>>38765110It was always an entry level JRPG, but it has never been so face value as it is now. It's trying its hardest to remove every aspect that could be considered intimidating to people who don't play video games and offering zero alternatives to everyone who does. Game Freak was started out of a passion for video games. Tajiri and Sugimori made their own magazine issues with their thoughts on current games and even went on to turn their company into a video game development company. They and their friends all quit their jobs to make this work, and they spent 5 years on Tajiri's dream idea. They went through numerous hardships but it was all to make that game.
That was over 20 years ago and none of that passion remains. Pokémon is an international brand that makes an exorbitant amount of money and that is the goal. It's not about making a good game anymore, it's about making a game that will sell gangbusters and keep up the brand momentum.
Look at Pokémon Masters.
>Sugimori: I want a game where you can battle every Trainer!That sounds like passion. But then
>It's a mobile gacha game with simplified gameplay made to milk whales out of their money. It also uses the brand power of one of the world's biggest franchises to lure in the vast majority of people who aren't familiar with gacha mechanics.Why couldn't this have been a console game without microtransactions and with the full gameplay experience of Pokémon? Because then it would have an upfront price tag and the number of people lured in would be significantly reduced, thus lowering potential income. It doesn't matter about overall quality.
