Pokemon Let’s Go Does Away With the Freedom of Other Mainline Games
If you’re excited about Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, be prepared to purchase a Nintendo Switch Online subscription with your copy.
Revealed in March’s Nintendo Direct, the company will kick off their online service this September. For the first time, a Pokemon game’s key features will be locked behind a paywall. Those features include the ability to battle online and trade with other players. That is to say that there will be no global trading system. Instead, Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee will launch with less liberty than previous games, no BattleSpot included.
In a statement issued to Eurogamer, the Pokemon Company explained Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee’s need for an online subscription.
“Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will have online play functionality. Battling and trading with other players over the internet or locally will be available in these games,” a Pokémon Company spokesperson said.
“However, the feature set will be somewhat simplified in comparison to previous games in that there is no GTS, Wonder Trade, or Battle Spot (Rating Battle, Free Battle, and Online Competition, etc.) for example. Further details will be revealed at a later date.
“An active membership for the Nintendo Switch Online service, which is scheduled to begin in September of this year, will be required to access these features.”
The lack of a global trading system in the upcoming Switch games may be explained by the fact that fewer Pokemon are being offered than other mainline games. Additionally, due to Pokemon: GO connectivity, Pokemon are easier to obtain from the get-go. Since players can attach their rosters from different accounts, the act of catching them all may be expedited and thus shortens the game’s lifespan for some players.
Any Nintendo Switch users who want total access to Switch games, like Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee, may acquire it for the cost of £18/€20/$20 a year. The subscription fee also gets you access to cloud storage and NES titles with added multiplayer. With that in mind, let us know your thoughts on the Pokemon paywall and the dialled back features. Comment down below.
SOURCE: Eurogamer