You could pinpoint the moment when millions of Pokémon fans’ hearts broke this morning, as Pokémon Presents revealed a new MOBA and not anything that fans had expected or even wanted.
The dislikes on the latest Pokémon Presents video swiftly outstripped the likes, and the divide grows bigger by the second. The live chat was filled with angry voices who expected so much more after waiting a week to find out more about this secret project. Especially after The Pokémon Company President Tsunekazu Ishihara felt this announcement needed an entire Direct-style presentation to promote.
This is similar to something Blizzard did in 2018, when it hyped a huge Diablo-related announcement for Blizzcon, which turned out to be a mobile game called Diablo Immortal. Blizzard made the mistake of showcasing a title intended for casual audiences to its most hardcore fans, many of whom were expecting an announcement for Diablo IV. The Blizzard audience is predominantly made up of PC gamers, and many fans booed when it was revealed that Diablo Immortal was coming exclusively to mobile phones. If Blizzard had announced Diablo Immortal at an event like E3 and it was featured alongside other titles, then the response wouldn’t have been anywhere near as negative.
The Pokémon Company has seemingly made the same mistake with Pokémon Unite. Last week’s Pokémon Presents revealed the highly-anticipated New Pokémon Snap, and the show ended with Ishihara revealing today’s event would highlight a huge new project.
Many fans assumed that this project was a sequel to the Pokémon: Let’s Go! games set in the Johto region, the rumored remakes of Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, new content related to Pokémon GO, or possibly new DLC for Pokémon Sword & Shield. The reveal of a Pokémon MOBA doesn’t have quite the same levels of hype, especially when most of the people who are going to tune into a Pokémon Presents video are the hardcore fans who are willing to wake up at unsociable hours.
There will almost certainly be an audience for Pokémon Unite and the negative response has more to do with the way the game was revealed, rather than anything related to its content. If The Pokémon Company had revealed it last week alongside New Pokémon Snap, then people would have been more excited about it. Leaving fans to stew for a week and revealing that the presentation is for a Pokémon MOBA is a recipe for disappointment, which is where we are now.
Source: The Official Pokemon YouTube Channel
