I’m a big fan of video games. Playing video games is one of my favorite past times and one thing I’ve noticed is that video games are constantly changing. New games are being made every year and they always have something new. Normally, this is no problem for gamers, but suddenly, when something changes or there’s some new element to an old game like Pokémon, that game or elements of that game are considered “bad” or “game ruining” by people who grew up playing them. I can understand that. Generally, you want something you’ve grown up with to stay the same, to never change, but things change.
The thing most older fans of Pokémon complain about is the design of the new Pokémon. Sure, some of the new Pokémon might not have the most unique design or be the best looking. The common targets of this are Garbodor, a Pokémon that is to symbol land pollution and is called the “trash heap Pokémon” and Vanilluxe, a Pokémon that looks like ice cream. But I’d like to see you come up with a 100 new Pokémon things that are supposed to appeal to the target audience, children.
See, here’s the thing people seem to forget about Pokémon, one: It's popularity and two: It’s meant for children. Pokémon is a crazy popular game and is one of Nintendo’s biggest moneymakers. It’s because of this that, in order to keep it popular and to get new generations of children into the games, they need to make new games. In order to make new games, they are going to need new Pokémon, so they have to come up with several new Pokémon that can be appealing to children and make them want to buy the games. I’m all for nostalgia, but if you’re a big video game company like Nintendo that cares about profit, you’re going to worry a little more about the kids of the people that played your games in the past then the parents who still may or may not play the games.
From a business standpoint, it’s a smart move and an evolutionary step for the games. Sure, Pokémon sticks to the same formula and only introduces a few new concepts like Mega Evolution or allowing Exp. Share, an item that allows a Pokémon to receive half the experience points gained after a battle, to apply to all six of the Pokémon on your team to the newest games. Mega Evolution was added to add something new to the games to make it more interesting, while the Exp. Share was mostly changed to help newer and younger players train their Pokémon easier. Of course, using the Exp. Share is an optional item, you don’t have to use it, it’s just there so you don’t have to spend days leveling up your Pokémon individually.
These elements were added for the younger generation because they are the ones likely to continue to play the games, not so much the adults. Change is a part of life and video games, like Pokémon, are going to continue to change to meet the needs of new generations and newer audiences. Older games are either just going to have to deal with the change and accept the games for what they are or just continue on without their childhood games. The choice is up to them, but the games will continue to evolve and look different, but at their hearts, they’ll still be the same games you grew up playing.
