Game Freak has responded to the backlash from their controversial decision to not allow all Pokémon to be imported into the upcomingPokémon SwordandShield, but the developer said that it will not change its plans for the highly anticipated RPG.
Pokémon SwordandShield, announced earlier this year, generated massive hype as the next entry in the series. However, in Nintendo’s Treehouse Live presentation at E3 2019, it was revealed that not all Pokémon in players’ collections may be transferred to the upcoming game.
Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda, the producer forPokémon SwordandShield, explained that with more than 800 Pokémon species, the designers had to balance importing as many Pokémon as possible while updating them to take advantage of the Nintendo Switch hardware. The decision was made to only allow Pokémon from the new Galar region to be imported to the RPG, as this also addresses possible competitive gameplay issues with so many available Pokémon and combos available.
The decision angered gamers, who have been transferring their collection of Pokémon between games in an effort to “catch ’em all” through the Pokémon Bank and the upcomingPokémon Home.
In response to the backlash, Masudareleaseda statement on the officialPokémonwebsite, in an attempt to placate the anger the controversy has generated among fans of the series.
“Just like all of you, we are passionate about Pokémon and each and every one of them is very important to us,” Masuda said in the statement. “After so many years of developing thePokémonvideo games, this was a very difficult decision for me.”
Masuda, however, clarified that even if a certain Pokémon is not available inPokémon SwordandShield, that does not mean that it is gone forever. There is a chance that the Pokémon will appear in future games, though it remains unclear if players will be able to transfer that specific Pokémon from older games into newer ones.
“We are pouring our hearts into these games, and we hope you will look forward to joining us on this new journey,” Masuda wrote to end his statement, in a call for understanding as Game Freak works onPokémon SwordandShield.
It does not look like Game Freak will be changing its plans forPokémon SwordandShield, despite the backlash. While the controversial decision signals a massive shift from how things have worked for the series, it might be time to accept the change and focus on enjoying what the newPokémongame will have to offer.
