ScraftyIsTheBest
On to new Horizons!
A bit late to the conversation, but I wouldn't use sales to determine whether they would find it ideal to continue doing BDSP-styled "faithful remakes" going forward.BDSP sold gangbusters in a 1 month time span somehow I don't think they're going to abandon that fully for the sake of full LA styled games moving forward
The thing with Pokemon in particular is that it's practically guaranteed to sell well because the name brand of Pokemon is just that powerful. Pokemon is a powerhouse franchise, and any game with "Pokemon" attached to it is guaranteed to sell multi millions because of the sheer brand power behind Pokemon. I think everyone in the room as far as the companies go, not just the developers like Game Freak, but also the higher up corporations including TPC and Nintendo, is probably fully aware of this.
BDSP selling well was practically a given in this regard. It didn't sell gangbusters because of anything particularly unique to it. It sold well because it's Pokemon. And of course, it came out in the holiday season as usual for Black Friday and Christmas. It was of course going to sell superbly given those circumstances. And the thing is that its sales weren't particularly exceptional for a Pokemon game either. Its sales are about as on par as any other Pokemon game would sell. So I don't think BDSP selling would particularly encourage them to continue making games of its type.
What matters more, I imagine, is feedback and attachment. Response to feedback is important, and consumer feedback plays an important role in whether a company should continue making products of a certain type or not. Moreover, attachment value is vital, because it would be less encouraging to continue creating something of a certain type if people don't stick to it in the long term.
Looking at BDSP in particular, observing overall trends, it is notable for two things:
- The attachment level people have had to BDSP is quite low. It sold well in the early days shortly after release, but people dropped it like a rock within months, especially after Legends: Arceus came out. As far as being in the eye of public attention, BDSP rapidly faded into obscurity in lieu of Legends: Arceus. Sword and Shield, meanwhile, despite being older, has still continued to maintain a relatively steady level of attention over two years after release, staying in the center of attention alongside Legends: Arceus and even in the midst of us being in the Scarlet and Violet pre-release period.
- The Japanese fandom's sentiment towards BDSP has been overwhelmingly negative. The folks in the room, when listening to feedback, tend to prioritize feedback from the Japanese audience first and foremost since that is their domestic/home audience, so while we all know Western fandom has a negative opinion towards BDSP, it is especially more apparent that the Japanese fandom shares the exact same sentiments towards BDSP. The Japanese fandom has been excessively critical of BDSP for many of the same reasons many of us here in the West have criticized it, and have also considered it one of, if not the worst game in the franchise. Just recently, BDSP was announced in Japan as having received a "Global Category" reward, and Japanese Pokemon fans immediately took it upon themselves to express their dislike of BDSP. Many have panned it for its glitches, being an overly faithful and bland experience, and have hurled insults at the game calling it a blemish on the Pokemon series and "Shitty Game of the Year". That really reflects a rather poor light on BDSP.
The above two sentiments I feel are more important in determining whether they would want to continue doing BDSP-style "faithful remakes" and combined with the fact that it was inherently a secondary concern and a crutch measure in case Legends: Arceus didn't sell well, I think it's likely they would want to move away from doing BDSP-esque games in the future. The low attachment value and exceedingly negative reception towards BDSP are very notable: BDSP was bought up due to being a remake of a popular game (combiend with Pokemon's brand power) but immediately was followed up with immense disappointment and people dropping it like a rock less than 3 months after release. The nearly universally negative sentiment towards the game combined with how quickly it fell off the face of the Earth after its "new toy" season ended pretty much makes it clear that it's less likely they would want to do this kind of game again in the future.
Plus from Game Freak's perspective, Legends: Arceus was the game they actually wanted to make in the first place. Legends: Arceus selling well is more notable because of that, and especially so given that it was released at an awkward time in the year, and is a singular version mainline game instead of a paired version like most mainline Pokemon games. And not only did PLA sell magnificently, it has been met with very positive reception for the most part, especially from the Japanese fandom, many people loved the direction it took, and it has remained prominent in the public consciousness even while we are now quickly in the midst of SV+Gen 9 hype season. This would *definitely* encourage Game Freak to do more Legends styled games for future past generation revisits.
Anyway, point being, while sales may matter, in this case reception and feedback are very much important factors as well, and so is attachment value to a game in the long term. Especially in this case, sales would likely matter *less* than feedback because in the case of Pokemon, selling well is a given considering Pokemon's brand power, so sales alone cannot be used to determine whether the developers would consider it worth it to continue taking a certain direction with the games moving forward.