Having released for the Switch on November 14, Pokemon Sword and Shield is already breaking sales records across the globe. While direct numbers are not yet available, early reports state that Sword and Shield is the biggest single-format release yet seen in 2019.
Single-format success on this front is all the more impressive when considering the strength of single-system releases this year, which include Gears 5 and the newly released Death Stranding. This success covers both the digital and boxed market, where Sword is slightly outperforming its more defensive sibling.
Measured against all prior entries in the series, Sword and Shield have so far performed better than any other game in the franchise besides Sun and Moon. All this, despite a vocal outcry from some gamers in the weeks approaching the game’s release.
Why the Complaints?
The biggest complaints about Sword and Shield revolve around the relatively limited number of Pokémon which will find themselves into the latest iteration. While there are around 700 Pokémon in total across all games, about 450 have seen themselves cut from these latest two versions. Many of these are from the first generation, which classic Pokémon fans consider sacred.
This comes despite an earlier claim from developer GameFreak about earlier 3D models being effectively future-proofed. GameFreak later noted that these models wouldn’t be used, before data miners discovered that some of them were.
Of course, a game like Pokémon was always going to suffer from release-based issues. Most games in the series brought a slew of new creatures into the menagerie, and this was always going make keeping up an issue. Remember, this is a game that started with simple with 2D images with only minor movement, whereas all of the 700ish Pokémon must exist in active 3D space today.
These issues arrive in conjunction with complaints about overall graphics and animation quality, and some mixed messages regarding the quality thereof.
Despite this controversy, the game’s sales popularity seemed to suffer few if any negative effects.
Sword or Shield?
As with every new main series Pokémon game, Sword and Shield come with a range of differences to encourage trading and multiple purchases. If you’re new to the series, just be aware that this is a standard operating procedure ever since the first games.
Even at the beginning, this was hardly a new development in gaming, having borrowed from what more traditional games have been doing for years. Take, for instance, games like blackjack and baccarat – as versions of classic tabletop games were adapted to provide players with a different and unique experience to the other, while still sharing some of the same enjoyable aspects. Just as Banque and Punto Banco are slightly different versions of the same game, Red and Blue, Gold and Silver, and now Sword and Shield, are all modified versions of the same base system.
Sword and Shield feature different gyms (a first) and raids, as well as classic variances like different legendaries, standard Pokémon, fossils, items, and, of course, cover art. For some players, this will mean buying both games, though for most it will necessitate making a very difficult choice.
Whatever you prefer, if you plan a purchase, this game looks to be yet another feather in the hats of the Switch and the Pokémon franchise.
