Why don't they make the ultimate Pokémon game?

[Omaeka]

I'm sure it's been asked/speculated before, but why doesn't GameFreak make the ultimate Pokémon game where you start in Kanto, beat the Gyms, beat Team Rocket, beat the Pokémon League and then go to Johto where you beat the Gyms, finish off Team Rocket, beat the League and then go to Hoenn and so on...

All 649 Pokémon available, every Legendary somewhere in the world (ones such as Mewtwo would be found through side quests that are similar to the anime, with Zapdos etc. being found dormant with no quests), no stupid trade evolution and a level cap of 500 with easier levels and later evolutions.

Seriously, why hasn't this been made? They could even sell it for a ton of money compared to the single generation games...

 

[PlatinumDude]

I'm guessing this is because of space limitations when making the game. It'd be hard to fit in all 5 regions in a single cartridge.

 

[Oryx]

It would have to be a console game, and it would be out of date within a few years, as new games are constantly coming out. Also they make a ton of money off of the Pokemon games as they are, do they really have a need to spend years developing an entirely new system for it to only become outdated the second a new generation is released?

 

[Xander Olivieri]

A few reasons, first something that large would be on the home system. Masuda and other members have expressed a slight dislike to the idea of a main game on a home console

Second, it would not work due to timelines. Gen 1 & 3 are at the same time (ideally/supposedly), Gen 2 & 4 are at the same time. Gen 5 is 3ish years in the future. So we cannot have accurate stories which messes with the continuatiion as a main series game.

Third, pokemon are games meant to have people connect with one another. If every pokemon is in the game, then one of the reasons the games exist was thrown away. Its not in pokemon's best interest to have a game like that.

 

[RenegadeShroom]

If they ever did this, it would be at the end of the franchise's life, because they'll be hard pressed to make another 'normal' Pokemon game sell.

 

[Sirfetch’d]

Many reasons why.
1. Bad Idea. If you interviewed every fan of Pokemon 90% would not want this. 5 Regions is way to many. No more than 2 are ever needed. I really only like one, but GSC,HGSS made 2 work.
2. It would take years and years to make and in that time they could have made multiple games.
3. Why would you want all POkemon obtainable in one game. It ruins the point of the GTS and trading in general. Pokemon was created for trading, as Xander said.
4. Level cap will stay at 100 as it needs to. Raising it would be pointless. Level 100 or 500 will still have advantages and disadvantages.
5. Level distribution would not work. By the second region you pokemon would be maxed out and it would no longer be fun.
6. It would be incompatible with all other games. If you raise levels to 500 that would make it unable to trade with any other game.
7. It would cost a lot. It would take a ton of time and money to make this game and GF would be forced to sell it for more than usual. Probably about $60-$100.
8. That is what hacks are for. There are many hacks out there where you can catch all Pokemon with no trades. If you want the "ultimate" game, just go and play a hack.

 

[ProjectMisfit]

It could easily be done as a PC/console game.

 

[WingedDragon]

By this point it wouldnt be worth wild, Id like to see a detail poster map of all 5 regions. I know there are some not so detail maps but a detail map would be neat to see.

 

[Hikamaru]

I agree with most of them, mainly PlatinumDude, Toujours, Jellicentfan1, Rodriguezjames55 and XanderO.

If you ever asked a true Pokemon fan about this, they'd know that 5 regions in one game is too many. Having Johto and Kanto in G/S/C/HG/SS was enough.

Having all Pokemon obtainable in one game would ruin the purpose of the GTS as well as trading in general, like Jellicentfan1 said.

There would also be incompatibility with other games, and it would go out-of-date as new generations arrive, like what Toujours said.

 

[Plumpyfoof]

In order to account for the incredible size of the game, Gamefreak would have to have their affiliation with Nintendo bought out by Sony and/or Microsoft to have Pokemon brought over to consoles.

And why would Nintendo sell? Pokemon is one of Nintendo's highest selling games, bought out contracts means we'd have no more handheld Pokemon games. All the next games would be console games.

Even if that did happen, making a Pokemon game with sizes comparable to, if not larger than such games as The Elder Scrolls, specifically Skyrim, the amount of money that would be thrown around by Gamefreak and associates would be so incredible it would barely make enough in sales to cover overheads after buying out contracts etc.

Not to mention by the time the next generation comes out no one will buy something outdated.
And then there's the issue with its design. If the game wasn't produced with every expectation from fans it would flunk and then the Pokemon reign would be effectively over.

tl;dr
It's not in any businesses best interest because:
- Too big to fit on DS cartridges
- Nintendo would have to sell Pokemon despite their best interest
- High expenses probably not covered in sales
- Sales effectively stop after next generation
- If it flops, Pokemon is done for.

It's not going to happen anytime soon.

 

[Xander Olivieri]

In order to account for the incredible size of the game, Gamefreak would have to have their affiliation with Nintendo bought out by Sony and/or Microsoft to have Pokemon brought over to consoles.

And why would Nintendo sell? Pokemon is one of Nintendo's highest selling games, bought out contracts means we'd have no more handheld Pokemon games. All the next games would be console games.

Even if that did happen, making a Pokemon game with sizes comparable to, if not larger than such games as The Elder Scrolls, specifically Skyrim, the amount of money that would be thrown around by Gamefreak and associates would be so incredible it would barely make enough in sales to cover overheads after buying out contracts etc.

Not to mention by the time the next generation comes out no one will buy something outdated.
And then there's the issue with its design. If the game wasn't produced with every expectation from fans it would flunk and then the Pokemon reign would be effectively over.

tl;dr
It's not in any businesses best interest because:
- Too big to fit on DS cartridges
- Nintendo would have to sell Pokemon despite their best interest
- High expenses probably not covered in sales
- Sales effectively stop after next generation
- If it flops, Pokemon is done for.

It's not going to happen anytime soon.

Thanks to the Wii U they wouldn't have to sell. Wii U's games incorporate the same disc space as an Xbox game so they'd have enough memory, but the idea itself is still a big waste of time what with them having to update it every two or three years. That wouldn't be cost efficient for either party and a huge negatve as to why it shouldn't be done.

 

[MightyHeracross]

I'm sure it's been asked/speculated before, but why doesn't GameFreak make the ultimate Pokémon game where you start in Kanto, beat the Gyms, beat Team Rocket, beat the Pokémon League and then go to Johto where you beat the Gyms, finish off Team Rocket, beat the League and then go to Hoenn and so on...

All 649 Pokémon available, every Legendary somewhere in the world (ones such as Mewtwo would be found through side quests that are similar to the anime, with Zapdos etc. being found dormant with no quests), no stupid trade evolution and a level cap of 500 with easier levels and later evolutions.

Seriously, why hasn't this been made? They could even sell it for a ton of money compared to the single generation games...

No one would buy it if it were more than just a normal game. They couldn't charge $100 (twice the price) or $150 (three times the price) and have people buy it even though it is has more than 3 times the game elements in it. Also, would they make leveling very slow or would the pokemon get reset to level 5 when you entered a new region. I think this is a good idea, and I would defiantly rather buy this than a new game every few years.

 

[Rothometapratis]

I like the idea of making this like an aniversary game let's say every some years other than the 500 level which can be subtituted with just lower experience pace. I 'm not gonna ground you cause I know that this game could exist without cutting the progress of the regular ones. Nitendo needs to take it easy and they're gonna complete it sooner or later without any of the harm which have been said above.

 

[casualsden]

Pokemon Raptor EX (community made PC standalone game) has Pokemon from first 4 generations. It is under Game Development, Showcase I think.

 

[Lord Varion]

System limitations.
that, and the famous, you need higher than Level 100 for it to work.
Otherwise from on out after hoenn, everything would be Level 100.

 

[LividZephyr]

A new storyline (as opposed to one occurring around the same time as the games in existence) spanning multiple regions would be really, really cool, and I'd love to get it, but I can't see them doing it for what's already been stated. Technical limitations, necessity of console, and it would be quite a hassle to complete a storyline that involved such a chase with multiple teams; even then, they'd have to find out various ways to ensure you don't get to keep your Pokemon on every region, so you have to start from the beginning again instead of having a level 62 Charizard burning Johto to the ground.

This IS possible on a console if you think about it, as long as it has an original plot and your Pokemon get stolen from you on your way to Hoenn, and you get a new starter in Slateport to make up for it. You then take on Hoenn and try to get your Pokemon back from the International Syndicate that stole them.

I honestly don't expect them to do it at all, and if they did, they wouldn't do it right. Has GameFreak EVER developed a game for a console? Hasn't Nintendo licensed the games to other companies? The Stadium games were developed by HAL Labs, which also does SSB, and Colosseum and XD weren't GameFreak...

I really don't know what to expect from something like that, but it'd need to be an original story intertwining several characters from all the games. It could be done, it'd just be a huge-budget game that would be make-or-break for possibly all of Nintendo.

 

[casualsden]

System limitations.
that, and the famous, you need higher than Level 100 for it to work.
Otherwise from on out after hoenn, everything would be Level 100.

Why? They can just adjust leveling. If there are content of five different regions to play, then they can just make the player earn 1 out of 5 of the normal experience s/he would in usual game. That way you would still be in about the same level at the end of the game with other games.

 

[Palkia]

I resent the idea of a multi-region game unless it would receive updates for each generation in the form of expansion packs. (Although updates would have features taken from the main series.)

I would not like this if it would replace the main series - this should really be a side game.

 

[YourPokemonLPs]

I really do wish that they would do this, however, it isn't neccesarily a good idea. Not only would they not have enough space to make it on a single game cartridge, but it would also signal the end of the games. I feel that one day in the future they will do something like this, when there is a new device that can handle it. It could be for their last hoorah. But for now, they make so much money off of the games that it doesn't make sense to make the ultimate game just yet.

 

[Omaeka]

You guys do realize that Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver have all Pokémon up to D/P/Pt, Kanto and Johto regions and amounts to 128MB, and there are 1GB+ 3DS cartridges out there. This could easily be done on the current console.