Pokemon Sword & Shield GENERAL DISCUSSION Thread [Spoilers]

[wolf jani]

So in a matter of a few months Sword and Shield has sold nearly as many copies as X and Y has over its whole lifespan. I gotta say even as someone who likes the games I was not expecting that. One would think the higher price tag alone would have effected copies sold to some degree. Just what do we make of this? That the controversies actually increased sales? That regardless of controversies the games still have what the majority of players want?

If nothing else, I would say Sword and Shield's success will encourage Gamefreak to stay the course in their vision for future games (for better or worse).

I guess it's because Switch as a console has sold really well. I'm not completely sure about this but I think Switch has sold more copies than 3ds had when XY was released

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I think the Double Pack helped sales as you get both games plus the codes for Dynamax Larvitar and Jangmo-o and the Mystery Gift of getting G-Max Meowth for free. And digital downloads also help increase sales. Pokémon is one of the few video game series that is guaranteed to sell millions of copies both digitally and physically. Even the less than spectacular and truly horrible games sell. Dash was just bargain bin fodder that was made to hold off fans until Diamond and Pearl were released. Hey You, Pikachu! didn’t work if your voice didn’t match the microphone’s ideal vocal pitch pickup. And Rumble Rush forces you to use micro transactions to get the best experience from the game.

 

[Wulava]

I guess it's because Switch as a console has sold really well. I'm not completely sure about this but I think Switch has sold more copies than 3ds had when XY was released

Just going to confirm this. Yes.

The 3DS had sold a total of 42.75 million units (currently 75.71 million), while the Switch has sold 52.48 million units on the same time span.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Now the question is if the expansion pass helped in the long run or if people really did have faith and bought the games anyway.

 

[Pokemon Fan]

Now the question is if the expansion pass helped in the long run or if people really did have faith and bought the games anyway.

It's my understanding these sales numbers only show data to the end of 2019, so the Expansion Pass announcement hadn't effected things yet.

 

[BCVM22]

Now the question is if the expansion pass helped in the long run or if people really did have faith and bought the games anyway.

These are sales numbers up to December 31, 2019. The Expansion Pass hadn’t been announced yet.

 

[Ignition]

So in a matter of a few months Sword and Shield has sold nearly as many copies as X and Y has over its whole lifespan. I gotta say even as someone who likes the games I was not expecting that. One would think the higher price tag alone would have effected copies sold to some degree. Just what do we make of this? That the controversies actually increased sales? That regardless of controversies the games still have what the majority of players want?

If nothing else, I would say Sword and Shield's success will encourage Gamefreak to stay the course in their vision for future games (for better or worse).

You take away the fact that the world’s highest grossing franchise in history’s first console mainline game was bound to sell millions especially after the cultural phenomenon that was Pokémon Go.

Don’t know why we have to connect everything about these games regardless of your viewpoint on Dexit or why this is surprising

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I knew that the whole Dexit thing was never going to really affect the sales of SwSh. Fans were always going to purchase the games no matter what and the exclusion of a couple hundred Pokémon weren’t going to hurt sales. This is what I meant that it was unfair that some people were saying that SwSh were going to be disasters and be terrible games just because there’s no National Dex even before the review copies were sent out to game reviewers and officially released to the public. You can’t judge a game that harshly before it is even out because it’s unfair to both the developers and the game itself especially if no one outside of the development team has played the game.

 

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

I knew that the whole Dexit thing was never going to really affect the sales of SwSh. Fans were always going to purchase the games no matter what and the exclusion of a couple hundred Pokémon weren’t going to hurt sales. This is what I meant that it was unfair that some people were saying that SwSh were going to be disasters and be terrible games just because there’s no National Dex even before the review copies were sent out to game reviewers and officially released to the public. You can’t judge a game that harshly before it is even out because it’s unfair to both the developers and the game itself especially if no one outside of the development team has played the game.

I wouldn't equate game quality with sales, they're not the same thing. Sword and Shield selling a lot of copies doesn't automatically make them a good game for consumers to buy.

 

[Dragalge]

I knew that the whole Dexit thing was never going to really affect the sales of SwSh. Fans were always going to purchase the games no matter what and the exclusion of a couple hundred Pokémon weren’t going to hurt sales. This is what I meant that it was unfair that some people were saying that SwSh were going to be disasters and be terrible games just because there’s no National Dex even before the review copies were sent out to game reviewers and officially released to the public. You can’t judge a game that harshly before it is even out because it’s unfair to both the developers and the game itself especially if no one outside of the development team has played the game.

People can judge what they see even before a game is released. There is nothing unfair about first impressions lol. (And hey the textures in SWSH did turn out to still be bad despite thinking they'd be fixed before release so they were right on that!)

 

[Auraninja]

People can judge what they see even before a game is released. There is nothing unfair about first impressions lol. (And hey the textures in SWSH did turn out to still be bad despite thinking they'd be fixed before release so they were right on that!)

It's kind of what it is though, an impression.

Not saying impressions are bad, but they, by nature, are an incomplete picture of what the whole product is like.

 

[Ignition]

Even if people waited and purchased SwSh, others would belittle them for thinking the lack of National Dex makes them bad games (which is fine as it's their opinion on something they used with their money). I doubt the fact of them purchasing the games would change your mindset of people against these games just as much as the confirmation of more Pokemon coming doesn't change some of theirs. And this is coming from someone who was mostly satisfied with them.
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Anyway, I'm glad GF is constantly doing things like online competitions, Mystery Gifts, and Gigantamax Max Raid cycles. Gives a little more life to these games

 

[Auraninja]

There's a bit of psychology behind that.

I could watch a movie, read a book, or play a game and tell myself that it's awful, and I have successfully prevented myself from ever enjoying whatever piece of media I was participating in. This isn't to say that everybody would like Sword and Shield, as some people who played it felt underwhelmed, but its something to keep in mind.

 

[Orphalesion]

Personally I liked Shield and the exclusion of some Pokemon was never going to affect my personal enjoyment of the game. The only thing I didn't like were the short routes and that the story was crap (imho) especially in comparison to Sun/Moon.

 

[Auraninja]

Personally I liked Shield and the exclusion of some Pokemon was never going to affect my personal enjoyment of the game. The only thing I didn't like were the short routes and that the story was crap (imho) especially in comparison to Sun/Moon.

I thought the story was fine but not great.

What I really wish was in the game was some winding path or some deep cave that had some lore to that.
I hope The Crowned Tundra alleviates that (with its theme being exploration and all), and we do have the Regi temples there.

 

[ShadowForce720]

Um just pointing this out but on the Serebii main page just updated saying that on Feburary 27th they are going to reveal the following:

A brand new Mythical Pokémon is to be revealed, this Pokémon will star in the new movie Coco and be available in Pokémon Sword & Shield
A special Max Raid Battle will run in Pokémon Sword & Shield
A special event will run in Pokémon GO
New information about Pokémon Masters will be revealed

Although it's not confirmed maybe will also get new information on the Isle of Armor Expansion.

 

[Pokemon Power]

Um just pointing this out but on the Serebii main page just updated saying that on Feburary 27th they are going to reveal the following:

A brand new Mythical Pokémon is to be revealed, this Pokémon will star in the new movie Coco and be available in Pokémon Sword & Shield
A special Max Raid Battle will run in Pokémon Sword & Shield
A special event will run in Pokémon GO
New information about Pokémon Masters will be revealed

Although it's not confirmed maybe will also get new information on the Isle of Armor Expansion.

What's the source of this info?

 

[ShadowForce720]

What's the source of this info?

It's on the Serebii homepage: https://www.serebii.net/index2.shtml

 

[wolf jani]

This is unexpected! Hopefully the mythical will have a good design

 

[Lord Godwin]

Few months ago I had a dream about a Electric/Bug Mythical Pokemon, just saying;-D