It’s honestly a great time to be a Pokemon fan right now. The anime is going strong and even released a new movie recently, and we have two different games coming out via Legends Arceus and Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl. The Pokemon Company are doing a lot for their fans, but they know after 25+ years of life, they need to listen to fans…but also be mindful to not betray their own visions of the franchise.
The Pokemon Company director of consumer marketing JC Smith talked with Axios about how fan feedback plays into what they do, and his insights were very intriguing:
“But there’s also a vision for what the creators want to provide, and it’s [a matter of] finding that delicate balance throughout. We have a group of creators and professionals working at the Pokémon Company that have been through a lot – seen, heard [a lot]. They have thicker skin than many people do because they’ve heard it.”
One of the key feedbacks that the company gets is the request for deeper and more mature storylines. This echoed especially after Pokemon Sword and Shield where the plot was a bit nonsensical at points.
“We hear it. And I think the creators definitely understand that there’s a desire for maybe something. But we try to focus on making the core accessible to everyone.”
And so the balance continues. We’ll have to wait and see just how well their attempts at balance comes out in the next games.
