yet HGSS sold more than FRLG.

I wasn't making that connection.

As for the prevalence of Virtual Console Pokemon titles in the future well that might take a while.

Anything on the DS would need a fairly powerful system to run the games on, (GBA for that matter might -might- be possible on New 3DS but that depends if the SNES launch is popular enough for Nintendo to add a second New 3DS-exclusive VC range to their store) and the obvious caveat that you still need a 2-screen touch device.

I'd guess we'll see VC Gold/Silver/Crystal sometime this year or next, and then the later games depending on how Nintendo's handheld product line evolves. I don't think these are mutually exclusive with remakes due to how the games differ so much (and that I believe VC is mostly handled by Nintendo's programmers in-house for the Game Boy platform, though I'm sure they spoke to members of the original Red/Green development team and used the game's source code for aid when applying modifications)

 

[Lunar]

Personally, I think that the last remakes will perhaps be Black and White, they mark the end of 2D Pokemon games and I feel they would be a good place to stop making remakes simply because anything past that is pretty modern anyway.

 

[Mawa]

Honestly, I think it's better if they stop the remakes... Personally I think the company can spend more money in the new games instead of remakes...

 

[BettyNewbie]

I wasn't making that connection.

So, why did you mention DPP selling more than RSE as an argument against the idea that there isn't any demand for DPP remakes?

Because multitasking is out of the question, of course. They can't just do both.

Well, that's exactly what they did in Gen 6. Sure turned out well, didn't it? :rolleyes2:

 

[Zakariya]

Do you think we'll still see remakes of Pokemon games in the future, or just re-releases?

I can't see remakes going away any time soon.

There were numerous people who deeply desired Hoenn remakes before the 3DS was even announced, and the capabilities of the 3DS were probably the reason why Gamefreak waited until Generation VI to develop and release ORAS.

Gamefreak has proven that they respond to the demands of the fanbase (Generation VI's attempt at being like Generation I is proof), and if the demand for remakes remains then Gamefreak will continue to develop them regardless what Pokemon are/aren't available in modern games.

And do you think we'll ever see re-remakes (e.g., Kanto, Johto, or Hoenn a third time)?

Again, if the demand is high enough then we will see what Gamefreak believes the fanbase wants.

 

[Crizzle]

It'd be naive to think remakes are over. People still love the older games and older regions, particularly the first 3 gens. There'll definitely still be remakes, just due to the fact that they'd still generate a lot of sales.
Also re-releasing old games will not make remakes obsolete. The appeal of the remakes is the fact that you add the graphics and mechanics of the newer games to the older ones.
That gives the game creators a lot of incentive to make them because they can make a new game without creating any new concepts and still make a good chunk of cash.
I'd be willing to be that after Sun and Moon, the next new game will be a remake.
I don't think remakes will ever die. And I think it's a great thing.

 

[BettyNewbie]

There'll definitely still be remakes, just due to the fact that they'd still generate a lot of sales.

Again, I must point out that the best-selling remakes (HGSS) still sold $2 million less than the worst-selling main paired games (XY). Even if you look at third versions (and factor in them being a single game instead of two), HGSS still only had sales on par with the two worst-selling third versions, Crystal and Emerald.

Also re-releasing old games will not make remakes obsolete. The appeal of the remakes is the fact that you add the graphics and mechanics of the newer games to the older ones.

Graphics and mechanics that, themselves, will later become just as outdated as the originals (see, FRLG). Do we start remaking remakes once they become obsolete?

 

[Crizzle]

Again, I must point out that the best-selling remakes (HGSS) still sold $2 million less than the worst-selling main paired games (XY). Even if you look at third versions (and factor in them being a single game instead of two), HGSS still only had sales on par with the two worst-selling third versions, Crystal and Emerald.



Graphics and mechanics that, themselves, will later become just as outdated as the originals (see, FRLG). Do we start remaking remakes once they become obsolete?

1) Straw man, my friend. I never said that remakes sell more than main games, just that they sell and make a lot of money. My point still stands.
2) Maybe, a significant people certainly would still buy a remake of a remake. Wouldn't surprise me if those were made in the near future.
I have no issue with it. There's tons of precedence for this kind of thing in the video game. Just look at sports games, where companies like EA Sports remake the same game(Madden, FIFA,etc.) every single year and still makes tons of profit.

 

[BettyNewbie]

I never said that remakes sell more than main games, just that they sell and make a lot of money.

But, that's my point. They actually aren't a big money maker for GF compared to new games, including even third versions.

2) Maybe, a significant people certainly would still buy a remake of a remake. Wouldn't surprise me if those were made in the near future.

Considering the response that most fans usually give when the idea of remaking RBY/FRLG comes up, I doubt it.

 

[LilBueno]

Are remakes really necessary, though? For anything Gen IV and beyond?
I feel like those games were made recently enough where I personally don't want a remake.
Let's say Pokemon goes to Generation 10. Should every generation up to that point get a remake on its way up?
I wouldn't be surprised if Gen IV got a remake, however, but I would bet it'd be the last generation to do so at least for quite some time.

 

[Gligar]

Remakes aren't really my thing, but I still see a DPP remake going in in the next few years. As I said it before, I'd rather stick with a whole new region.

 

[Fannie]

Are remakes really necessary, though? For anything Gen IV and beyond?
I feel like those games were made recently enough where I personally don't want a remake.
Let's say Pokemon goes to Generation 10. Should every generation up to that point get a remake on its way up?
I wouldn't be surprised if Gen IV got a remake, however, but I would bet it'd be the last generation to do so at least for quite some time.

I agree, there wouldn't be enough of a difference to warrant it.

 

[COOLTRAINER♂]

Are we taking into account how many years away we are before those ideas become a possibility? Of course they seem too new if we're talking from the POV of 2016.

 

[Crizzle]

But, that's my point. They actually aren't a big money maker for GF compared to new games, including even third versions.

But they still make a significant profit and get significant amount of sales. Pokemon is fairly popular/profitable even the games that sell less. So making a comparison in order to minimize that doesn't make sense. The bottom line is that all of the remakes(FRLG, HGSS,ORAS) have been very profitable for GF.

 

[COOLTRAINER♂]

I think this is a very difficult topic to speak authoritatively about since we don't know much about the development time and budget of each game and exactly how Nintendo's books add up in the end.

All we can really look at is team sizes, and the most obvious connections like the X/Y engine and key graphics being re-used in OR/AS, and maybe speculation on whether the new Megas for OR/AS were unfinished or un-used designs from XY. Since the development of both games overlapped so much it must be difficult to accurately say how much money was spent on each.