The first anniversary of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is fast approaching. These games weren't exactly the best-received in the series due to the somewhat unfinished state they were released in. Let's be honest, it’s pretty much the same state they're in now, hence what feels like a lack of interest in the pair’s Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC, the first part of which is just days away from launch.
Considering the rate Game Freak and other studios connected to The Pokemon Company churn stuff out, it's no wonder some of its games are arriving in an unpolished state. The biggest shock is that it has taken this long, although you might argue the signs were there as early as Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, or even before with the lack of graphical boost Sword & Shield ‘enjoyed’ on Switch. Scarlet & Violet were announced just a month after the launch of Pokemon Legends: Arceus, a turnaround that had me wondering what on earth the developers of these games run on, and also worried about potential crunch.
While the creators of Pokemon games may well be more creative than most of us, Scarlet & Violet has proved that they're human after all. The Pokemon Company even appears to have acknowledged that Scarlet & Violet weren't up to the expected standards, suggesting there might well be longer gaps between games from now on. It’s a change that wouldn’t be out of the ordinary as video games as a whole have far longer development periods due to advancements in the hardware they run on.
Pokemon putting more time and attention into its games and not just trying to hit a release date that has been set in stone sounds like good news to me. Cue the most recent Pokemon Presents backing up the comments about taking more time for development and the uproar afterwards because it was too boring. Complaints rang out that Pokemon's latest showcase only updated fans on its existing games, the aforementioned Scarlet & Violet DLC, and what's coming soon from the TV branch of the Pokemon tree.
Some of you were expecting news about a potential Black & White remake, or perhaps confirmation that the Legends series will continue, or even more Let’s Go or Mystery Dungeon. None of that happened, so the same Pokemon fans who complained about the state of Scarlet & Violet vociferously complained that Pokemon’s uncharacteristically empty calendar isn't good enough. Therein lies the problem. Pokemon fans want games to be better, but they're also unwilling to sacrifice the release frequency they've become accustomed to.
That is partly The Pokemon Company's fault. Not for getting us used to Pokemon games launching at a steady rate. All studios did that and now need to adjust. Rockstar released three GTA games in one generation 20 years ago, whereas the series’ latest game has spanned three consoles. The reason Pokemon is partly to blame is because it didn't have anything big to reveal and it went ahead with the Presents anyway. Moving forward, unless it has big news, it might be advised to go about its Pokemon Go and Unite additions through smaller announcements. A simple tweet will do, or something on YouTube if absolutely necessary.
As for Pokemon fans, it's time to make a decision. Do you want Pokemon games to continue launching at the same rate they always have? It would mean that something new was always on the horizon, but their quality would likely get gradually worse with each passing game. Or, if you apply the same logic as the rest of the gaming industry, you accept that for Pokemon games to be better, they’re going to take longer to make.
With the arrival of the Switch 2 likely a little more than a year away at most, there has never been a better time to accept that Pokemon games can be better if you stop complaining that there aren't enough of them. Give The Pokemon Company and Game Freak a break, let them cook, and the first mainline games on the Switch 2 could be something special, whether they be remakes or entirely new titles. Then again, after Scarlet & Violet sold ten million copies in the first three days, why wouldn't Pokemon keep churning out half-baked games as quickly as it possibly can?