Could Pokémon Actually Be SLOWING DOWN???

Pokemon Legends Z-A has been announced for 2025 and there doesn't seem to be a major Pokemon release slated for this holiday. Is there a chance this means the Pokemon Company is finally getting their act together?
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[@ArloStuff]

www.gofundme.com/f/aid-for-adam-and-his-family

[@quintonconoly]

Nice

[@JsYTA]

Please support Arlo's Godfather

[@meta13gaming]

This man has the spirit of Jim Henson in his heart❤

[@ethanfun4765]

praying for him

[@jwsdreamland]

wishing adam the absolute best. ❤

[@Gnoggin]

so.... SO happy that theres another year to wait. for our sake AND theirs. Lets hope its of their own choice and not just because of a Switch 2 delay.

[@lyconxero457]

The game is announced for the Switch itself as of now so I don't think that any sort of successor system has anything to do with the release date. If anything, it's possible that this game might not come out until AFTER Nintendo's next console has released as they simply said "2025" which is different from Legends: Arceus which they announced at a similar time (Pokémon Day 2021) but specifically noted that it was coming out early 2022 and then later dated it for January in a later Pokémon Direct.

[@MOORE4U2]

Honestly, I think the Switch 2 delay is the likely culprit. The Switch logo was on the release image at the end, but "simultaneously" doesn't strike me as referring to "worldwide."

[@BladeBloodTear]

I'm hoping it is further 2025 instead of just in January like when Legends Arceus came out. I would really love them to take a good sweet amount of time to actually focus on work on this instead of a copying of previous trends.

[@internetguy7319]

guys. this is the same team as legends arceus probably. the game that came out early 2022. if it comes out early 2025 (it will), that is just a 3 year cycle. It's the same fucking thing, they did not slow down

[@Antasma1]

I mean, wouldn’t that still encourage them not to rush the game?

[@BagMonster]

Ironic that a slower Pokemon release schedule causes Arlo's schedule to speed up.

[@istealpopularnamesforlikes3340]

2 videos on the same day. Blessing

[@ancientgearsynchro]

Balance must be maintained

[@dugtrioinstruments7388]

Perfect

[@jameslawrenson1208]

It goes to show how much of a game changer this is for him.

[@elsamarks8477]

You know I’ve never seen Arlo and The Pokémon Company in the same place… you don’t think they could be the same person!??

[@harleyludy6596]

I got to interview Adam for a research project a while back. He's such an amazing guy and deserves all of the love in the world for just being him.

[@VenLapaki]

One of the more optimistic theories I've heard is that the delay may have to do with the fact that Nintendo was forced to refund people for Scarlet and Violet. How many times has Nintendo actually issued refunds, even with a sub-par release? I think we can count on one hand, in the company's entire history. It wouldn't be surprising if Papa Nintendo came in and had a chat about that sort of thing. Either way, I hope it becomes the new standard.

[@heroicgangster9981]

Complaining actually works and is valid

[@bryanmerel]

Wait, they did offer a Refund for Scar/Vio? I was not aware of this, or is this only exclusive to the one Digitally sold?

[@paperluigi6132]

@@bryanmerelI went to Walmart yesterday, and there were DOZENS of unsold copies of Scarlet, while Violet only had a few remaining.

[@Matty002]

@@paperluigi6132yeah when i was trying to code trade for the scarlet paradox pokemon almost everyone had the violet ones to trade

[@fishcandy3188]

​@Matty002 hey, if you still need the scarlet paradox pokemon I have them! Sincerely, a filthy scarlet player

[@Miccat87]

Honestly, I was SO relieved to see that Legends Z-a is releasing in 2025, and not this year.

[@walaceandrade4046]

I dont get why people are so relieved, they probably releasing it in february next year. Y'all comemorating a 3 month gap.

[@Maltackdark]

Yeah I wouldn't get too excited just yet. Pretty sure it'll release the same time Arceus did. I won't be surprised one bit if they do that either.

[@josephdimambro-denson497]

​@@walaceandrade4046when legends arceus was revealed they announced an early 2022 release date, where as legends z-a just had said 2025, so I would assume it's likely to be mid to late 2025.

[@frankwoodson5197]

@@walaceandrade4046 You don't have any idea of when its releasing next year. Recent pokemon games have showed that they need more time in the oven, they don't need a call of duty release schedule

[@donizawesome2809]

@@walaceandrade40463 months is a lot of extra development time if you assume the games are meant to be otherwise completed by like November. At that point all their resources are going into polishing the game which can improve a LOT of things when everyone is focused on it.

[@Shroomiton_]

0:02 he used to be my art teacher… we made puppets together for DI. You got this Mr. Kreutinger. ❤️

[@avioro4822]

He used to be my drama teacher

[@PolitoedFan9002]

We all love him

[@Big_Man_W]

That bit at the beginning for that lovely man’s gofundme was really good of you to include Arlo

[@MrVideoScape]

Context. Adam built the arlo puppet.

[@EmeralBookwise]

Another thing I've seen pointed out is that that if GameFreak stuck to the 3 year cycle, Gen10 would have been launching in 2025, but 2026 is the franchise's 30th anniversary and so they might be holding off for that, with Legends A-Z getting released off season to bridge the gap.

[@fiskern2241]

If GF was stuck on a 3 year cycle, the new Legends game would come out next year..oh wait

[@nexas3018]

@@fiskern2241To be fair, Legends Arceus launched in January 2022 so if they launch the next Legends for Holiday 2025 that’s closer to 4 years than 3.

[@TheFrontzClub]

there is NO WAY pokemon can hold off a refresh of the series till 2026 thats 3 years of nothing new

[@fiskern2241]

@@nexas3018 and if they launch this in January, it will be 3 years

[@nexas3018]

@@fiskern2241 yeah I guess we’ll have to wait and see if it launches with Switch 2 in March 2025, but if it releases in the fall that’s closer to 4 years.

[@Sneasling]

Z-A not releasing until 2025 is great, but it makes me wonder if Gen 10 won't release until 2026, especially since that year would be the 30th anniversary. 4 years after SV instead of the usual 3 years. Like please, let it have plenty of time in development.

[@bmatthoffman]

I think they’ll wait for the 30th anniversary but Legends Arceus and SV did come out the same year so it’s possible that they’ll maintain their schedule

[@dnmstarsi]

Possibly. It's likely that there's two teams at work this time. One working on Gen 6 Redemption and the other working on Gen 10 with both teams unifying after development of A-Z is complete. Bit of a stretch to predict especially since Legends Arceus was released around the same time of the year so it's likely Legends games will be an early of the year release compared to core games being released late in the year nowadays.

[@kipolem53]

Scarlet and Violet had TOO MUCH time in development, we need to send the Paradox Pokemon back where they came from. Or maybe instead of making those, they couldve spent time making Eeveelutions and actually good reginal variants and evos of older Pokemn. Dudunsparce and Farigaraf are the worst designs of this caliber. Clodsire is fine though. Oh HIsuian Decidueye is also really bad.

[@mariotheundying]

@@kipolem53 that's just your opinion, and trade paradox Pokemon for a new eeveelution? No thank you, btw they could've done that anyway, so it was just their decision for not making a new one Btw dunsparce is a joke pokemon, of course it'll have a joke evolution, making a cool one would defeat the entire point, next time complain about Flamigo instead

[@Sneasling]

@@kipolem53 They games had so many glitches and bugs because it spend too long in development? Nah. It was rushed. It needed more time to be polished.

[@FightinCowboy]

Appreciate you tagging me when you use stuff, hadn't heard of you before but these are pretty cool videos.

[@itachi112ify]

I appreciate your videos, wouldn’t have survived Elden ring without ‘em really looking forward to the DLC videos if you do make them

[@HandlelessTML]

​@itachi112ify I appreciate you, for saying what I was going to say

[@Juniverse0]

Another Legends Game + Pokémon Z after a like a decade + they’re seemingly taking their time. Actually has me quite exited.

[@harrypainter7472]

Hopefully it means Gen 10 will be coming out in 2026 and it will have a better launch than Gen 8 and 9

[@Sono-Zone]

You and arlo are both WAY off on this... there was 3 years between sword/shield and legends arceus... now it's going to be 3 years again between scarlet/violet and legends A-Z. This whole narrative in this ENTIRE video is destroyed by just doing a quick googles search and looking at their previous releases. Brilliant Diamond and Shining pearl are irrelevant because they were made by a completely different developer than Gamefreak. I think this is the worst and most inaccurate video arlo has ever made.... very disappointed.

[@harrypainter7472]

@@Sono-Zone Legends Arceus was more like two years after Sword and Shield. November 2019 to January 2022. No release date has been announced for ZA yet, so theoretically it could be released as late as November 2025, making it three years after Scarlet and Violet.

[@Sono-Zone]

@@harrypainter7472 There is no release date yet... yes, but so far every mainline pokemon game releases in November and the only legends game we have ever gotten released in January and they even released it that early WITH a pokemon game releasing only months before it, with us not having ANY game since 2022, they are definitely going to push this out asap. It's way more likely to release in the first half of the year than the second, and even IF it does release in November... is that extra 10 months going to make the big difference? All these youtbers and poketubers are acting like they just doubled the development time or something, when AT MOST it's an extra 10 months of development. I'm SO SICK of the Pokemon fans deluding themselves OVER and OVER and OVER, it's so tiring... seriously.

[@joshcal7370]

You know you could just not play on the years you don’t want to play right?

[@blarp7948]

I’ve waited 10 years for new mega evolutions

[@fiddlemyfoddle6374]

No shot it’s been 10 years…has it? Edit: omg it has been…

[@MacUser2-il2cx]

Not me. Modern Pokemon gimmicks suck. Transformations, growing bigger, alternate types, i don't care! I just want a new Pokemon game that doesn't suck that takes it's time developing. Bring back breeding and the real time clock. Bring back the full Pokedex.

[@PowerGem3000]

@@MacUser2-il2cx…you can breed in Scarlet/Violet

[@louiepikmin3184]

​@MacUser2-il2cx Bro what 😭 Every modern pokemon game besides legends arceus has had breeding and every single pokemon game in the past 20ish years has taken advantage of the real time clock

[@Nightwalker065]

​@@louiepikmin3184plus technically the physical/special split was the gimmick for gen 4 and stayed. Imo megas should have just been a feature becusse there's no reason not to keep it

[@tristanneal9552]

Everyone talking about yearly releases vs the three year cycle; what's really interesting is we're not getting a Let's Go or remake this year, and don't yet have a new generation announced for 2025. Based on the three year cycle, we weren't due for another Legends game and a new generation until next year, but they've been filling in the gap years with DLC, LGPE, BDSP. We're only slated for Legends, not a new generation, AND no gap year game, suggesting that yes they may be slowing down.

[@kipolem53]

I figured they would swap between Lets Go and Legends but guess not. However, there IS Something major folks are missing here. This game is due t come out the same year as Kalos sitting cuties, which the fourth gen came out arund the same time as BDSP.

[@marshie5688]

People are forgetting that Legends Arceus was announced to release in 2022 but it was at the end of January. They could easily release This game at the same time, which would be only two more months than we'd usually wait. This may especially be the case if they don't want to detract the attention from next years Pokemon Day reveals.

[@rjante2236]

Exactly. People always do this when a game is announced. They always say that GameFreak learned and that it's gonna be polished and stuff. Then when it isn't they act surprised.

[@DiskusGames]

Well, to be fair Legends Arceus was accounted for „early“ 2022 from the start.

[@tristanneal9552]

Maybe, but Pokemon has had at least 1 game release every year since 2016. So this is still pattern breaking in a big way

[@ponodude101]

This is true and entirely possible, but there was also the difference that we saw gameplay for Legends Arceus as the reveal, while this was just a cinematic. It doesn't necessarily mean they couldn't be planning to push the game out for early 2025, but it possibly signals that they're not as far in development and only have the story concept that we saw.

[@yoshidaaimi34]

it's also possible they release it on november of 2025, like they usually do their patterns. Let's be a little optimistic here. I understand we gave gamefreak a lot of benefits of the doubt but let's just give them this one last chance to prove themselves. The billion dollar company, I know

[@t00nbink]

You mention the 2.5 years development time but GameFreak has an A and B studio. The A studio purely focuses on new generations and the B studio focuses on the other projects like the Let's Go game and Legends Arceus. So they probably started development of this new legends game once they finished their work on Arceus, so at least 3 years

[@LinkMountaineer]

If the secondary team did Arceus, they did a pretty solid job.

[@t00nbink]

@@LinkMountaineer I assume there is a lot of overlap between the higher ups, and maybe the majority of the environmental artist or gameplay programmers switching between the teams, but yeah they did a great job

[@LinkMountaineer]

@@t00nbink I can see that being a possibility.

[@mechamananimates5601]

Pokemon X and Y were my first "legally obtained" pokemon game and Im thrilled. I was so bummed when X and Y didnt get a sequel so finally showing attention to my favourite generation is a dream come true.

[@TrainerAQ]

I stop following Pokemon after Black and White. But Pokemon X and Y is the one that brought me back. I was also sad they never did a Pokemon Z game.

[@randalabra3852]

@@TrainerAQlol that's literally just the next generation after BW

[@tumultuousv]

@TrainerAQ uh.. Gen 5 is b&W Gen 6 is x & y

[@tristanneal9552]

@@randalabra3852 Bro "stopped following" Pokemon by not buying a single game 😂

[@Mattriix]

@@TrainerAQ "I stopped watching the show after episode 1 but episode 2 brought me back"

[@ShanePHallam]

-It feels like the Legends games is more the artistic, passion project for the main team. They want it to be right and pass the mainline games onto smaller teams at this point. -I'm with Arlo. Perhaps this will be a launch title for the new system or at least come out shortly after launch. This does feel like the real possibility. We can just hope the extra development time makes them say "Hey, more time is better." Despite these, as mentioned by others, waiting to make the next mainline game really great for 2026 in line with the 30th Anniversary would be the ideal.

[@HarukaxYuuki]

The anime was a big factor for the game release schedule, this including the movies, Ash adventures finished last year and while we do have a new anime is like it own thing, other medias like the Adventure/Special manga was having trouble to keep up with the releases of the games, having to a point with Black 2 & White 2, X & Y and Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire mangas running simultaneously. Also while people dont believe so, Game Freak actually do listen to feedback and apply them as much as possible in their current development.

[@jaernihiltheus7817]

Yeah, and with the dlcs they the anime & manga have enough content to avoid an orange islands situation by having canon content to base stuff off of.

[@willuigi64]

7:06 Pokemon has 2 teams. A and B. A worked on SwSh and SV, B worked on Let's Go, Arceus, and presumably begun full production on Z-A not long after Arceus's release.

[@jonathanbowers8964]

This is like Disney's "A and B" teams in the 1990s where the "A" team's projects (Pocahontas, Hunchback) were less well received than their "B" team projects (Lion King).

[@JonnyJayKhan]

Yeah probably it was as soon as they decided not to release any DLC after the first free update

[@questionmarkquestionmarkques]

PLA was made by lets go people??? damn what a glow up

[@Makoto0729]

I just want to add, you mentioned you've never heard of people being happy to wait for a game before... People were ecstatic about Sonic Forces' longer development time. Turns out most of that time was spent on the engine and not the actual stages/level design and it still ended up crappy, but I don't think that'll be an issue here. But yeah, Sonic Forces was the first game I encountered where people were like "Yes, give it time to cook!"

[@janky477]

Speak for yourself. I popped audibly when I saw GTA 6 was coming in 2025. I WAS TERRIFIED they would release it at the end of 2024. That just feels.....WAY too early for the biggest most ambitious and important video game in the entire industry to come out.

[@anthonynguyen1289]

@@janky477 Would that be too soon? Like it depends when they started development. GTA 5 was a 2013 game. Like yeah they were doing Online, but that isn't going to take the entire studio. They made other games during that time like Red Dead 2. Obviously if they said they only started development in 2020 or something yeah waiting would be smarter and better.

[@Makoto0729]

@@janky477 Um... did you misread my comment? Sonic Forces' development was before GTA 6 and people were happy with the span between releases. I don't understand what you're arguing against.

[@user-ni2bo3mu5p]

Eh I have hope it will be for bug fixes because say what you will about Gen 9, but it was ambitious. They could have made another game of just collecting gym badges like gen 8. But they didn’t, it may have had a lot of bugs but it was ambitious. So I believe Legends Z will be good, because Game Freak seems to have ambition and with more time to release this time

[@naganut9718]

Tbh, Sonic Frontiers was very solid. Calling it crappy is way too exaggerated

[@jsc6x751]

Legends being next year is not unlike the previous Legends game's reveal. Being the only game announced was the real surprise. I don't quite believe it's slowing down without further confirmation, but I'd like to believe it's true.

[@kallie5125]

I feel like nintendo is reeling in pokemon and game freak an executive probably said something along the lines of "yall been slacking, it's sloppy and bad for our brand and shareholders. If you wanna be a launch title get it right" Also maybe there's like an internal kind of shift with nintendo because of the delays between large projects like ToTK and how fine we all have been with it despite waiting

[@haveanotherpinacolada]

They did not say 'yall'. As they are not run by a bunch of rednecks.

[@boiwifeyasmr4U]

A few months ago Game Freak said they were slowing down. I guess not a lot ppl heard. I was not surprised about the 2025 release because of it

[@oyeh8908]

They didn't say they were slowing down, they said they wanted to make better use of their resources to meet the time frames.

[@burlapjack1464]

@@oyeh8908and that is surprising still considering the light speed pace of releases they love so much

[@TheRibottoStudios]

The fact that we don't know WHEN the game is coming out is wild. Just the year. I'm sure it'll be November but it could also be January like the last legends. That's fun to guess.

[@ArtemisWasHere]

Legends arceus was revealed on pokemon day 2021, and came out in January 2022 Thing is, they had proper gameplay to show us, and leaks right before the event show this game was decently far into development. But with Z-A we have what is basically a botw 2 kinda teaser, so I agree, very unlikely to come out early next year

[@darrenmacqueen9884]

@@ArtemisWasHere I was thinking it's because it's releasing on the Switch 2, and that's why they can't show footage until the Switch 2 actually gets announced. But the Switch logo was shown in the trailer, so it must at least be coming to the Switch as well. So I don't know. We'll see I guess.

[@JunDageki]

@@darrenmacqueen9884that’s exactly what it is. Basically it was coming this year but it got delayed because of the switch 2 delay.

[@TheRibottoStudios]

@@darrenmacqueen9884 now that you say this I feel stupid for thinking it would be in Jan lol. This makes way more sense. And it would make sense for them to make a special edition switch like how they did with ScarVi. That way, they would make up sales lost for the delay. That docking station really does look nice with Miraidon and Koraidon on the white background. The back of the switch itself is a bit cluttered for my liking though. I wonder what they would do for a special edition Legends release.

[@klausing7114]

Donated, I hope Adam reaches his goal. Also I was shocked that it was Gen 6. I really thought it would be at least a legends game for gen 2 or a gen 5 legends game. Or just a complete remake of gen 5

[@Abyrae]

Gen VI is the generation that got the less love and games, so I'm glad they went with it.

[@KruelAidMan]

@@Abyrae we'll get _Legends - Kyurem_ someday, don't worry

[@mariotheundying]

I expected a let's go or legends johto, to me a gen 5 remake is out of the question until gen 10

[@BagaJr]

This honestly did give me hope, but there is still the possibility that this just comes out early 2025 and then gen 10 comes out holiday 2025, right on time for the usual 3-year schedule...

[@MysteryLJ]

Ultra Sun and Moon were announced in June for a November release. We'll likely get a game this year, just not a main entry

[@LinkMountaineer]

USUM is still a main entry, though.

[@shatteredsentient5321]

Nah, yall gotta go play something else for once this year 😂

[@LinkMountaineer]

Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon are main series games as well, though.

[@the3dluxe53]

There’s also the fact that Scarlet and Violet didn’t outsell Sword and Shield and I think they were anticipating that it would. I think that even though the game was successful, they’ve taken the hint that consumer trust is waning.

[@DrawciaGleam02]

Oh really?

[@Sponsie1000]

l donno about that part,, SV is only aboit 2M copies behind SS, but the latter had a ~3 year headstart. l think in the long run SV might very well outsell SS

[@Legendary0Hero]

SV sold about 5 million more units than SwSh did at the same time frame (13 months for both iirc). It's on track to outperform SwSh very handily and become #2. Even if it didnt, it's still the 3rd best selling pair, which isn't indicative of a significant sense of interest waning. That being said, they seemingly have taken note of the backlash per official statements and rumors heavily suggesting as much.

[@tumultuousv]

Lol. It broke records and has been out for less time. This is silly. It will out sell those

[@kingrocky7519]

Really? Scarlet & Violet are only a couple million units behind Sword & Shield and that’s only been in two years. They’ve already outsold multiple other titles that have been out for over ten years. There are a lot of reasons Nintendo would want these games delayed, but sales is not one of them. The lack of consumer trust has never been a problem for Pokémon. For one, a significant portion of Pokémon’s audience are either kids or casual gamers who aren’t as bothered or even informed on the poor technical performance of these games. It’s harsh, but Pokémon is the video game equivalent of McDonalds, where even if you know it’s not that good, you’ll buy it because even with all its flaws you know you’ll have a baseline of fun. Compare the reaction to Pokémon SV to something like Cyberpunk 2077, and it really shows how low the stakes are for Pokémon. All of us are online all the time so it makes it seem like the backlash to these games encompass the entire fanbase, when in fact the opposite is true. Nintendo doesn’t have direct control over Pokémon like it does with Mario and Zelda. They can’t literally order them to delay their games, and I imagine the main reason for Pokémon delaying into 2025 was just so it could coexist with the launch of the new system.

[@SpiffyGiraffeCreations]

I'm so glad you are giving Adam some love. That guy is really cool and I am so sad that he has to go through what he has to go through. ❤

[@laurenlaugh05]

oh dude you weren’t kidding when you said to look for the second video soon lol ❤ love your videos and the passion for games behind them!

[@weary_millennial-jw6oo]

I feel like this is more because of the next gen nintendo console coming up soon so they decided to just make a last pokemon legends game for the switch. Also that mobile pokemon card game will release this year and make mad money with all the recent hype about unboxing pokemon cards.

[@Irish_Enderman]

I am so excited for everything about this announcement, the futuristic style of the trailer implies going forward in time instead of back, the Z-A in the logo means AZ could be important to the story which would be awesome, we've finally got Pokémon Z, it's a new Kalos game, the 1 year delay is paradoxically (hehe) great news And then there's the fact it's a 'legends' game which is perfect because I loved Arceus Edit: if the delay is because of a switch 2 delay then that's still extra development time for the game so if that is the reason, although unfortunate, it's still gonna lead to this game being better that it would've been otherwise

[@PolitoedFan9002]

0:48 I’ll make sure to help him out! I LOVE content like his and no one deserves to be going through a situation like that!

[@luxdalet]

Thank you for sharing about Adam. Cheering for him and his family. Hope they meet the goals for funding.

[@QuillShott]

The pokémon company in its entire history has never released a pokémon game within the first year of a console launch. Also, a pokémon game has never been cross-platform.

[@ShredAimlessly92]

Hey, Nintendo? Pokemon Company? I know you have interns reading comments, so take note: WE LIKE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY.

[@alexthewrecker4666]

To be fair the interns have no say in anything that matters. Hopefully the higher ups actually manage to release a finished game

[@giuliano482]

It was my understanding that the mainline pokemon games are the ones on a deadline, since all the merch and anime ect ect needs all the new pokemon, locations, characters. Any spin-off game doesn't really matter as far as deadlines go, it's nice to slot it in during the holiday season of course so this is still odd. To line up with the Switch 2's delayed release is an obvious possible answer... Would Gamefreak make a cross-gen game is another interesting question, there are good reasons to do so but if Nintendo want to push the new hardware out... The Legends ZA game all being in one city is interesting, it feels like it might be a very different experimental title not much like the last Legends game, the city development line makes it seem like a city-builder? There isn't really an established pattern yet for Legends games, since there's only one title. Maybe it's just the subtitle they use for weird spin-offs.

[@kipolem53]

Oh that reminds me, the Gen ten is coming in 2026 theorists are basically claiming that the TCG will focus on Legends Z Minus for two years. That is way too long to be focused on a game like that. One year, four sets, sure, but eight? No. Unless they bring in a new Gym Heroes type set for the leaders from Johto to Paldea. I was going to say just Paldea but eh. Some of the gym leaders are cool sure but I dunno if they can run an entire booster.

[@Teri_Merii_]

3:10 they're done stuff like this before though, releasing games or such earlier than the announced date, one recent but not too major example is with Splatoon 3 Side Order DLC, was announced to come out in spring but changed after a while and released a month early

[@sirinsomniac3859]

ALSO the mess that is FNAF SB

[@darkmetal2412]

Palworld just outsold Pokemon SV so I wonder if it somehow affected their current actions? I doubt it because I bet this decision must've been brewing for awhile(Palworld only just came out) but it's a funny conspiracy I want to believe in lol

[@natetheaverage5270]

X and Y were the games to really start this trend of being unfinished and lacking content, even though there were some before them, so it'd be neat if Z-A is what ends it.

[@someguy_matt]

This is the best sign of things to come imo. If my read on the situation is right this seems like this is something that the team wanted to make and they’re giving them the time to do so. I made a video about the state of Pokémon last year and I wish it did better because every piece of news I’ve seen makes me think that I was right in it

[@mckay7965]

I really hope they get this one right. Lumiose city is one of, if not my favorite places in Pokémon. I am a little worried how wild encounters will work, but the fact that they're actually taking their time is very promising.

[@thajocoth]

If they turn over a new leaf, you just know that they'll also have to turn over a new fire and a new water at the same time.

[@BIayne]

1.25x speed. Thank me later.

[@teapottanuki5841]

Assuming the game hasn’t literally JUST entered production this year, I’m excited.

[@Ridleyslayer1102]

It´s always tragic to see someone young suffering from such a diseace but it´s always particulary tragic when it´s a person whose job is so hearthwarming and is something so innocent.

[@streetsoldierhood9796]

Praying for you Adam! I’m glad Pokemon is slowing down. I still think they should focus less on the mobile apps, and focus more on their main titles.

[@HalfafanD]

Very pleased with this turnaround. I like the legends series and want it to flourish. Plus with how busy I’ve gotten with work I’ve been having a more harder time catching up with playing these games and I like taking my time with them. If they continue having longer stretches of time I’ll be able to enjoy myself in these games properly rather than being forced to rush to make time for the new title.

[@Hobbittastic]

Very excited for another Legends game! I don’t interact with the main series since original SwordShield but enjoyed New Snap and Legends. I hope this does mean the Pokemon team gets the quality under control. I love Pokemon and have high hopes for their improvement.

[@gregorywolfeii9071]

So sorry about your friend. Happy to donate. ❤

[@elijahfrisbie226]

My best guess to why they wouldn’t announce any Gen 5 remakes for this year would be that they are waiting for an anniversary date of the games ie the original announcement date or something. But I’m perfectly ok with waiting until next year.

[@raditz2737]

You're absolutely right on the embarrassment part. The amount of backlash given to Pokemon Company over Scarlet and Violet combined with BDSP was astronomical and Im almost 100% sure they feel ashamed especially after big daddy Nintendo made them give out refunds for just how not well received it was. Shame is like a number one driver in Japan

[@fruit3193]

I like that TPC is slowing down, and I don’t think it’s because of Switch’s successor. BW and BW2 released on DS despite 3DS already being out.

[@Akultic]

I HOPE YOU ARE CORRECT , and this feeling of the next game being the BEST, makes me want to play Scarlet even more , it’s working out for them sooo well!!

[@furuthebat]

I'm so happy Arlo is mentioning Adam his creator 😭

[@zuzucha5881]

It will be interesting because this second game will set what will be the standards for the Legend games, what we will expect to become the base of any future Legends game. That is why I think the most different from the previous game (without losing what made it fun) remains, the more flexibility future Legends games will have. And even if the game has been delayed due to the Switch 2 delay, it will be interesting to see how one year extra time helps polish a Pokémon game. Will we finally have an exceptional next gen Pokémon?

[@Mattriix]

Everything is just so weird right now, no holiday title announcements from either Nintendo or Gamefreak, all the 1st party games this year were announced last year, and we still have no idea whats waiting for us in Summer It feels like the calm before the storm

[@ArgentumTeraType]

Either because the new console will be out soon or the entire Nintendo slowed down because of lowered budget, like other companies. But people are cheering for the delay😂🤷🏻‍♂️

[@tangytablets5150]

I'm glad they're taking a break from any form of major release even for just a bit. Just hope that this bit of breathing room actually gives them time to assess and improve their overall products in the future. I wouldn't mind small releases and mini titles in the meantime, maybe work on products that still exist as well or release old games in newer consoles. And isn't it a good thing that they delayed the release of their game to coincide with the delay of a new, supposedly more powerful system? It still gives them more time to simmer the soup.

[@Aureo-nt1gy]

Thought it was a face reveal for a second lmao. But best wishes and hopes to Adam and his family ❤️

[@chasemadrie5825]

Arlo you are indeed making some good points and it does seem to be TOO conveinent but I want to hope they are finally getting back in touch with the playerbase. Regardless I look forward to playing this and hoping for the best. And to expound upon a topic you also mentioned, I know that with a new system and beefier hardware comes more fidelity but honestly over any graphics I mostly want them to take more time to ensure the game runs at a consistant framerate, has a less barren world than S/V, and above all else some voice acting finally.

[@conormitchell309]

I think it’ll be late Jan/early Feb and be on Switch 2. I know you don’t love remakes but as someone whose favorite gen is 5, was super disappointed they didn’t announce those. Looking forward to this one though!

[@ShadowStarkiller]

Finally someone who gets it. I didn't even need it to be straight remakes. I, like a lot of people, was expecting that the next Legends game would have revolved around Kyurem. That would've been fine. And since I saw at least one commenter saying "complaining works", let me refresh your memory on something: back when BW1 came out people complained that you couldn't get old pokemon until post-game. Every Gen since has relied quite a bit on nostalgia pandering, ESPECIALLY Gen 1 nostalgia pandering. So what if "complaining works" means no Gen 5 remakes EVER? What if all the things in SV's dlc that seemed to be hinting toward new Gen 5 content (since GF loves hinting toward remaking old games) was ultimately for nothing? What if next year they announce XY remakes and just expect us Gen 5 fans to sit back and take it? Hell, Gen 5 has become the internet's new punching bag just because of this.

[@thebestworst8002]

Arlo, if you've been to the new york area I'd recommend you visit the museum of the moving image in Queens. They have a whole exhibit on the muppets and everything Jim Henson has done.

[@HadriansSquish]

I love Adam Kruetinger! He’s given me hope I can actually build my own puppet some day. I’m legally blind. (I can still see colors and I can actually ‘see’ what something is if it’s big enough/close enough to my eyes. I use magnifiers to play handheld games.) I love his personality and am so sad he’s having such a hard time of things right now. On topic, I’m happy we will have time for them to finish a game before releasing it! Even though I won’t be able to have the Switch 2 right when it’s released.

[@phabinh]

I think the next 3 games will come out in similar speed to the last 3 games, just with this bit of gap here. Legends will be early 2025 and then the rumored remakes would be holiday 2025. (These probably weren't shown at the direct because you'd want to show comparison to original game at the announcement and if they're switch 2 games you can't show footage for a system that's not officially announced yet). Then 2026 being the 30th Anniversary seems like the perfect time for Gen 10 games to be released.

[@nidohime6233]

I think they might still releasing Pokémon stuff during this year, is just it wouldn't be main games. Maybe they do finally release some spin-off, or even another DLC for Scarlet and Violet, but is too soon to be sure.

[@godzila70]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. Best of luck to him.

[@tigerdactyl6958]

All we know for sure is Legends AZ is coming 2025 which can range from Jan 2025-Dec 2025. I would not rule out the possibility of game freak suddenly saying this summer gen 5 remakes, or let's go johto, or something else is coming Holiday season 2024 because money. We've heard switch 2 rumors for a couple years now; I won't believe them until I see an official trailer.

[@tumultuousv]

They would've announced games coming out this year in the pokemon presents. 0 reason why they wouldn't

[@tumultuousv]

7-8 years after switch. There's an obvious new console next year at the latest

[@floramew]

I feel like Sonic was in this spot about 15 years ago? I'm a new fan so I didn't experience it, but I've done a deep dive into everything I can absorb, and the were so many things from the "Dark Age of Sonic" (can't believe that's actually the fabric term haha) and I think the one console Boom game, Rise of Lyric, which was riddled with bugs on launch well after the end of what most folks call the 'dark age,' really exemplified that.

[@MrTayseanpwns]

We have to see the release date of Z-A and when they announce Gen 10 to come out. I still see them not slowing down at all and just releasing this Jan 2025 and Gen 10. coming out November 2025. I agree they probably adjusted this date for Switch 2 and it was ready to release November 2024.

[@topazlynx2228]

I think that this might be both. I think that they're simultaneously working on Legends Z-A alongside gen 10 and have Z-A come out as an early game to sell new Switch 2 consoles, but also holding gen 10 back for later so they can release it on the 30th anniversary of Pokemon. And if they want people to be super freaking excited for gen 10, they know that they're gonna have to step up their game and make a huge positive mark. But hey, this is coming from the guy who thinks gens get remakes every 2 generations and that if we do get a gen 5 remake it'll be for gen 10.

[@banzaimarten9114]

i'm a huge Unova fan, and i was dreading the prospect of Unova remakes dropping this year. i'm cautiously hopeful that this is a sign that they're getting their act together, but if not then at least it's happening to a region i didn't care for

[@glaceRaven]

Would be so, so happy to see new Pokemon games released at a much, much slower rate so they can actually have time to develop them and, hey, maybe develop the occasional non-Pokemon title from time to time to keep themselves from burning out (which was a major problem around the Sw/Sh era -- they indicated they were feeling burned out on Pokemon and needed a break and yet TPC and fans insisted on them releasing a new title anyway, and that's why we got what we got). It also gives those of us with less time on our hands a chance to actually finish the older games -- I haven't actually managed to finish a Pokemon game since X because they just come out too fast to be able to do much beyond racing through them, which I don't particularly care for.

[@Mrvideo-tw8uz]

i think even if it was delayed just for switch 2 it would still mean they game will get more dev time, so i think it'll be a good thing regardless as good press from increased quality because of more dev time could push them to spend more time with each game, also it might give them more time on games already in development beyond Z-A since i imagine they're already at least planning the next games wether its gen-10 or unova remakes

[@Codraroll]

I'm not entirely ruling out that they are getting ILCA to make a BDSP-style re-do of Black and White this year. Such a game would have very little to reveal before release, which also means it is generating less hype. So it would make sense to tease fans about the exciting, new, juicy game for 2025 first, then later reveal that "By the way, we're also remaking BW1 like we did Diamond and Pearl. What you see is what you get." Because for all its flaws, BDSP sold *extremely* well. A little over 15 million copies as of the end of 2022. That's not necessarily extremely well for a Pokémon game (a little over half the sales of SwSh or S/V), but compared to almost anything else, it's a smashing success. That's almost twice as much as the best-selling game for the Wii U, for reference, and more than that for the GameCube (more than SSBM and MKDD, combined!). Fifteen million games sold, that's more than franchise headliners like Luigi's Mansion 3 or Splatoon 2. All at full console retail price, mind you. And that's for a game that seems to have been made on a budget measured in pennies. Nearly all of its scripting, design, mechanics, and creative work was lifted straight out of the original DS game. The studio that was contracted for it was probably given copies of the original game and told "make exactly this, but on the Switch", and half the planning work had to do with the changes to the Sinnoh Underground. It must have been an ultra-cheap game to make, and it sold more than the headlining games of quite large and popular franchises. Oh, and more than Legends Arceus too, by a slim margin. The Pokémon Company must be absolutely off their rocker if they don't try to milk that cow again. Contract ILCA to basically copy an existing Pokémon game in that new engine, no concept or scripting work required whatsoever, animations lifted straight from the 3DS games or from S/V if they feel like being fancy, slap a tiny new feature on it to have something to market as a novelty, put it on the shelves, and watch the millions roll in. Pokémon has an available release time slot, the fans are sort-of clamoring for Unova remakes, and it'd probably be a roaring success financially if it sells even a quarter of what BDSP did (which would put its sales on par with Fire Emblem: Three Houses or Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which I guarantee cost ten times more to make). It would not spark a lot of excitement at this stage, though, so I think they'd wait with the announcement until summer or so.

[@philipp_mn]

im getting a bit more hyped now. I was so disappointed that its gonna be released next year BUT because I wish to wait even longer. For instance Dragon Quest 12 teaser came out 3 years ago and there are no news further on it, which is for me a good sign cause I know they want to make the game look good. I really hope that gen x for Pokemon is gonna be really ambitious..

[@DINOROAR2912]

Maybe, just maybe the plan was always to see how well the Switch 2 was released, and to make sure theres a solid install base before releasing Legend's Z-A, probably optimistic but I hope

[@mtamer2943]

I bet it's a mix of Gamefreak understanding better how to code on home consoles (remember their offices moved to Nintendo's HQ back then), the positive reception of S/V and Legends in lore and gameplay departments - everything went well except the coding itself. And of course, palworld. If they showed up early dev pictures they'd get inevitably compared to palworld so I believe that did make them step back on making a release for this year. Yeah, the supposed Switch 2 could be another reason.

[@dorfguy1929]

If the quality of this game is at least the same as PLA I'll tolerate it but if it runs as good as scarlet and violet, I'm going to cry.

[@greenchilistudioz4537]

People been talkin about they would delay new releases and this confirms it, even without Palworld

[@ICharlyl]

I love that they didnt announce unova region remakes. I was so scared they would rush and fuck it up as DP. A remake is a certainty so the fact that the only major game coming or announced is a new legends game means theyre giving every game more time

[@legendzdgamer5015]

You bring up so many excellent points yeah I’m glad they’re taking the time to work on it is what I want to believe after scarlets violets horrible state of release and being mocked by palworld however it also perfectly alighns up with switch 2 release both not being a holiday sale either way I hope they turn over many new leafs because scarlet and Voilet have still not been patched even lying and saying they did I smell lawsuit

[@blackshirts9321]

It seems to me like GameFreak’s schedule hasn’t changed at all. Assuming this releases Jan-Mar 2025, that is a little over 2 years since the release of S/V, the same amount of time as was between SW/SH and Legends Arceus. So assuming gen 10 follows the same 3 year cycle as the rest of the mainline games, it will release Nov 2025. Meaning Game Freak hasn’t changed their development time at all. The only difference is they aren’t releasing a trash remake from another studio like BD/SP.

[@kipolem53]

Nope but someone is releasing a trash sequel from an out of house studio this year (November in fact, heh), and that is Disney with Moana 2.

[@wilkobadberg5272]

Thanks for pointing that out. People are way too positive about the 2025 Release. I expect a Release in Jan 2025 and Gen 10 at the End of 2025. So Legends and Gen 10 just have a "regular" 3 Year Cycle. And all these "Switch 2" Stuff will not happen with Pokemon. Game Freak is not known for supporting new Consoles. They expect Sales between 15 and 25 Million Units. No way they release this Game only on Switch 2. Even Gen 10 at the End of 2025 will probably just a Switch Game.

[@Lizard154]

development time for pokemon games on the switch is typically three years, they work on multiple projects at the same time and when a project is completed, the focus shifts to the next project. Legends ZA being delayed to next year means it'll have a development time of 4-5 years depending on when it drops

[@PR0WN3D]

Im hoping that they are making it for the next gen console so then it will be more polished and not have as much issues because it's on a more powerful console

[@pinkfoxboi1331]

Interesting perspectives idk honestly but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

[@guillermogetino7550]

I think that the influence of the switch 2 release date on the release date of Legends ZA might be the inverse... I mean, one rumor is that the switch was "delayed" because they wanted to have a big lineup and some games might not be ready yet so it could be that this Pokemon was one of the games that was planned to be released this year along the switch 2 but they saw that they couldn't finish it on time (with other games also) so they decided to delay both of them, the switch and the game

[@tumultuousv]

Best case. But I doubt they delayed the new switch for pokemon legends game. Mario Odyssey released in 2017. There's got to be a new Mario game. Same with Mario kart. They don't need several launch titles for the console to release. They definitely have Prime 4 ready for launch as well

[@guillermogetino7550]

@@tumultuousv NO, of course i don't think the switch was delayed JUST FOR pokemon, but i think that a lot of games were benefited of the delay

[@vizionara]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Legends: Arceus announced in February and then released the next year in January? And they released BDSP the November before LA?

[@token0855]

one thing of note is the games development isnt entirely a -> b, they have two teams who alternate games (this game, legends arceus, and lets go pikachu/ evee were by the B team, while sword and shield and scarlet and violet were by the A team) additionally, things are designed in stages, and once, for example, the design team is done, they move to their next project so that every department has its own workflow. so technically theres anywhere in the range of 2 to 4 pokemon games in progress at any given time

[@kai_3788]

I wasn’t considering a Switch 2 being the reason that Legends Z-A being released in 2025. But I was thinking that this still could mean nothing because of the release of the last Legends game, which was in January, so because of that this new Legends game would also be releasing on January of next year.

[@randomnpc445]

Seeing that the game has a scheduled 2025 release date is probably the most exciting piece of Pokemon news I've heard in a very, very long time. I really enjoyed it when I was younger, but kinda fell off around the release of Sun/Moon, and while I still enjoyed the concept and characters (as I'm sure many other people do), keeping up with the games fell to the wayside in favor of Monster Hunter and other games that I enjoyed. The fact that the games seemed to have a declining quality just made me feel better about not dedicating my time and money to them, however, I sympathize heavily with people who _were_ . There's nothing that sucks as much as getting a new entry in your favorite series, only to see that it's full of flaws, especially the kind of flaws the newer Pokemon games have (performance issues, graphical issues, low graphical fidelity etc.) Now, there's this tiny glimmer of hope that some genuine time and effort is going to be put into not only a new game, but a new game with the formula of the newer, experimental-but-incredibly-popular Legends Arceus, and like a little cherry on top, it's based on the last region I played and really enjoyed. I think there are some good points raised at the end of this video, how it seems a little too convenient that the sudden delay is coming alongside a potential delayed new system launch, but if I may still remain a little optimistic: perhaps this delay _is_ due to a money-first desire to line up with the Switch 2 launch, but a longer dev time is a longer dev time no matter what. Maybe they spend that extra bit of time on the game, and realize how much better of a product they can push out, showing them that longer development cycles in the future can, and will, be beneficial in the long run.

[@nineflames2863]

Idk, assuming this actually was supposed to come out during this year's holidays you'd think they would have had a bit more to show than a simple teaser trailer with zero gameplay footage, no? It's also worth mentioning that Pokemon has _never_ released as a launch title on a new console so far (on the contrary BW2 came out on the NDS long after the 3DS had already released for example), so it's also very much a possibility that they were planning to release it 2025 from the start even if the Switch 2 really was supposed to come out 2024. The console is also rumored to be backwards-compatible so it's not that far fetched to assume there won't be a separate Switch 2 version of it anyway. What I'm more worried about is that they might pull a similar stunt as they did with Scarlet/Violet, which came out not even a year after Legends Arceus. The delay (if it is one at all) should help with that one since presumably both games would probably have at least some overlap in terms of development time, but after the debacle that was Gen 9 I can't help but worry. I guess we'll see; would be nice if GameFreak could release at least one major game on the Switch that isn't a complete disaster, and then hopefully set a more positive trend with generation 10...

[@jasonvickers]

Considering that Arceus Launched in January and that theyve already announced this new game for 2025 so early, its safe to assume that ZA will launch around the same time. Early 2025. Thatd mean it has about 3 years of dev time, which is pretty par the course for GameFreak. My hope is that it means they will treat it as the 2025 release (or use an ilca remake as a stop gap for the 2025 holiday) and hold off on gen 10 until late 2026, for the 30th anniversary and new hardware.

[@bloojae2]

Legends Arceus was announced on pokemon day 2021 and was released it early 2022. The reveals are vastly different so ZA will probably come out later, but still worth noting.

[@MrBdog1021]

Ultra Sun and Moon were really my last straw. Basically felt the same game released again a year later. We’re my last games for a while. Seeing all the news and hype has made me think about getting back into the series finally once again.

[@funnyguy829]

You’re the best Arlo! Love your stuff

[@bettybunbun9664]

I was thinking 2025 sounds so far away for a Switch successor but then I remembered thats actually only 10 months away. 😮 Time flies.

[@FL4SHK]

What I think might be the case is that they give Pokemon games three years of dev time (with multiple internal dev teams), and considering Pokemon Legends Arceus was released in early 2022, considering 2025 is three years after 2022, that means there's no news here. The PLA dev team was apparently separate from the SV dev team. Edit: also BDSP's dev team was outsourced from Game Freak.

[@elijahfrisbie226]

Also the title screen says “releasing simultaneously 2025” which implies it will be releasing on the old and new switch.

[@wilkobadberg5272]

It just means that it will be released worldwide at the same Time. There is no Switch 2 Connection in this Sentence.