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Was Pokemon Red/Blue ever really influential to the gaming industry?
- Thread starter mazpratim
- Start date
Banjotanooki
Member
It inspired a generation to catch em' all.
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
Things with no influence usually don't inspire dozens of clones...
There have been Pokemon clones like Dragon Quest Monsters and Robopon, and lots of games like Ni No Kuni and Tales of Symphonia 2 with Pokemon-like elements
And the two version thing has been done to death (see Mega Man Battle Network)
I really wish it were more influential though. Turn-based monster collecting is such a great concept and it hasn't been explored anywhere near as much as it could have been.
And the two version thing has been done to death (see Mega Man Battle Network)
I really wish it were more influential though. Turn-based monster collecting is such a great concept and it hasn't been explored anywhere near as much as it could have been.
kuroneko0509
Member
Pretty sure it saved Game Boy.... i think
ShockingAlberto
Member
There's a decent argument to be made that it pushed handheld gaming to the mainstream, perhaps more than Tetris.
Solid Samus
Banned
those games definitely had an impact on how handheld game systems were percieved and adopted
I thought Tetris did that?
Zeyphersan
Banned
Contributed heavily to the popularity of handheld gaming machines
Tons of Pokemon clones soon after
Any other game series that does two versions of the same release (Mega Man Battle Network, Inazuma Eleven) owes that to Pokemon too
Tons of Pokemon clones soon after
Any other game series that does two versions of the same release (Mega Man Battle Network, Inazuma Eleven) owes that to Pokemon too
Pinko Marx
Banned
Just look at the number of games that had two versions after Pokemon.
Megaman Battle Network
Zelda
Medabots
Thats just off the top of my head.
Megaman Battle Network
Zelda
Medabots
Thats just off the top of my head.
BigTnaples
Todd Howard's Secret GAF Account
Joke thread?
Marketing blitz and the power of character over gameplay?
There's that list of all the reasons Red and Blue were janky as hell, but due to how popular pokemon was everyone bought the crappy games with dodgy sprites and bugs, and enjoyed the hell out of them. Myself included.
Plus they were a lot more forgiving than your average RPG, imo. Good introduction for kids.
I heard some stuff about how the games almost single handedly revived the Gameboy, too. I was quite young at the time so don't remember, but I read some stuff about a lot of developers jumping ship because the handheld market was starting to stagnate.
I certainly played Red a lot more than any other gameboy game.
There's that list of all the reasons Red and Blue were janky as hell, but due to how popular pokemon was everyone bought the crappy games with dodgy sprites and bugs, and enjoyed the hell out of them. Myself included.
Plus they were a lot more forgiving than your average RPG, imo. Good introduction for kids.
I heard some stuff about how the games almost single handedly revived the Gameboy, too. I was quite young at the time so don't remember, but I read some stuff about a lot of developers jumping ship because the handheld market was starting to stagnate.
I certainly played Red a lot more than any other gameboy game.
This is the first time I have seen someone mention Robopon in this forum. I am curious, did you like the game?
Mr_Antimatter
Member
I think it made the GB relevant again, and highly desirable. It also spawned the 'monster collection' rpg, for which we now have stuff like Monster rancher, jade cocoon, Digimon, , invisamals, and numerous others.
It was also one of the first games in a while to jump media and be successful in multiple forms: videogames, movies, TV, toys, card games, etc, all became immensely popular. It's characters have become international icons.
sensui-tomo
Member
Funny, Dragon quest 5 had monster raising and catching before pokemon red/green by a good time and if we go back further, Shin megami tensei/ megami tensei was the monster catcher game (although one of these 2 titles never became big, DQ on the other hand... well that shit is big in japan)
Pretty much this.
First mainstream game to capitalize on the fact that gaming attracts people with OCD tendencies and the game mechanics exploit that.
The franchise also launched in America with small toys, card game, and a cartoon alongside it and was successful in all realms. It was a monster. Other gaming franchises that try to emulate it only attempt to accomplish 1/4th of what Pokemon did. There's a reason why it has such staying power, it was big and left its footprint in gaming.
Edit: It also inspired Bomberman on GBC to have a Red/Blue version and had a monster collecting element. lol One of the more ridiculous examples of a companies trying to emulate Pokemon.
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
What are you talking about? You honestly think Pokemon would have done well if it had crappy gameplay?
Crash Station
Member
That obscure Megami Tensei clone? lol, not much.
Shining Sunshine
Banned
Eh it wasn't that influential. In terms of RPG mechanics, it was just too simple. It didn't do any genre-defining feature.
The idea of collecting didn't really start with Pokemon, but it popularized it, however, there aren't that many games that are monster collectathons.
Real influential games are definitely Street Fighter or Gran Turismo. Games that define their genre and have had great influence.
The idea of collecting didn't really start with Pokemon, but it popularized it, however, there aren't that many games that are monster collectathons.
Real influential games are definitely Street Fighter or Gran Turismo. Games that define their genre and have had great influence.
I haven't played it (one of those games I always wanted as a kid but never got), but it was just one of the few games that came to mind when I thought of Pokemon clones.
Treythalomew
Member
Yeah I'd say the fact that you could trade and battle others was pretty crazy for a handheld device. It made the Pokemon feel tangible and gave you reasons to collect and train beyond the main storyline.
Paper Sparrow
Member
It is the monster collecting game. Every monster collecting game, even if it's in a different genre, will always be compared to it.
Mr_Antimatter
Member
But the combo of simplicity, iconic monster design, and most importantly, forcing players to interact to 'catch them all' by purposely limiting which monsters where in which game, was huge.
It absolutely had an influence in monster games. Like, there are even obscure Pokemon clones that most people don't remember. At least, I don't usually hear people reminiscing about NetMonster.
In terms of handheld games, I'm not sure. I get the sense that it was a served as a strong proof that handheld games didn't have to be light. Even if it's aged poorly, one thing that Pokemon Red / Blue did really well was provide a full RPG experience on a handheld system while still providing a lot of content.
In terms of handheld games, I'm not sure. I get the sense that it was a served as a strong proof that handheld games didn't have to be light. Even if it's aged poorly, one thing that Pokemon Red / Blue did really well was provide a full RPG experience on a handheld system while still providing a lot of content.
I was actually thinking about this... although from a different angle.
You can't really clone Pokemon, or simply making a game that's "like Pokemon" won't net you the same results. Since Pokemon is so much more than the game, looking at its influence in just the gaming world probably isn't' sufficient. That's why YoKai Watch may be comparable, because of how it's more than just it's games now.
You can't really clone Pokemon, or simply making a game that's "like Pokemon" won't net you the same results. Since Pokemon is so much more than the game, looking at its influence in just the gaming world probably isn't' sufficient. That's why YoKai Watch may be comparable, because of how it's more than just it's games now.
They're fun games to play despite the jank. Very simple to learn while still having a lot of potential variance and strategy in how you play. Great for a kid's first RPG, while still being fun for a veteran.
Garrett 2U
Member
It exploded the handheld market, that's for sure.
I'm pretty sure it did spawn a bunch of clones, though. Medabots, Dragon Quest Monsters, Robopon, Jade Cocoon... All before 2000. I get the sense that Neopets was Pokemon-inspired as well.
EDIT:
Later monster collection games include Telefang, Digimon World Dusk / Dawn (dunno about other Digimon games), Gotcha Force, Spectrobes, and Fossil Fighters. Some of the Bomberman games included their own Pokemon imitators (Charaboms).
Hell I find that even the new pokemon games can't capture the magic of the game boy ones
Doesn't this basically contradict everything that you said before? Street Fighter didn't invent the fighting genre, but it defines it and has great influence on it (yes, influential games have influence). Pokémon did the same for the monster collecting and handheld RPGs, just like you mentioned before. And in terms of overall popularity (and, therefore, sales), Pokémon is far and wide much more recognizable by everyone (from an avid gamer to someone who doesn't play games at all) than Street Fighter.
So why do SF or GT count but Pokémon doesn't? Because the former are "serious" games?
If you look at all the bugs and problems with Red and Blue, they are crappy. The gameplay is fun but there's a lot of problems with the mechanics, balance etc. Some moves don't work. Psychic is way op. The special stat was ridiculous. Honestly, they're janky as hell but enjoyable despite the faults.
As it happens, most of the stuff is below the hood so you wouldn't really realise it unless you were actively looking for problems.
Then you have the missigno glitch which, actually, turned out to publicise the games even more despite potentially breaking your save.
Seriously, the list goes on and on but, even though it feels like they're basically jury rigged, Red and Blue are still fun games.
Tetris was huge for the Gameboy...almost a decade before Pokémon. That was it's real power.
Nintendo was working on various GB replacements after the Virtual Boy tanked, and shelved them all after Pokémon exploded, instead moving on to the GBC as a stop gap because, well, why the heck not?
There's really no other example as extreme of a game coming out that late in a console's lifespan and being its biggest success. Even things like Donkey Kong Country or Dragon Quest VII in Japan are only 4-5 years into the consoles life. Pokémon was what, eight and a half years?
Also yes, there were games were you could raise and collect monsters. None of them featured trading and of course, competitive play. Those simple additions are what Pokémon really brought to the table.
Tetris was huge for the Game Boy, but the market still collapsed despite it. Pokémon is the thing that revived the market.
AHappyPanda
Member
Video game merchandising as a concept went huge back when Pac-Man fever struck. Old, old news by the time Pokemon hit it big.
It didn't collapse. It just sold like a game that was eight years old (and spent almost all of that time as a pack in in the US and Europe!)
It's not fair to say the Gameboy was dead before Pokémon came out. It was more like the top loading NES when it launched (or hell by that point the second version of the SNES!) or how long PS2 held on as a viable development platform in Japan before PSP finally took its niche games once and for all. Small, and not healthy, but the money was already made on the thing so who cares.
meanspartan
Member
Pokemon took a system that was nearing a decade old and made it once again the most relevant gaming system for most kids 13 and under at the time. It was nothing less than a new lease on life. Game Boy Color was in 1998, at which point the original Game Boy was 9 years old.