Why is Pokemon a popular game series still?

[sworddude]

I'm not up enough on the Pokémon to really comment on its staying power, but I must correct one thing.

The games are not named after random objects- they're named after random SETS of objects! Pokémon cheese & Pokémon doorstop? Never happen. But Pokémon cheese & Pokémon cracker? Now we're talking! And the third release can be Pokémon salami!

seems to me they are named after valuables. i get that people like to joke about them names but it's never going to be that bad.

saphire emerald, sapphire, gold silver, heartgold soulsilver. pearl diamon platinum.

sun & moon sword & shield. it's not that far fetched from the others and red blue and yellow just being named as popular colours.

I'm thinking pokemon heaven pokemon hell pokemon god being the third release or pokemon jungle pokemon sandstorm pokemon oasis as the third release.

I think pokemon arrow will be the third release or maybe pokemon armour for sword & shield.

[marvelvscapcom2]

you clearly have a biased opinion about the cod series.

You don't need to like the game but cmon why wouldn't they bring out a new call of duty game each year? it prints money your argument is so flawed it always is one of the best selling series it's the reason why many people buy a console in the first place. a ton of people only play this game series.

I basically said that yes, it prints money. That's good if you're Activision, bad for the integrity of the franchise and probably video games at large. If CoD is the reason systems sell, then I'm out of touch and I feel for the dying art of video games as I once knew them.

Heck even my dad who doesnt like games plays call of duty once in a while there something about most men WWII and weapons that is appealing as far as the more casual crowd goes who normally arent into games. same goes for especially modern sports games.

also as far as hardcore players of these series go there are differences that affect gameplay new modes etc so it's not the same stuff every year. it's pretty easy to critize a series if your not really into it.

Yes of course, I love to complain about games I've never played on a message board! Except, I have played one of them. Wasn't impressed enough to ever consider buying another one. But in all honesty, I wouldn't wish the one installment per year scheduled on any of my favorite series. That would effectively kill them.

first of all your not supposed to buy both pokemon red and blue your supposed to trade with other players. the game are basicly the same and should be treated as a single release your just missing a few pokemon some things are a bit different. sure there are some hardcore fans crazy enough to buy both but that's not really what one should do. you clearly lack the knowledge if you think your missing out on a ton by not buying both versions not to mention that with trades friends and from the ds era onwards online you could easily get the other pokemon by online trade. always some noob who would trade a legendary for trash.

Pokemon yellow on the other hand and platinum and emerald the series that where released after the dual release have a ton of extra content usually a different story different music etc etc. especially for the people who are into these kinds of games there is tons of new content.

saying that every pokemon game with each passing generation being the same that's just not true. Some are worse some are excellent and the newer ones being super kiddy but definitely not the same.

I still feel like that's some kind of marketing genius to sell more games. The content, even if it's just characters shouldn't be split apart.

10-20-19

[emporerdragon]

One thing I'm seeing not touched on is the multiplayer aspect of the games, which really helps cement the series' longevity. While the the games themselves are simple, once you stop playing against ai opponents and against humans, you'll discover a much more complicated system complete with a shifting meta.

In the single player game, you can win with basically anything as since the games are designed with younger players in mind, practically everything can be brute forced by gaining levels and using healing items to overpower and outlast anything the AI can throw at the player. Go into multiplayer and there's so much more to keep track besides type matchups to secure a win. Rather that asking yourself "Do I want to use this pokemon or not?", it becomes a series of questions: "What role in my team is this pokemon going to be?" "What nature best supports it's position?" "How shall I allocate my stat points?" "Which ability is best" :What moveset should I use?" "What item should I attach?" and so on.

And then there's the metagame in the battles themselves. In single player, opponents tend to have the tactical capacity of a wet potato, so very little thought beyond "They have a fire type, I'll use water!" is needed. In multiplayer, you actually need to think tactics. People aren't just going to keep smashing their 'mons together at full force until one side gives; No, they are going to do things like swap their pokemon, create setups and traps and so on. And you also don't know what your opponent's pokemon are capable of (Is this charizard a special or a physical attacker? Does it have a move to counter a rock-type? etc.) The game becomes more trying to figure out what your opponent's team is capable of and how to best counter it with your team before it becomes too late.

And each game does greatly shake up the meta. New mechanics and changes from generation to generation will cause many pokemon to bounce around the tier lists or find their ideal roles changed around from one game to the next.

In short, the games have a very complicated and robust battling system, but a person can beat the game without understanding anything beyond the most basic elements.

[sworddude]

One thing I'm seeing not touched on is the multiplayer aspect of the games, which really helps cement the series' longevity. While the the games themselves are simple, once you stop playing against ai opponents and against humans, you'll discover a much more complicated system complete with a shifting meta.

In the single player game, you can win with basically anything as since the games are designed with younger players in mind, practically everything can be brute forced by gaining levels and using healing items to overpower and outlast anything the AI can throw at the player. Go into multiplayer and there's so much more to keep track besides type matchups to secure a win. Rather that asking yourself "Do I want to use this pokemon or not?", it becomes a series of questions: "What role in my team is this pokemon going to be?" "What nature best supports it's position?" "How shall I allocate my stat points?" "Which ability is best" :What moveset should I use?" "What item should I attach?" and so on.

And then there's the metagame in the battles themselves. In single player, opponents tend to have the tactical capacity of a wet potato, so very little thought beyond "They have a fire type, I'll use water!" is needed. In multiplayer, you actually need to think tactics. People aren't just going to keep smashing their 'mons together at full force until one side gives; No, they are going to do things like swap their pokemon, create setups and traps and so on. And you also don't know what your opponent's pokemon are capable of (Is this charizard a special or a physical attacker? Does it have a move to counter a rock-type? etc.) The game becomes more trying to figure out what your opponent's team is capable of and how to best counter it with your team before it becomes too late.

And each game does greatly shake up the meta. New mechanics and changes from generation to generation will cause many pokemon to bounce around the tier lists or find their ideal roles changed around from one game to the next.

In short, the games have a very complicated and robust battling system, but a person can beat the game without understanding anything beyond the most basic elements.

first of all tactical knowledge wet potato. you can even win withouth type advantages just overlevel your stuff and win even withouth type advantage that's how most people do it, not by type advantage except maybe early on. not to mention revives hype potions etc. you can just heal your way to win.

anyways as far as challenging single player goes.

actually in pretty much every instalment starting from ruby sapphire there is  a battle tower of some sort in wich all pokemon are of equal lvl. a ton of people who can't beat those. the leaders after a ton of win streaks either have pseudo legendary or myhical legendary pokemon that are not banned in competitive play not to mention pretty strong trainers from time to time in the middle as well. and you obviously can;t use the legendaries that are banned. if you lose you have to redo hours of gameplay and you can't cheat by saving after each battle it's brutal.
The most challenging of them all is the battle frontier in pokemon emerald wich aside from challenging battles had a ton of variety in the overworld aside from battles in the battle frontier. battle pyramid seviper doom etc. if you beat the battle tower you get points and symbols/badges. thanks to the variety outside the battles the battle frontier in emerald is the most fun ofthem all. later ones never got as creative as battle frontier sadly. but it was hardcore stuff casuals did not enjoy battle frontier and probably never even reached the stage 1 leader for each dome. you can play for hours withouth getting any progress if you lose.

obviously all heal items are banned in every battle frontier/ tower just like in competitive you can only use a single hold item per pokemon. not to mention that some op items such as soul dew are left unaffected in pretty much every installment. an item that normally even at legit competive against actual people in battles at the time gives latios a 50% boost to spec att spc def. such an awesome item to use against friends in pokemon battle revolution.

fairly sure that the majority of pokemon players quit the battle tower after just a few battles and never beat it. there is no overleveling and it comes close to meta at times.  no lack of good moves and the best pokemon.

also as far as the normal game goes. gen 5 in pokemon black & white 2 introduced a hard mode wich you can unlock only pokemon game that did that. in wich all trainers are higher lvl'ed trainers having more competitive moves and items. not to mention that thanks to gen 5 exp system you can't over lvl unless your grinding a shit ton you get less exp from lower lvl mons. it already starts from the very first rival battle wich is lvl 6 compared to your lvl 5 making even the normal game to have some spice as far as difficulty in pokemon games go.

there is also this whole thing about breeding and getting perfect competitive stats for each pokemon. some people spend hours days before they get the perfect natures and iv's and you can actually manipulate it after each generation of pokemon.  there is a ton of stuff to do in them games.

[kashell]

I haven't Pokemon'd since the era of Gold/Silver. So that was like 2000? 2001?

The transition from Red and Blue to G&S offered more than I thought possible. "Shiny" Pokemon, new legendary Pokemon that were pretty bad-ass (Suicune is dope), Pokemon eggs, a brand new region to explore, and the ability to return to the Kanto region. Like I said, I haven't touched the series since the start of the millennium so my memory might be a bit fuzzy.

My guess is that each new mainline entry offers more. You get more stuff to see, do, collect, and what-not. As consoles get more powerful, I'm guessing the graphics are looking better, too.

I'm not interested in the series anymore since there are tons of other franchises I'd rather play. But, that sense of "more" is probably what keeps the series so popular.

[undertakerprime]

Let me preface this by saying, I have no nostalgic connection to Pokémon; I was already out of college when the first game came out.

But, I bought Pokémon Blue and enjoyed it. Enough that I got Gold and Sapphire too. Didn’t play a game after that until my kids recently really got into the cards. I went back and played through Sapphire again, and still enjoyed it to the point where I went to my local retro game store and got Pokémon White. Playing through it now, and it’s still fun.

Pokémon is like a simplified RPG, but the collection and elemental attribute aspects are what make it fun for me. It’s neat to see what you’ll run into, which Pokémon will become an integral part of your team, and learning all the secrets. I don’t obsess over catching them all.

Every iteration introduces new Pokémon, a new land to explore, new moves, and altered battle mechanics. They certainly change a lot more from game to game than, say, the classic Mega Man series.
As others have said, getting both games of a particular Pokémon generation is only for the hardcore; the games are almost identical save for minor plot points and a handful of game-exclusive Pokémon (which is meant to encourage socializing and trading with others to obtain them).

So, it’s not like they’re putting out the exact same game every time. It’s the same formula, just tweaked in some ways, and with brand-new Pokémon to catch.

[hoshichiri]

I'm not up enough on the Pokémon to really comment on its staying power, but I must correct one thing.

The games are not named after random objects- they're named after random SETS of objects! Pokémon cheese & Pokémon doorstop? Never happen. But Pokémon cheese & Pokémon cracker? Now we're talking! And the third release can be Pokémon salami!

seems to me they are named after valuables. i get that people like to joke about them names but it's never going to be that bad.

saphire emerald, sapphire, gold silver, heartgold soulsilver. pearl diamon platinum.

sun & moon sword & shield. it's not that far fetched from the others and red blue and yellow just being named as popular colours.

I'm thinking pokemon heaven pokemon hell pokemon god being the third release or pokemon jungle pokemon sandstorm pokemon oasis as the third release.

I think pokemon arrow will be the third release or maybe pokemon armour for sword & shield.

Oh, I know it'll never get as bad as cheese/cracker/salami, just having a bit of fun.

I do think heaven/hell/god would never come up- too religious. jungle/desert/oasis could be a thing. I'm betting game 3 for sword/shield is gonna be spear, personally.

[telly]

I'm not up enough on the Pokémon to really comment on its staying power, but I must correct one thing.

The games are not named after random objects- they're named after random SETS of objects! Pokémon cheese & Pokémon doorstop? Never happen. But Pokémon cheese & Pokémon cracker? Now we're talking! And the third release can be Pokémon salami!

seems to me they are named after valuables. i get that people like to joke about them names but it's never going to be that bad.

saphire emerald, sapphire, gold silver, heartgold soulsilver. pearl diamon platinum.

sun & moon sword & shield. it's not that far fetched from the others and red blue and yellow just being named as popular colours.

I'm thinking pokemon heaven pokemon hell pokemon god being the third release or pokemon jungle pokemon sandstorm pokemon oasis as the third release.

I think pokemon arrow will be the third release or maybe pokemon armour for sword & shield.

Oh, I know it'll never get as bad as cheese/cracker/salami, just having a bit of fun.

I do think heaven/hell/god would never come up- too religious. jungle/desert/oasis could be a thing. I'm betting game 3 for sword/shield is gonna be spear, personally.

Game Freak has dropped the third game thing in favor of doing direct sequels. The third follow up game hasn't been a thing since Platinum.

[bikingjahuty]

I was in 6th grade when Pokemon Red and Blue came out in the US and from about 1998 until 2001 I was obsessed with it. Even though I was in my late childhood and early adolescents during this time, it was still very impactful for me at the time and remains one of my fondest childhood memories. I loved trying to find people who were willing to trade Pokemon with me I didn't have. I loved going to places like Software Ect, Toys R Us, and KB Toys to find Pokemon cards and plastic Pokemon figures from Japan. I religiously watched the anime on Kids WB every Saturday morning, and before that it used to be on during the week at like 6am on Fox, and I used to force myself out of bed to watch it even if I could have got an extra half hour of sleep before school. Yes, I was obsessed with it lol.


However, I remember around the time the third Pokemon movie came out in the US I began to lose interest in it, and while I never completely lost interest it was diminished enough to where I was no longer watching the anime, collecting the cards, or playing any of the games. I did buy Ruby and Sapphire when they came out, but remember having a really hard time getting into them and never beat either game until years later when both were remade on the 3DS. However, around the time I began collecting games in the late 2000s, I got on a huge Pokemon kick again. My girlfriend bought me a DS and Pokemon Platinum and I remember getting really into Pokemon again, albeit not to the degree I did back when Pokemon first came out. To this day I still mostly enjoy Pokemon and all things having to do with it, although I do have some very big gripes about the series that have decreased my enjoy of the franchise.


For one, I feel like he quality of Pokemon hit its peak with gen 2, and then slowly got worse and worse. I struggled to get through Black/White, and I did enjoy X/Y a fair amount, but a lot of the new Pokemon from that gen were pretty bad save a few exceptions. I actually really disliked Sun/Moon and was the first main Pokemon game I didn't like. I hated that they removed gyms, again the new Pokemon were not that great, and just overall the game felt like a shadow of what it used to be. On top of that I realized a few years ago that I'm not really into the newer Pokemon anime, nor do I care that much for the cards like I used to.


As for Pokemon Sword and Shield, I actually have very high hopes for it. Most of the announced new Pokemon look good, the region and open world look fun, and I've been anxiously awaiting what the starter evolutions look like before getting properly hyped. The only thing so far that really turns me off about Sword and Shield is the kaiju Pokemon forms or whatever the hell they're calling it; it looks like another stupid gimmick like Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves that if anything have just made Pokemon feel like it's running out of ideas. Still, I'll buy it when it comes out and hopefully I'll enjoy it, at least more than Sun/Moon.

[telly]

Obviously I'm painting in broad strokes here but I think the general consensus among hardcore Pokemon fans is that the series peaked with gen 4, culminating with HG/SS. There's a reason why those games and the original Gen 2 games still run $40-50. Ever since Sun and Moon however, there has been a new Pokemon game every year, and I think a lot of people (myself included) are actually feeling a little burnt out by the constant yearly string of Pokemon games. And that burnout is also translating into Sword and Shield's development which from my opinion, feel and look very rushed.

These thoughts are based on my activity in Pokemon fan forums as an administrator for Bulbagarden. I've seen a lot of discussion and increased negativity towards USUM, Let's GO, and Sword/Shield.

For me, my interest in the series comes in spurts. I was huge into it as a kid starting with Crystal version, and played LeafGreen and Emerald version heavily. 100% completed the Pokedex in LG, for example. Then like many people my age, Pokemon started becoming "uncool" around the time I was finished Junior High and my friends and I moved on to different franchises with a similar theme (for me, it was Mega Man Battle Network).

After a couple of years towards the end of high school, people started replaying their old Pokemon games, and my interest in the series was rekindled. I bought HeartGold day one and clocked over 500 hours into it, and played White version about 200 hours as well. Got the black trainer card in HG, everything. Also got more into competitive battling around this time too because gen 4 was when that started becoming a big part of Pokemon. As you can probably guess, after playing those two games for that long I got pretty sick of Pokemon at that point and took another hiatus when B2/W2 were announced.

I took a 4 year break from the series and didn't get back into the games with Pokemon GO. And now I'm going back and playing all the games I missed (Platinum, ORAS last year, X/Y this year). I probably won't get Sword/Shield for the main reason that I don't have a Switch. But it also doesn't really interest me at this time.

To get to the OP's contention, I think there's nothing wrong with utilizing the same formula with different mechanics added in/spiced up every year. Think about any major sport, like football or basketball. Same game played year after year. But for many people the new players and coaching that are changed around means every year is a different experience. Pokemon and COD continue to add new wrinkles to their really addicting and fun core gameplay and that's what keeps me enticed.

[oldgamerz]

It's popular, as some have already stated, to me, it's easy to understand what to do.

I love pokemon but don't have any games sadly I would like to play them on a tv console any recommendation for a GameCube or Nintendo 64 Pokemon game?

I really wish my GameCube Pokemon games were not so beat up and actually still worked, they were played to death by my sister, but I don't mind.

The problem with those old GameBoy Color and Original cartridges is the battery, I heard stories of the battery dying in the old games.

[undertakerprime]

The problem with those old GameBoy Color and Original cartridges is the battery, I heard stories of the battery dying in the old games.

That’s the problem I’ve encountered.
When my kids started getting into the cards, I got out my old Blue, Gold, and Sapphire carts to show to them. The only one where the battery still worked was Gold, and it died a couple weeks later.

Sapphire is still playable without the battery, because your game data is stored using flash memory. The only things the battery affects are time of day and time-based events like tides, making it impossible to catch certain Pokémon.

There are methods to replace the batteries, including soldering them onto the board yourself. I’m probably not going to bother doing it though.

[sworddude]

I'd say the peak of pokemon designs was at gen3. Gen 4 and 5 weren't bad. but gen 6 and onwards now that was rough sure there are very few good ones and than gen 7 with ultra beast aliens that look like lifeless objects?

and in terms of overworld quality especially music gameplay and character designs it was at it's peak at gen 5. Afterwards all of that went to the shits. aside from the gameplay part should still be decent but the damage has been done. mega evolutions was the only good thing.


also in terms of remakes pokemon let's go was the worst it was an insult to older fans

At least pokemon x & Y to ultra sun and moon the 3d character models represented the art. but pokemon let's go it's an abomination compared to the original games they just changed everything to be kiddy shitty chibby art style.

i know pokemon is a kids game but they absolutely went all out on let's go. than again looking at the current anime art style switch not all old fans will return to the series.

the pokemon go catch mechanics where just the cherry on top to destroy the game



heartgold soulsilver was how a remake should be done. tons of extra's 2 regions wich means 16 gyms including new area's all towns etc it's like 2 whole games to explore in 1. not to mention the best 2 gens in terms of iconic characters in the entire series. to top it of also  many legandaries to catch from other gens.  and all grapics and sprite work represent the old stuff.

and as extra nostalgia you could unlock the GB sounds key item
this item would change the overworld and battle music to the original gameboy color sounds or at least simular re arrangements one of the best unlocks in any pokemon game. pokemon let's go didnt even have that option. including new chip tune soundtracks in for example the battle frontier.

the content and replay value in these games was very high tons of post game. soulsilver heartgold where arguably the best pokemon games ever made. that or either black & white 2  but platinum and especially emerald are not far behind.

[marvelvscapcom2]

The new COD is worst than typhus.   First game to make me contemplate an arrestable offense.   I think maybe warmsignal was right.  This is rushed garbage.  I have destroyed the case so none of you will buy it anymore.  But hopefully some poor sap will give me 20 bucks for it.   I hang my head in shame. 

[hoshichiri]

Game Freak has dropped the third game thing in favor of doing direct sequels. The third follow up game hasn't been a thing since Platinum.

So toasted cheese/cracker, then?