Pokemon's greatest hits are stuck on old consoles and need a change

pokemon As it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, it is noteworthy that it is the most profitable franchise in the world. A lucrative and long-running series like this naturally knows how to evoke nostalgia in its fans. That's why we've created so many great remakes of classics. pokemon It's a game, but for a series known for how reverently it treats its own legacy, it's surprising that Game Freak hasn't taken advantage of the most obvious ways to sell nostalgia: ports rather than remakes, older games, etc. pokemon stratagem.

Remakes are great, but they're rare and don't always live up to the memories fans have of the original. Many fans raised their eyebrows. Omega Ruby and alpha sapphire removed pokemon emeraldBattle Frontier and people are still wondering why. brilliant diamond and shining pearl There was almost a total lack of content. platinum. But above all, pokemon The reason older games need to be re-released is because buying used games tends to cost more than the console it came from.

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I've played Pokemon Generation 4 for over 100 hours and this is the best starter.

As a veteran Pokemon player, I've played Gen 4 multiple times with all of the starters, and only one has consistently led the team.

Retro Pokemon games can cost some people a week's worth of groceries.

The 5th generation was definitely good. Pokemon Black 2 and white 2 It was very powerful and filled with expanded content from the original (this was the first time a “third” game was replaced by a sequel). This is the first time the main series has focused more on story than gameplay, and the animated sprites are still beautiful to look at. For many fans, Nintendo DS is pokemon The era in general actually produced some of the series' all-time greats. I'm so sad about the copy. black or white You can easily buy one online for $100 USD or more, and it comes with no box or instructions.

sequel, black 2 and white 2It sells more than twice as much on Amazon. In fact, all mainline titles between the first and fifth generations are currently incredibly expensive. Meanwhile, a basic Nintendo Switch Online subscription allows players to play all 100+ NES and SNES games for $15 per year. 100+ games for less than 1/15th the total price pokemon white 2 On Amazon.

There's definitely a supply and demand issue when it comes to older games, and Nintendo knows that retro titles sell well. That's why there's always been a way to pay for retro titles ever since the Wii launched. It's not like that. pokemon In fact, we haven't had a mainline title on the Virtual Console before. red, blue, yellow, gold, silverand decision I got out of the 3DS Virtual Console before it all shut down. However, with the 3DS eShop closed, players who didn't make their purchases in time to play pre-Nintendo Switch mainline games will have to find a working console and shell out money for overpriced copies of the originals.

A final look at some classic Pokemon games

The Nintendo Switch will make retro ports more profitable than ever.

while pokemon Fans have always debated whether and when games are getting worse, and in the Switch era, the quality debate may have reached a fever pitch. knife and shield's infamous Pokédex cut casts a shadow that has yet to escape the eyes of many older fans. brilliant diamond and shining pearl It also caused disappointment from fans because it wasn't updated to the standards of later games. platinum. And what's less said pokemon scarlet and violetThe performance issue is better. two legend The title has done better at garnering fandom, but its batting average over the past seven years is still quite low.

That is, the switch pokemon The game barely suffered either financially or critically. The lowest “top critic average” on OpenCritic is: pokemon scarlet and violetIt's 71 points out of 100. According to Nintendo's sales data, both Galar and Paldea duo games have sold more than 25 million copies as of December 2025, far outselling the system's sellers. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. new pokemon The game isn't bad and the voices that say otherwise form a minority. But there are strengths in older titles that newer titles don't have, and vice versa.

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I don't think anyone realizes that voice actors can ruin Pokemon (for players like me).

With calls for the introduction of voice actors in Pokemon Generation 10/Pokemon Wind and Waves, I can't help but feel that such a feature is the monkey's paw.

Nostalgia is not inherently a bad thing

Image via Game Freak

“My Days” isn’t a great argument for why something is good, but nostalgia is valid as long as it’s not flashy. every pokemon Games have a fan base, so even if older games haven't aged well, it's still worth it, both financially and in terms of game preservation, to put classic games on modern consoles without changes. pokemon And even if fans admit that their favorite childhood items may not have been as strong as they remember, nostalgia is big enough to be a truly powerful incentive for fans to buy them.

Perhaps Game Freak didn't make any ports out of fear that easy access to the original game would hurt the sales potential of future remakes. But with the gaps between original game releases and remakes getting longer and longer, remakes take so long that releasing the occasional port doesn't do much to blunt the hype. fire red and leaf green Released after 8 years red and green It was like that in Japan, heart gold and soul silver Was it about 9 years later? gold and silver, Omega Ruby and alpha sapphire There was a 12 year difference. ruby and sapphireand brilliant diamond and shining pearl It was 15 years later diamond and pearl. black and white It's already surpassed Sinnoh's record for longest remake gap, and as of this writing, there's no news of that yet.

Image via Game Freak

Whether it's nostalgia or just to show new fans what the old games were like, it's time to play the old games. pokemon The game was re-released in as close to its original form as possible. Remakes can still do the job of updating older titles to modern standards, but ports will calm the crowds that criticize newer games a bit and help preserve them in the process. Nostalgic blindness aside, I miss the Nintendo DS so much that I don't want to sell a kidney to get a copy of it. pokemon platinum.