8 replies to this topic

[Mushlikeahusky1]

With X and Y coming this year doesn't this all feel rushed? Black and white 2 came out last year and this is my question...

How do these games get developed? How do they have the time to make all the sprites creatures models and stories and not have a crappy product? What is the time frame of development on these Pokemon titles and how do they come up with so much in so little time?

[BnB]

I'm not sure, but Black and White where first released in 2010, so I'm assuming X & Y went into development shortly after. Seeing as Black and White 2 are a direct sequal to the first with the same plot/pokemon/region etc... I don't think it took that much time to create them. 

 

So in other words, i'm assuming X & Y will undergo 3 years of development, while being worked on during the same time Black and White 2 where.

Edited by BnB, 07 July 2013 - 10:31 AM.

[BanjoKazooie]

I believe X and Y started production directly after black/White, while Black/white2 was developed by a seperate team. I read that on serebii. Though it was a while ago and I can't find exactly where I read it.

[Bill Cipher]

With X and Y coming this year doesn't this all feel rushed? Black and white 2 came out last year and this is my question...

How do these games get developed? How do they have the time to make all the sprites creatures models and stories and not have a crappy product? What is the time frame of development on these Pokemon titles and how do they come up with so much in so little time?

No, the games don't feel rushed. One of the things that most people don't know about Gamefreak is that Game Freak often times has at least 2 teams actively working on games.  So here's the rough idea since Black/White was released.

 

2010: Black/White is released, freeing Team 1 to make new games, most notably X/Y

2012: Black 2/White 2 is released, freeing up team 2 to make a new game.

2013: X/Y is released, allowing team 1 to continue work on the next Pokemon games

 

As far as I know, Team 1 Handles the main games(See Diamond, Pearl,Platinum) whereas team 2 handles the remakes(Heartgold, SoulSilver). The reason why we are getting these games so close to each other, at least in North America/Europe, is localization. Black released in Japan in fall 2010, followed by Black 2 in summer 2012, where as in North America/Europe, we got them in Spring 2011 and Fall 2012, respectively. This time is normal and average for the Pokemon development cycle, as it normally hovers around 2 years for the games to be reworked(See Diamond/Pearl-Platinum gap).

 

Albietly, I have no idea where stuff like HarmoKnight fits into this, as it was developed by Game Freak using a seperate team. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say it was developed as an offshoot from the second team, but that's just speculation.

 

Edit: Darn it, beaten because I was typing all this out.

[BlueBlur]

With X and Y coming this year doesn't this all feel rushed? Black and white 2 came out last year and this is my question...

How do these games get developed? How do they have the time to make all the sprites creatures models and stories and not have a crappy product? What is the time frame of development on these Pokemon titles and how do they come up with so much in so little time?

Since Gen 4, Game freak has been dividing their staff when two Pokemon games are in development at once, right after Diamond and Pearl came out Black and White went into development, yet Platinum, Heartgold, Soulsilver were still good, likewise it was stated by Game freak that X and Y was in development since Black and White was released yet Black 2 and White 2 were also still good.

 

And let's not forget about games like DrillDozer for the GBA and Rhythm Hunter: HarmoKnight for the eShop.

 

You shouldn't worry about Pokemon. X and Y being crappy, Game Freak has already proven time and time again that they are one of the few developer in not only Nintendo but in the entire gaming industry itself who are capable of handling mutable projects at once a drop quality and innovation.

Edited by VGCrasher, 07 July 2013 - 10:50 AM.

[SoldMyWiiUAndLeftTheForums]

Pokemon games are not rushed at all, usually we get a new one every 1 - 2 years as GameFreak have multiple teams working on them, like other people above me have said, I read somwhere that X and Y have been in development for 3 years, since 2010.

[lucario23]

Since Gen 4, Game freak has been dividing their staff when two Pokemon games are in development at once, right after Diamond and Pearl came out Black and White went into development, yet Platinum, Heartgold, Soulsilver were still good, likewise it was stated by Game freak that X and Y was in development since Black and White was released yet Black 2 and White 2 were also still good.

And let's not forget about games like DrillDozer for the GBA and Rhythm Hunter: HarmoKnight for the eShop.

You shouldn't worry about Pokemon. X and Y being crappy, Game Freak has already proven time and time again that they are one of the few developer in not only Nintendo but in the entire gaming industry itself who are capable of handling mutable projects at once a drop quality and innovation.

Actually the common rumor back before the 3ds launch was that the first people to get dev kits for the console was the Pokemon company. X and Y have probably been in development since they could reasonably be developed. Given the graphics animations and other things that have received a significant bump from last gen, this almost has to be the case.

You are probably about a year or so off with your black and white then x and y prediction because b and w came out 3 weeks to the day before the 3ds was launched ( at least in the US). Keep in mind black and white were kind of a "filler" generation and didn't follow the conventional pattern for games because the DS had a longer life cycle than expected.

Side note: as much as I like specific Pokemon in b and w I wish those games hadn't been made. They probably have helped gamefreak fine tune their online infrastructure immensely for x and y, but we had 9 different games released on the DS alone and 11 in the 3 generations before it. If they hadnt, I would be itching for x and y much more than I do now.

[Gimbal]

Masuda said in the recent video that he went on a research tour to France in 2011 so development must have started around that time.

Edited by Symbol, 09 July 2013 - 09:08 PM.

[Tsuchinoko]

Masuda said in the recent video that he went on a research tour to France in 2011 so development must have started around that time.

I read that too and thought the same thing. They were probably doing models of trainers and Pokemon, and environments based on the pictures they took at that time.