>>39583055Actually, Gamefreak issue privately owned and can not be bought out to have their share of ownership of the IP stripped. It is also likely that the joint ownership is subject to terms that ensures no party between GF, Creatures,and Nintendo may attempt to establish !everage.
You say that Gamefreak isn't needed because licensing out the IP fo mobile projects is more profitable than their games, but that's a very near-sighted perspective. Consider the fact that all merchandise, brand deals, comics, animation, sponsorships, promotions, and licenses sit right after the start of a new generation on the critical path of this process. This means that for all of these things to be made with the new monsters and characters and make a profit, Game Freak has to release their games first, establishing the framework for the marketing chain to grant the hundreds, if not thousands of partners leveraging the IP to make their money and bolster the brand across various mediums and audiences.
That also means that Game Freak is forced into verry strict scheduling for releases and providing reference. This is a part of why they can't take their time, as even a month's delay would be an enormous logistical nightmare that would cost many companies a great deal of money and invalidate much of their planning.
Things aren't as simple as you think they are.
