>>34173177I think the big factor that people tend to ignore is that they're two versions of the "third" version, when one version would have been completely fine. It's clearly money and nothing else that's motivating there being two versions of the same game
>two versions encourages trading and multiplayer interactionThis might be a sound argument maybe 18 years ago but things have changed with the advent of the internet and electronics as a whole. There are so many different ways to interact with other people online nowadays (Festival Plaza, Battle Agency, GTS, etc) that trading version exclusives just seems forced and unnecessary.
I was kind if fond of how Platinum handled the fossilmons, where depending on the last digit of your Trainer ID you'd either get Cranidos (odd number) or Shieldon (even number). It's not a perfect system but randomizing exclusives would be a decent alternative to releasing two of the same goddamn game if exclusives are a must-have.
