In recent days, Game Freak has come under fire for various grievances fans have with the upcoming Pokemon titles, Sword and Shield. Following the controversy of only a select amount of Pokemon being in the game at all, Game Freak was then criticized for reusing animations and character models from previous Pokemon games. However, these claims appear to be untrue, as a previous interview with Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori confirms that Game Freak has had to create every Pokemon model in Sword and Shield "from scratch". The June 2019 interview, which went largely unnoticed due to its lack of English translation, was also not referenced in the "official response" from Game Freak two weeks ago, regarding the Pokedex issue.

Due to the nature of the Nintendo Switch's better hardware and smoother framerates, the 3DS-era Pokemon models and animations were unable to be directly transferred over to engine that Sword and Shield are running on, so the team over at Game Freak had to remake every Pokemon model. This was apparently especially difficult for the team, who has had their normal amount of developers split between two major projects: Sword/Shield and Town. During the development of Sun and Moon, Game Freak was "barely able to" import all 809 Pokemon into that game with a full dedicated team as it was. This, coupled with the daunting task of balancing each and every Pokemon was what led to Junichi Masuda deciding to "choose quality over quantity", when it came to choosing which Pokemon would make it into the Galar Dex. In the interview he says, "The decision is sad. Of course I wanted to bring all the Pokemon in if I could do it, but this was a decision I had to make eventually".

Masuda even joked about the matter responding that the Pokemon that won't show up in the game are thinking, "This region is too cold. I think I'll stay at home this time."

When it comes to the matter of adding subsequent Pokemon in post-launch updates, Game Freak says that they are considering the idea, but are undecided at the moment. He also further explained that the Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing features require additional 3D models from each Pokemon, and are not simply resized versions of their existing assets.

Source

 

[the_randomizer]

Lol complaining about a game never changed anything a company does.

 

[Deleted User]

Lol complaining about a game never changed anything a company does.

Well it can change what people do. And companies like money.

 

[the_randomizer]

Well it can change what people do. And companies like money.

Perhaps, but don't you think people are obsessing over this a bit too much, like, reaching unhealthy levels of obsession? Surely, people can use that energy towards being more productive? People are really
hung up over this, to the point of where they can't even live their lives outside of video games.

 

[templeofhylia]

My God all of you complaining can just shut the fuck up! It's a game, it has no effect on your life! Are you all really that uptight and entitled? First you bitch that pokemon games are all the same, now you all bitch when given something new and different.

you're really embarrassing lmfao.

 

[Deleted User]

Perhaps, but don't you think people are obsessing over this a bit too much, like, reaching unhealthy levels of obsession? Surely, people can use that energy towards being more productive? People are really
hung up over this, to the point of where they can't even live their lives outside of video games.

Umm. source?

 

[Arithmatics]

I like how this entire thread has turned into a giant “he said she said”.

To be honest though the red flag for me was definitely when it was mentioned that the team is split in half. This is a core pokemon title. Why in god’s name would they not even allocate 110% of their resources?!

 

[rob4]

To be honest though the red flag for me was definitely when it was mentioned that the team is split in half. This is a core pokemon title. Why in god’s name would they not even allocate 110% of their resources?!

Or hire more people, it's Pokémon, i don't think they have money problems

 

[smf]

Bad decisions (and potentially lies) are subject to criticism.

Grown ups have to make difficult choices sometimes, it doesn't make them bad as it sometimes you have to balance lots of different things.

Show me some credible evidence that they are lying, all I've seen requires you to have bought into the conspiracy theory to believe it.

Or hire more people, it's Pokémon, i don't think they have money problems

Have you ever worked in software development? Often throwing more people at the problem makes things take longer. Without knowing the very fine details of the situation then it's impossible to say whether it would help or not. They are in a more qualified position to make that decision.

 

[AkikoKumagara]

I feel like this has to be posted every few pages so it doesn't get buried...

I like how this entire thread has turned into a giant “he said she said”.

To be honest though the red flag for me was definitely when it was mentioned that the team is split in half. This is a core pokemon title. Why in god’s name would they not even allocate 110% of their resources?!

Or hire more people, it's Pokémon, i don't think they have money problems

-GAME FREAK has not split their staff in half for Town.
-Despite having 143 full time employees work at Game Freak, there are more who work on the games including freelancers and those at other companies like Creatures Inc who aid in development. For example SM had over 500

— Joe Merrick (@JoeMerrick) July 13, 2019

 

[rob4]

Have you ever worked in software development? Often throwing more people at the problem makes things take longer. Without knowing the very fine details of the situation then it's impossible to say whether it would help or not. They are in a more qualified position to make that decision.

Yes but as a hobbyist, and more people allowed us to finish things faster, you give them task that they know to do, and explain how to do it, but obviously we were not recruiting amateurs editors.

Also, industries need to have leaderships that can delegate tasks, and a solid database of standards and procedures, so new people (new hired, but no 0 experience) can pickup tasks easily.
This doesn't apply only for manufacturing industries but also for entertainment.

So, if you have to deliver the long-awaited entry on the main series, i think you should be prepared, or simply delay the project like many companies do it to ensure quality products.

 

[Lacius]

Grown ups have to make difficult choices sometimes, it doesn't make them bad as it sometimes you have to balance lots of different things.

If you're going to imply that people who voice legitimate complaints about the quality (or lack thereof) coming to these games, you should know I'm usually not interested in responding to catty remarks. Grown ups usually don't resort to petty insults.

Show me some credible evidence that they are lying, all I've seen requires you to have bought into the conspiracy theory to believe it.

I didn't say they lied, given the possible translation issues and/or the fact that Game Freak might be exaggerating work they did. But, we know from the Sword/Shield footage that the models were not rebuilt from scratch.

 

[smf]

So, if you have to deliver the long-awaited entry on the main series, you have to be prepared, or simply delay the project like many companies do it to ensure quality products

Please explain how that is not an entitled view?

They don't have to do anything, you aren't entitled to anything.

I didn't say they lied, given the possible translation issues and/or the fact that Game Freak might be exaggerating work they did. But, we know from the Sword/Shield footage that the models were not rebuilt from scratch.

The proof I saw looked like different models, so I'm not entirely sure what you know.

 

[Lacius]

Please explain how that is not an entitled view?

They don't have to do anything, you aren't entitled to anything.

It's perfectly reasonable to say Game Freak can't cut corners without facing backlash.

 

[smf]

It's perfectly reasonable to say Game Freak can't cut corners without facing backlash.

Without proof they are cutting corners and despite them saying they aren't.

It's a backlash against a perceived issue.

Grown ups usually don't resort to petty insults.

If only that were true, Game Freak would be having a much quieter time

 

[rob4]

Please explain how that is not an entitled view?

They don't have to do anything, you aren't entitled to anything.

No, they don't have to do anything, it's just my opinion.
Sorry my bad wording, i'm not a native speaker.

 

[smf]

No, they don't have to do anything, it's just my opinion.

Why do you hold opinions that people must do what you think and if you don't then you'll try to disrupt their business?

If the game is good then buy it, if not then don't. It's a little too early to say whether it is or not.

It could still be a great game without the entire pokedex.

If Game Freak start doing experiments on animals or dumping pollution into the sea then you can bring on your worst.

 

[Lacius]

Without proof they are cutting corners and despite them saying they aren't.

It's a backlash against a perceived issue.

Here are the facts:

1. The footage shows models that are largely the same as the 3DS models. At best, they've had some minor edits. At worst, they are the exact same models.
2. Pokemon is not Game Freak's top priority, admitted in a recent interview.
3. Game Freak isn't going to say, "We are cutting corners."
4. The 3DS models suffice on a Switch game, as seen with Let's Go.
5. The omission of a National Dex is not a "perceived issue."

Why do you hold opinions that people must do what you think and if you don't then you'll try to disrupt their business?

That's how capitalism works. If you don't like something a business is doing, you are free to complain about it and withhold your money. It's up to the business to decide if negative PR and money are reasons to change their behavior.

 

[smf]

The footage shows models that are largely the same as the 3DS models. At best, they've had some minor edits.

What would a new model or non minor edit look like? How are you calculating how much time it would take to do a minor edit, or even just reviewing each model?

That's how capitalism works. If you don't like something a business is doing, you are free to complain about it and withhold your money.

Well the entire pokedex isn't coming back before the game launches and you won't be able to prove whether they lied until then either, so you appear to be jumping the gun somewhat.

 

[rob4]

If the game is good then buy it, if not then don't. It's a little too early to say whether it is or not.

Of course, they showed us the game, nobody forced them, and we can have opinions of what we saw.
The game is not finished or released, can be updated and become a different product, even post release.
Finally you can buy it, or not, wait for reviews, buy used copies, trade, or simply decide it doesn't worth your time.

It could still be a great game without the entire pokedex.

I hope so

If Game Freak start doing experiments on animals or dumping pollution into the sea then you can bring on your worst.

I don´t think that posting my opinion in a forum is relevant or is going to affect any industry, even if the worst in the planet.

 

[Lacius]

What would a new model or non minor edit look like?

What would an old model or a minor edit look like? The footage we have. What would a new model or major edit look like? Something other than the footage we have.'

Edit: It is also their fault if they were stupid enough to make new models from scratch (but they didn't), so the complaints are reasonable either way.

Well the entire pokedex isn't coming back before the game launches

I'm well aware we aren't getting the National Dex before launch. That's highly unlikely, unless important 3DS models is a quicker process than I thought. I'm saying there needs to be a Sword/Shield patch released around the time Pokemon Home in released.

and you won't be able to prove whether they lied until then either, so you appear to be jumping the gun somewhat.

1. I never claimed they lied. There are issues related to translation errors and how they might be classifying (embellishing) minor edits.
2. The Sword/Shield models are the 3DS models, with or without minor edits.