I don't understand how people can be so forgiving of how ass these games run on the Switch. Like you're fucking brainwashed.
I get that, but for me the issues lie more what kind of precedent this sets for Game Freak in the coming years. Why is it okay for Pokemon to release yearly, unpolished games akin to FIFA titles? If this were any other Nintendo franchise like Mario then I'm pretty damn sure a whole lot more people would be willing to blast games of the quality that S/V are.
As someone who enjoyed SWSH, I think I can explain.
The average Pokemon fan has never really given a shit about most of the criticism lobbied at the newer games.
The graphics are bad? I grew up with Gen 1. They've looked much worse.
The story is shit? That's nothing new. Gen 5's the only mainline game with a good one.
Rivals are bad? Outside of Gary, Silver, N, and I guess Hau, when haven't they been that?
Dexit happened? Boohoo, who cares? There's like over a thousand Pokemon. This was bound to happen eventually, and I'm not autistically obsessed over this one specific Pokemon that I caught over fifteen years ago to give a shit. Besides, I like using new Pokemon for the new games, anyway.
It's too easy? Bitch, I would've killed for an EXP Share like this when I was a kid because grinding for hours is tedious, boring, and annoying. Also, Pokemon's never been hard. It's just had a fucked-up level curve, broken mechanics, and unbalanced typing for most of its life.
It's too kid-friendly? 1) No shit, it's a fucking children's game, and 2) This isn't even true because the Dex entries get more, and more unsettling with every new gen, among other things.
It relies too heavily on gimmicks? Where have you been? This has been a thing since Gen fucking 3. Technically, Gen fucking 2 if you really think about it.
The new Pokemon are ugly/uninspired? Look me in the eye, and tell me that the Grimer, Geodude, Voltorb lines aren't that, too.
It's poorly programmed, and glitchy af? Gen 1 here again. Lemme tell you about Ghost, and Psychic-types in R/B/Y, as well as the Badge Boost glitch, Missingno, and the absolute clusterfuck that are the Celadon slots machines.
Pandering to Gen 1? Literally the only complaint I 100% agree with. This is dumb, and other Gens need more love. They need to stop whoring it out.
Etc, etc.
I think the issue is that people were exaggerating how bad new Pokemon games were that people stopped taking them seriously, and that a lot of the complaints felt like they were coming from spoiled, man-children who were upset about either trivial things like the series being too kid-friendly, or honestly reasonable things that we all saw coming like the Dexit.
Look, I'll admit that I have a very low standard for Pokemon games. So long as I can catch Pokemon, battle other trainers with them, train them, and trade them, I'm fine. I would like for them to more than that, but they really don't have to be for me to enjoy myself. I don't care if this makes me a braindead consoomer, or whatever. It's the truth.
Having said that, I think the pace of which Pokemon games have been coming out is fucking horrific, and that they are getting more, and more broken as time goes on. I like SWSH, but it does have issues (most notably lag), and the state BDSP were released in is inexcusable, and even more so with S/V.
Furthermore, I fully agree that Game Freak has no excuse. Saying they have more than enough money, power, and other shit to hire other people to work on games, and take a break in the meantime is the biggest understatement ever. For the life of me, I can't think of why they don't do this. If I had to guess, I think something must be happening behind the scenes to actively force them not to, because nothing else makes any sense? Greed? This is bestselling franchise of all time. I doubt it's that.
I would actually really like to know why this is happening, and I think once Game Freak finally does implode, I think we're gonna find out. I don't think S/V's gonna be the one that does them in, though. As buggy as Gen 9 is, it's at least fun, and (mostly) functional.
However, that last part isn't really saying much considering how it's even more broken than the last few games despite being made on the same console by the exact same people. I have a feeling Gen 10 is gonna be the final nail in the coffin because at the rate at which things are going, I can't see it not being that, or at least being something very close to it.
Tl;dr; Pokemon's always been this way, but Game Freak no longer has an excuse for it.
