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News Pokemon Scarlet and Violet sold 10 million in the first 3 days

it just feels like pokemon fans in nintendo forums and nintendo focused websites are always on denial about criticism about everything all the time, i wasnt really expecting something absurd (except that one person who compared it to god of war lol)
Pokemon has to be the Nintendo franchise everyone shits on constantly
 
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Genuine question - what is perfect about it? The world is empty and is comprised of 3 bland biomes. There are barely any trees in the world.

In the first few hours it's fun picking up items in the world, but eventually you become loaded with money and items and it quickly loses its novelty. The "open world" is basically just bland environments with Pokemon roaming around. That's it.

I seriously struggle to see what everyone else finds enjoyable about this gameplay loop.

I'll take the route design and unique towns of the earlier generation games all day over this.
This can be said for any open world game. Even the likes of GTA, The Witcher and Assassin's Creed. AC doesn't even need to be an open world, all the missions can be done in a pretty linear game. Open world environments are very repetitive and empty in each game. Why is it an open world? Collecting, exploration and freedom to run and jump around. All three also apply to SV.

Sounds like you don't enjoy open worlds and that's understandable. They really are not for everyone.
 
That's why I said I don't know how it compares. 10m day one sell-in vs. 10m three day sell-through
Here is Benji’s Tweet for context

The king is still GTA4 with 16m but that is spread across two different platforms (PS3/360)

Here it is in meme form for how ridiculous this launch is

2b5b32182a9c331b65b33615ba52eb3badb49a591665333284e6cec52d3711bf.png
 
That's why I said I don't know how it compares. 10m day one sell-in vs. 10m three day sell-through
The only real estimate you can find is vg charts at 5.7 million, though that is… not quality data

Regardless, if it sold through the initial shipment that would have been celebrated and touted as a record. You can pretty safely say 10m shipped means considerably less than 10m first week sales.
 
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Here is Benji’s Tweet for context

The king is still GTA4 with 16m but that is spread across two different platforms (PS3/360)

Here it is in meme form for how ridiculous this launch is

2b5b32182a9c331b65b33615ba52eb3badb49a591665333284e6cec52d3711bf.png

Really sinks in how major the groundwork Let's Go laid down was for the series. Really exciting stuff!
 
Hot Damn! 10 Million is such a super massive number you can't fully wrap your head around. Like I think that's important to keep in mind too. The games had clear development constraints and noticeable performance issues. But with a 10 mil sample base filtered through social media we are getting a somewhat skewed slice of what the games big glitch ratio's are
 
Genuine question - what is perfect about it?
The essence of adventure is there, and the sandbox would be perfectly suitable if it wasn’t so bland and lifeless. I have no issues whatsoever with the explorability of the world…it’s just that there is very little joy in doing so. Unique biomes, special encounters, hidden dungeons, increased foliage, volumetric elements…all of these things could easily fit into the current world. The core experience is all there…it just looks and plays like poo.
 
4M in 3 days in Japan is particularly mind blowing considering that until the Switch era, the fastest-selling game on record in Japan was Pokémon Black and White with 2.5 M in 3 days.
 
People ITT really gloating over a Pokemon game with major technical and graphical issues selling more than other games that were actually ready to launch is telling.
I like the games too, Pokemon is fun, the formula is still entertaining and I enjoy(ed) my time with Scarlet/Violet to an extent, but in no way were these games ready to ship as they were, not even in the slightest.

So people complaining and not liking the fact these games sold this much is them wanting to see major change, something that probably won't happen or is even needed with sales like these. Nobody wins when games like these are released, nobody.
 
People ITT really gloating over a Pokemon game with major technical and graphical issues selling more than other games that were actually ready to launch is telling.
I like the games too, Pokemon is fun, the formula is still entertaining and I enjoy(ed) my time with Scarlet/Violet to an extent, but in no way were these games ready to ship as they were, not even in the slightest.

So people complaining and not liking the fact these games sold this much is them wanting to see major change, something that probably won't happen or is even needed with sales like these. Nobody wins when games like these are released, nobody.
What about shareholders and executives
 
People ITT really gloating over a Pokemon game with major technical and graphical issues selling more than other games that were actually ready to launch is telling.
I like the games too, Pokemon is fun, the formula is still entertaining and I enjoy(ed) my time with Scarlet/Violet to an extent, but in no way were these games ready to ship as they were, not even in the slightest.

So people complaining and not liking the fact these games sold this much is them wanting to see major change, something that probably won't happen or is even needed with sales like these. Nobody wins when games like these are released, nobody.
I really like the game so I'm glad it's selling well and like to see quality rewarded
 
People ITT really gloating over a Pokemon game with major technical and graphical issues selling more than other games that were actually ready to launch is telling.
I like the games too, Pokemon is fun, the formula is still entertaining and I enjoy(ed) my time with Scarlet/Violet to an extent, but in no way were these games ready to ship as they were, not even in the slightest.

So people complaining and not liking the fact these games sold this much is them wanting to see major change, something that probably won't happen or is even needed with sales like these. Nobody wins when games like these are released, nobody.
its just a game who cares. the way some of you talk about this acting like this is some great moral outrage.
 
People ITT really gloating over a Pokemon game with major technical and graphical issues selling more than other games that were actually ready to launch is telling.
I like the games too, Pokemon is fun, the formula is still entertaining and I enjoy(ed) my time with Scarlet/Violet to an extent, but in no way were these games ready to ship as they were, not even in the slightest.

So people complaining and not liking the fact these games sold this much is them wanting to see major change, something that probably won't happen or is even needed with sales like these. Nobody wins when games like these are released, nobody.
"SEE, QUALITY DOESN'T MATTER!!!" everyone cheered
 
People ITT really gloating over a Pokemon game with major technical and graphical issues selling more than other games that were actually ready to launch is telling.
I like the games too, Pokemon is fun, the formula is still entertaining and I enjoy(ed) my time with Scarlet/Violet to an extent, but in no way were these games ready to ship as they were, not even in the slightest.

So people complaining and not liking the fact these games sold this much is them wanting to see major change, something that probably won't happen or is even needed with sales like these. Nobody wins when games like these are released, nobody.
I mean, I get the games earlier and they're super fun so pedantically, I would say I win.

But on a more serious note, yes Pokemon should have a longer dev cycle. As much as I might like the fact that we got two banger titles this year, it doesn't feel super sustainable, especially given how GameFreak has actually discovered ambition again.

That being said, I also don't think GameFreak is really going to take the lesson of "oh see we don't have to try!", and that feels like a needlessly doomerish attitude to have after Arceus and S/V. Trying is in many ways what got them these sales, after all, and despite them not having a tendency to listen to some common hardcore fan complaints (hello, EXP share), they typically do actually consider what critics and the fanbase at large have to say. I think we'll see performance prioritized in future titles, I'm just hoping it doesn't come at the cost of actually ambitious moves by the team. The absolute last thing I want is for them to play it safe in response to this performance backlash
 
to be clear, I like the new pokemon. it is cute and fun and I like going to pokemon school. but a game that runs like this being the fastest selling game ever is kind of lame
 
to be clear, I like the new pokemon. it is cute and fun and I like going to pokemon school. but a game that runs like this being the fastest selling game ever is kind of lame
Yeah if a game moves units fast it should run fast too

Naamloos-2.jpg
 
That's why I said I don't know how it compares. 10m day one sell-in vs. 10m three day sell-through
Sell-in: Nintendo shipped to distributors
Sell-Through: Actual sales from consumer.
(Both included digital purchases, i.e. the eShop or digital codes)

Basically Nintendo sold the games to customers from physical and digital version combined more than 10 million copies overall. Which is really impressive because sell-through tend to be quite lower than sell-in. It's a wonder how many physical copies Nintendo sent out.
 
So people complaining and not liking the fact these games sold this much is them wanting to see major change, something that probably won't happen or is even needed with sales like these
Sword and Shield also sold gangbusters, and people said with sales like those, Game Freak would have no incentive to innovate. And yet they made Legends Arceus and Scarlet/Violet. The notion that successful sales would stop "major change" from happening is faulty.
 
You know what, in spite of the misgivings I have expressed earlier because of the game's unacceptable technical state, I am at least happy that this means more people get to experience the brilliance of the core design here. Like, holy crap, it is actually hard to believe this came from the same Game Freak that gave us fucking Sword and Shield just three years ago.
 
People ITT really gloating over a Pokemon game with major technical and graphical issues selling more than other games that were actually ready to launch is telling.
I like the games too, Pokemon is fun, the formula is still entertaining and I enjoy(ed) my time with Scarlet/Violet to an extent, but in no way were these games ready to ship as they were, not even in the slightest.

So people complaining and not liking the fact these games sold this much is them wanting to see major change, something that probably won't happen or is even needed with sales like these. Nobody wins when games like these are released, nobody.
I mean I have won, since I have played the game and have absolutely loved it, so
 
It seems my kid will indeed have mystery trading partners when he gets this for christmas.
I was worried it'd be empty by then :p
 
Ah, the "lazy devs" chestnut strikes again.
people may not be lazy but companies are. they have absolutely insane technical debt and an equally insane release schedule, so the games have less work put into them than they should

even without improvements to their tools, if this had had another year it would've been absolutely incredible. instead it came out like this and was met with the greatest success imaginable
 
i think fundamentally a lot of people need to come to terms that online outrage is worth shit. there a million tweets calling this game bad and there will be a milllion 2 hour video essays with like 50 million views calling it shit because it looks like a ps3 game but that isnt breaking through to the mainstream because the mainstream fundamentally doesnt think about video games the way social media and forums do. now games like cyberpunk and andromeda were punished for the state they were in because the audience was that always online core gamer that heavily prioritizes the way games look which isnt the case with pokemon. ultimately the game is fun, most people dont give a shit about performance issues and bugs and glitches can be patched. rather than raging online thinking it will make a difference, dont buy the game and move on or emulate it or wait for the switch 2 idc. but treating it selling 10 million as some great injustice is just goofy.
The capeshit of video games
needs more quips and american military propaganda
 
people may not be lazy but companies are. they have absolutely insane technical debt and an equally insane release schedule, so the games have less work put into them than they should

even without improvements to their tools, if this had had another year it would've been absolutely incredible. instead it came out like this and was met with the greatest success imaginable
When people argue that GF are lazy, they are almost always saying it in the context of the people making the game. Not the corporate decisions dictating release dates.
 
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Ah, the "lazy devs" chestnut strikes again.
Sure. Considering how the game launched it seems QA wasn’t a thing and if it was then it’s was complete ignored. Its utterly ridiculous for a series that regular sells 10+ million to ship a game like SV with how it looks and performs.

At this point gamefreak is just technically incompetent.
 
Sword and Shield also sold gangbusters, and people said with sales like those, Game Freak would have no incentive to innovate. And yet they made Legends Arceus and Scarlet/Violet. The notion that successful sales would stop "major change" from happening is faulty.
The issue is that Scarlet/Violet released in a very unfinished manner. Yes, they went above what Sword and Shield offered, sure, but that resulted a product that was glitchy, buggy and certainly in a state worse than Sword and Shield. If you like the games, like I do, that's fine, but I just have a problem with people who look at the sales and ignore the underlining issues with the games themselves.

to be clear, I like the new pokemon. it is cute and fun and I like going to pokemon school. but a game that runs like this being the fastest selling game ever is kind of lame
This exactly. Absolutely no ill will towards people who enjoy the game. I myself enjoy the game too, but the accolades this game is getting with the state it released it is not good for anybody and rooting and cheering for that only gives further incentives for the Pokemon Company (Not just Game Freak) to not "Clean up there act" so to say for the next mainline title.

I want to see the games released in a state where I'm not experiencing numerous glitches, frame rate drops or slowdowns, things that shouldn't be occurring in a $60 ($80 CAD) AAA Nintendo release. of -the- biggest entertainment IP in the world.
 
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people may not be lazy but companies are. they have absolutely insane technical debt and an equally insane release schedule, so the games have less work put into them than they should

even without improvements to their tools, if this had had another year it would've been absolutely incredible. instead it came out like this and was met with the greatest success imaginable
gonna say it but im surprised no one has brought up what happened on the very calm year of our lord 2020 as a potential factor. i know everyone is now pretending nothing happened but you have to figure it should have affected things a little bit at least?
 
the accolades this game is getting with the state it released it is not good for anybody
Frankly, whether S/V was commercially successful or not, I don't think it would have any bearing on the technical performance of GF's next release.

Like, I seriously have no expectations from them as developers, between their technical skills, their dev cycles, and their need to coordinate with their massive multimedia machine.

And overall, it bears repeating that those glitches and bugs and frame drops are all minor niggles to the vast majority of the audience.

Do I want the games to perform better? Absolutely. I just don't see how good sales necessarily run counter to that.
 
Anyway, I'm not very far in the game, but as someone who's been very negative on the Switch era of Pokemon (with the caveat that I haven't played Arceus), the game is pretty fun! Yes, it's unacceptable it was released in this state, and I wish they spaced out releases more and let this sit in the oven a year. It could be even better if it was!

But there's no such thing as a meaningful boycott of a megabrand like Pokemon. These sales prove that. So your choices are pretty much accept a compromised product (to varying degrees of "compromised"), or don't buy it and wait for a patch/DLC/skip it entirely.

Talking to each other about this ultimately won't solve anything, this is a management problem with the people making and releasing the games. None of our brainwaves are going to change that. I get that it's annoying when it seems like people run defense for shoddy products - this post is not a defense of it, just an acceptance of the situation - but realistically arguing with other people about it won't change much. The visibility on social media is probably a better example of bringing attention to the issue.

I just don't think it's as binary as "the game is great" or "the game is unplayable." A purchase of the game is binary, but the evaluation of it is not. Maybe the reviews being lower than SWSH will raise eyebrows at GF, maybe not. Is what it is, really.
 
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Sure. Considering how the game launched it seems QA wasn’t a thing and if it was then it’s was complete ignored. Its utterly ridiculous for a series that regular sells 10+ million to ship a game like SV with how it looks and performs.

At this point gamefreak is just technically incompetent.
I work in QA professionally. You have no idea what you're talking about

What this comes down to is that the game was obvioiusly at least a bit rushed, but it was determined that what remaining bugs were known were not ship-blockers, and they could, at worst, be patched after release. And to be frank, no, these issues are not ship-blockers.

Would it be better if they had more time? Yes. Is that the fault of the dev team specifically? No.
 


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