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Pokémon Let's Go Demo Now Available

by Donald Theriault - February 12, 2019, 6:37 pm EST
Total comments: 7 Source: Nintendo

That was... unexpected.

If you're still on the fence about Pokémon Let's Go, you can now make the call for yourself with a demo.

The demo version of the November release is available now from the eShop, or the game's page on NIntendo's online listing, and is available worldwide.

It appears the demo is based on the E3 2018 demo that sets the player in Viridian Forest, with a random choice between Pikachu and Eevee. Pokémon catching is available, but the data does not transfer to the full game.

Talkback

Ian SaneFebruary 13, 2019

Interesting that they would introduce this now.  Is it not selling well?  To release a demo this far after release suggests that Pokémon fans are iffy about this "not quite proper" Pokémon game so Nintendo is hoping to win them over by letting them try it for free.

I think it's a good idea but is probably should have been the idea from the beginning.  I was always turned off by what appeared to me as a simplified take on Pokémon but if I owned a Switch I would totally try it.  My brother is a big Pokémon fan and he has a Switch so I'll suggest he try it.

Nintendo has traditionally had an aversion to demos because they seem to think people will settle for it rather than buy the game.  There are a lot of games that I've bought because I liked the demo and I think that's typical.  Now I've also decided to not buy games I was unsure of because the demo confirmed that the game wasn't for me but it's going to go both ways.  The alternative is I just never try the game at all and it's a lost sale 100% of the time.

Quote from: Ian

Interesting that they would introduce this now.  Is it not selling well?  To release a demo this far after release suggests that Pokémon fans are iffy about this "not quite proper" Pokémon game so Nintendo is hoping to win them over by letting them try it for free.

I think it's a good idea but is probably should have been the idea from the beginning.  I was always turned off by what appeared to me as a simplified take on Pokémon but if I owned a Switch I would totally try it.  My brother is a big Pokémon fan and he has a Switch so I'll suggest he try it.

Nintendo has traditionally had an aversion to demos because they seem to think people will settle for it rather than buy the game.  There are a lot of games that I've bought because I liked the demo and I think that's typical.  Now I've also decided to not buy games I was unsure of because the demo confirmed that the game wasn't for me but it's going to go both ways.  The alternative is I just never try the game at all and it's a lost sale 100% of the time.

According to their quarterly financial report from last month the Let's Go games have sold over 10 million copies, so I doubt this was spurred by low sales. The aversion to demos was more of a Yamauchi thing, in recent years they've done quite a few of them.

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterFebruary 13, 2019

*tries demo*

Well I was right, this isn't for me.

RPG_FAN128February 13, 2019

Yeah, yeah, I'll get to Let's Go eventually.  Honestly though, to be blunt, lately I've had more fun with Yo Kai Watch and Dragon Quest Monsters than I have with Pokemon in a long time.  And the travesty of it I just played (and had a blast with) Terry no Wonderland which was never even released in North America. 

Oh well.  I guess the only games them Americans like to buy contain mindless killing or football.  OK, EA should totally make a first-person shooter Madden game.  There's a fresh idea!

nickmitchFebruary 13, 2019

It's possible Nintendo delayed the demo because they thought people might be turned off by the radical departure for the series, but the only reason I could see them releasing it all is to push people to spend their $35 eShop credit on buying the full game.

pokepal148Spencer Johnson, Contributing WriterFebruary 13, 2019

Monster Hunter Stories is the best Pokémon game released on 3DS.

http://youtu.be/WW4SAlYlvmY
youtube link

nickmitchFebruary 13, 2019

Woah, was this the hot takes thread?

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