Pokémon: An Overpowered and Global License

Since 25 years, several generations of children have grown up with Pokemon. From games to anime to cards, it’s no longer uncommon to meet 30-somethings discussing the franchise with their own children or to see the parents of these same thirty-somethings keep fond memories of the moments when objects related to the license were offered. Few people have never heard of Pikachu and other creatures imagined by GameFreak. Pokémon is a veritable empire, and all of the productions have created enormous inertia. Everything is linked, and everything is programmed to come out at regular intervals at very specific times.

It is unthinkable to market cards on which one finds Pokémon that have not been revealed in the anime or in the games. Conversely, these productions must be released in time so as not to slow down production of cards, stuffed animals, toys, clothing, or jewelry. With each generation, an armada of by-products arrives, and this is what allowed the franchise to establish itself outside the limits of Japan. After more than two decades, it is difficult to change the pace, especially since the sales figures are right for The Pokémon Company, GameFreak, Creature Inc, and Nintendo.

On Nintendo Switch alone, Pokémon Sword/Shield and Pokémon Scarlet/Purple represent more than 48.5 million games sold. However, the last generation has reinforced a trend that was already annoying some players: Pokémon games are far from having a technical level corresponding to the power of the franchise. Problems of performance clipping, bugs, very easily exploitable flaws, and unstable online modes, there have been many grievances towards Pokémon Scarlet/Violet, yet well-received thanks to its gameplay, open world, and new creatures. A situation that even pushed Nintendo to offer refunds, unheard of!

Pokémon: A Production Model That Must Change?

The first part of The Buried Treasure of Zone Zero expansion, The Turquoise Mask, will arrive on September 13, a date that hints that the studio took a little more time than usual. We also know that important recruitments took place, suggesting the idea of better finished games. But to achieve a good level of finish, many think GameFreak should space out releases.

However, we have seen that the franchise is a real high-speed train launched at full speed, and that it is very difficult to make it slow down, and even if this choice is made, it takes time. Recently interviewed by Comicbook, Takato Utsunomiya, COO of The Pokémon Company, hinted that the overall franchise approach could evolve. A rare speech from the side of the company:

Without saying it directly, Takato Utsunomiya admits that recent releases were not of the expected quality by The Pokémon Company and the public. It now remains to be seen if these discussions lead to anything. Keeping pace while improving the quality of products sold can only go through an increase in resources put on the table, whether human, financial, and technical, or by an in-depth modification of the overall organization. Suffice to say that with a machine like Pokémon, it won’t happen overnight.