Pokémon Direct - June 5th: 2pm

[EEVILMURRAY]

7 hours ago, Emerald Emblem said:

Why are these Pokemon Directs always right as I finish work? I would love to be able to sit down in a comfy seat to watch these on my TV rather than in the locker room on my phone.

Could wait until you got home to watch?

[MindFreak]

I though the press conference was 2 pm today. Is it 2 am tonight? Or has no information been shared yet? 

[Glen-i]

4 minutes ago, MindFreak said:

I though the press conference was 2 pm today. Is it 2 am tonight? Or has no information been shared yet? 

2am tonight.

[Glen-i]

Here's everything of note.

• Press Conference has heavily hinted at a Detective Pikachu game for the Switch. Not sure whether it's a port or a sequel.
• Pokémon Quest is getting an official release in China, making it the first official release for Pokémon done by a Chinese company. Will feature PVP and other social features.
• Pokémon Home is the new cloud-based service that aims to connect Pokémon Bank, Pokémon GO and the mainline Pokémon Switch games. Comes out in Early 2020.
• Pokémon Home is planned to allow trading with friends between the above applications.
• Some kind of enhancement to Pokémon GO to allow functionality with sleeping? Not sure yet.
• OK, no. It's a new mobile app called Pokémon Sleep. And this presentation is super hilarious. Comes out 2020.
• A new accessory to coincide with Pokémon Sleep called the Pokémon Go Plus + (Yes, it's really called that.) Has the usual GO functionality but also is compatible with Pokémon Sleep.
• A Snorlax event on Pokémon GO. According to @Ugh first aid, that's a big deal.
• DeNA's new mobile game is called Pokémon Masters. Artwork shows a lot of trainers from the mainline series. Releases at the end of 2019 on android and iOS. Brief footage of the game was shown. More details in June. Game features Z-Moves in some way. and uses a graphical style similar to the 3DS Pokémon games. If I was a betting man, my money would be on the trainers being part of a Gacha system.
• The Pokémon Shirt line is coming to America and Europe.

Kinda what I expected, all in all.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Glen-i

[Glen-i]

@Ugh first aid sums it up perfectly by saying "Pokémon wants you to...

 

[S.C.G]

And it's on the front page... what? Yes, I stayed up and watched the presentation and posted the article about it at silly O'clock.

That's just how we roll here at N-Europe.

Thanks to @Glen-i for the summary, I totally copy and pasted that because it's as honest and as straightforward a list as anyone could have hoped for.

Was the presentation itself worth staying up for? Nope!

Time to make like a Snorlax...

[MindFreak]

Disappointed that they didn't have a more than one game for Switch on the way.  Seems like they found out that mobile can make you lots of money...

[Mandalore]

Does Pokémon Home allow full trading between all games? Pokémon Go will be flooded with hacked Pokémon from the main series games. Kinda ironic considering which of those games is seen as more casual.

[Dcubed]

Nintendo’s QoL Sleep Sensor lives!! Iwata gets the last laugh after all! 

 

48 minutes ago, Mandalore said:

Does Pokémon Home allow full trading between all games? Pokémon Go will be flooded with hacked Pokémon from the main series games. Kinda ironic considering which of those games is seen as more casual.

Pokemon Home is basically the next version of Pokemon Bank.  It expands support to encompass Go, Let’s Go and Sword/Shield (only Sword/Shield can do two-way transfers though; presumably to block all of those hacked ‘mon that you just mentioned).

[EEVILMURRAY]

6 hours ago, Glen-i said:

Here's everything of note.

• Press Conference has heavily hinted at a Detective Pikachu game for the Switch. Not sure whether it's a port or a sequel.

Boombastic highlight @Glen-i

Clarification from their website: "The original Detective Pikachu game for the Nintendo 3DS ended on a cliffhanger and this upcoming game will be a conclusion to that story. "

I would find a gif of Luke Skywalker saying "what a heap of junk" as a response to the presentation (not watched it, but the highlights suffice) but I don't feel it's worth the energy

[Hero-of-Time]

40 minutes ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

I would find a gif of Luke Skywalker saying "what a heap of junk" as a response to the presentation (not watched it, but the highlights suffice) but I don't feel it's worth the energy

[EEVILMURRAY]

1 minute ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Bellissimo

 

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, EEVILMURRAY said:

Boombastic highlight @Glen-i

Clarification from their website: "The original Detective Pikachu game for the Nintendo 3DS ended on a cliffhanger and this upcoming game will be a conclusion to that story. "

For all we know, that could mean it's a port with a different ending/extra chapter.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Glen-i

[Sofiz]

I watched it this morning just after I woke up, and I have to say, it was a funny presentation but it offered me absolutely nothing of value, which is sad, but at this point that's sort of the direction Pokémon is heading. They said it themselves more or less, that Pokémon GO and LGP&E brought in a huge amount of fans. While I think Pokémon becoming popular and mainstream again is good, it's not so good that it comes at a time where people have terrible taste and WANT watered down, mobage tier games. Case in point; Pokémon Sleep got built up so much as this great thing to help you sleep and have fun with Pokémon, but I guarantee it's just an idle game. 

The sentiment of "Its good to rest after a long day of walking" should really be interpreted as "how can we keep people playing (and make more money) when they're at home, where they wont be walking around to play GO?"

I'm sorry if this is really cynical, but I don't find mobile games very fun. When it comes to integrating Pokémon into our daily lives, I'd say the news of new Pokémon centres and a Pokémon clothing line are far closer to what I think that should mean. (But at the same time, they could do more for people who can't travel to those places, "Pokémon is global!!" if global means New York, Tokyo and The World's Poshest Airport That Is Also In Asia.) It's a start at least.

but tl;dr I hope mobage culture dies and I wish Pokémon was good again

[S.C.G]

And here's the Press Release Edition of the Pokémon 2019 Press Conference Roundup...

...although I think I prefer the one we cobbled together last night.

Oh well... this one has got the standard Press Release in it.

[Hero-of-Time]

You should have just posted this.

I think it gets the point across nicely. 

[Glen-i]

1 hour ago, Sofiz said:

I watched it this morning just after I woke up, and I have to say, it was a funny presentation but it offered me absolutely nothing of value, which is sad, but at this point that's sort of the direction Pokémon is heading. They said it themselves more or less, that Pokémon GO and LGP&E brought in a huge amount of fans. While I think Pokémon becoming popular and mainstream again is good, it's not so good that it comes at a time where people have terrible taste and WANT watered down, mobage tier games. Case in point; Pokémon Sleep got built up so much as this great thing to help you sleep and have fun with Pokémon, but I guarantee it's just an idle game. 

The sentiment of "Its good to rest after a long day of walking" should really be interpreted as "how can we keep people playing (and make more money) when they're at home, where they wont be walking around to play GO?"

I'm sorry if this is really cynical, but I don't find mobile games very fun. When it comes to integrating Pokémon into our daily lives, I'd say the news of new Pokémon centres and a Pokémon clothing line are far closer to what I think that should mean. (But at the same time, they could do more for people who can't travel to those places, "Pokémon is global!!" if global means New York, Tokyo and The World's Poshest Airport That Is Also In Asia.) It's a start at least.

but tl;dr I hope mobage culture dies and I wish Pokémon was good again

You weren't a member on these forums back when I made a nerdy thread looking back through all the Pokémon spin-off's, but at the end of it, I gave my opinion on Pokémon GO which I think pretty much applies to this press conference.

Quote

I've been thinking about how likely it is that these Pokémon spin-off series could make a return and to be quite frank, most of them won't. And the ones that actually do will more than likely follow the same kind of free-to-play structure that Pokémon GO has. I don't really blame Niantic though, they took an idea they made and used a highly popular franchise to capitalise on it. I attribute the blame to the Pokémon Company.
For years now, The Pokémon Company has been following the philosophy of only market what is safe. Cater to the lowest common denominator and nickel and dime whenever possible. They are certainly not the only gaming company to do so, but it really hurts when it's my favourite gaming franchise. If it wasn't for Game Freak and Nintendo, I'm sure they'd happily do the same for every Pokémon game, even the main ones.

As a lifetime fan of the series, Pokémon isn't about the first 151 Pokémon (And a handful of Pokémon that got into Smash Bros), it's not about reliving the game I experienced way back in 1999 over and over again. For me, it's about finding what kind of wacky creature Game Freak will come up with next, and then seeing what kind of ideas other gaming companies dream up when given these vast amount of monster designs to work with. I'd be honestly surprised if we ever see something as completely bonkers and experimental along the lines of Hey You, Pikachu! Or a new interesting take on the world of Pokémon that we got with the Mystery Dungeon games. Why take the risk when the free-to-play market is so lucrative and easy to exploit? Why bother with utilising new Pokémon when you can just fall back on the older ones and have people lap it up?

I can only hope I'm incredibly wrong about all this...

I mentioned how any spin-offs that still go on will more than likely become a Free-to-play game. And lo and behold, that's what happened with Pokémon Rumble. The likes of Detective Pikachu on Switch and Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon are sadly the exception these days, not the norm. And let's face it, Detective Pikachu is only happening because it's capitalising on the movie not flopping. Because it certainly isn't attributed to the 3DS title's huge success.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Glen-i

[Sofiz]

@Glen-i Wow, yeah, that pretty much sums up how I feel. The worst thing is, the people who care most about Pokémon are likely to be the ones most hurt by the direction they're taking the series now. I might go as far as to say I feel a little bit betrayed by The Pokémon Company.

As much nostalgia as I have for Pokémon, I don't want to play a game that just capitalises on that singular feeling alone and doesn't innovate. In fact, I'd rather play a good game with no nostalgia-bait (cough B&W1) than an underwhelming game (or in some cases, a "game" ) stuffed to the eyeballs with references and cameos and fanservice. I won't begrudge anyone the chance to make money and be successful, but it's really disheartening to see them actively choosing this strategy of mass appeal for the most possible profit, rather than making something truly amazing.

[Hero-of-Time]

21 minutes ago, Sofiz said:

I won't begrudge anyone the chance to make money and be successful, but it's really disheartening to see them actively choosing this strategy of mass appeal for the most possible profit, rather than making something truly amazing.

Sadly, it's how most industries work. The core niche audience always get left behind if mass market appeal is on the cards. For better or worse, the masses are usually the ones that dictate the market and not the other way around. 

[Pestneb]

And to be fair, think about animals, most people only seem to be aware of a few dozen really common ones, or ones that have made a big impact (big cats like Lions and tigers, polar bear, panda, etc.) Most creatures are over looked, so it's pretty normal really that it happens with fake ones too. I would love a full pokemon ecosystem to exist in game though. And by that, I would expect there to be carnivores.. perhaps a bit too dark for pokemon games though.... stumbling across a meowth munching on a pidgey corpse...

[S.C.G]

8 minutes ago, Pestneb said:

And by that, I would expect there to be carnivores.. perhaps a bit too dark for pokemon games though.... stumbling across a meowth munching on a pidgey corpse...

Dark, gritty, open-world, survival Pokémon reboot for release in 2020?  

[Sofiz]

6 minutes ago, Pestneb said:

And to be fair, think about animals, most people only seem to be aware of a few dozen really common ones, or ones that have made a big impact (big cats like Lions and tigers, polar bear, panda, etc.) Most creatures are over looked, so it's pretty normal really that it happens with fake ones too. I would love a full pokemon ecosystem to exist in game though. And by that, I would expect there to be carnivores.. perhaps a bit too dark for pokemon games though.... stumbling across a meowth munching on a pidgey corpse...

I don't disagree with you, I don't think there's a Pokémon fan out there mad about each and every single creature they've come up with. Everyone has their own preferences, the problem is that more than ever they seem to focus sorely on the 151.

You've given me an idea though; if you're thinking visceral and dark Pokémon games, picture Tokyo Jungle but with Pokémon instead. Now THAT I would play, even if it would be bleak and upsetting. Post apocalypse, no humans, just Pokémon fighting for their lives but using their unique traits and abilities to alter your play depending on who you pick.

[Glen-i]

42 minutes ago, Pestneb said:

perhaps a bit too dark for pokemon games though.... stumbling across a meowth munching on a pidgey corpse...

Just gonna leave this here. Time stamped for convenience.

Spoiler

Not quite carnivorous, but it's the closest we'll probably ever get.

Rated PEGI 3. Which is still funny.

 

Edited May 29, 2019 by Glen-i

[Dcubed]

2 hours ago, S.C.G said:

Dark, gritty, open-world, survival Pokémon reboot for release in 2020?  

Isn’t that basically Tokyo Jungle?

 

 

I’d be down for a Pokemon version!

[Sofiz]

4 hours ago, Dcubed said:

Isn’t that basically Tokyo Jungle?

 

 

I’d be down for a Pokemon version!

 

6 hours ago, Sofiz said:

if you're thinking visceral and dark Pokémon games, picture Tokyo Jungle but with Pokémon instead. Now THAT I would play, even if it would be bleak and upsetting. Post apocalypse, no humans, just Pokémon fighting for their lives but using their unique traits and abilities to alter your play depending on who you pick.

Yeah, basically! >w>