I only answer the questions that people ask me, not the questions that others might wish someone asked me. If you want me to answer questions about the legitimate complaints fans have, you can always ask. Here are my answers to your questions:
Fans always retain the right to complain about what they do and do not like about the games they play. They can say whatever it is they want and I will always respect their right to ask for whatever they want. Fans do not have the right to expect that the developer or publisher do what they ask - it always remains the decision of the publisher and developer to gather the feedback and decide how to act on it. What the fans get is a value proposition - the publisher offers this game at a certain price and the fans decide whether they feel the game is worth the price. If certain fans do not feel there is sufficient value in the game, they are by no means obligated to buy the game or play the game. In fact, I encourage any player who feels dissatisfied with a game franchise to spend their time and money elsewhere. There are far too many good games out there that don't get enough attention to waste time on a game that isn't meeting my needs.
- I think that Game Freak, being joint owner of the Pokemon Company alongside Creatures and Nintendo, generally has plenty of control over their own schedule and destiny. I don't think they are being forced to do this against their will, I think they set what they believe is a reasonable schedule.
- I think that player expectation that each successive generation Pokemon game support every pokemon ever made is unfeasible in the long term.
- I think that every game release, Pokemon or no, is a delicate balancing act between adding enough new and engaging content and polishing the experience enough to reduce overall player frustration to manageable levels.
- I think that players should offer their feedback (especially about the things they dislike), but should not have the expectation their demands will be met.
- I think that players always retain the right to walk away from the franchise if they don't feel their needs are being met. I wish more players would exercise that right, rather than continuing to buy the game they dislike. I don't think that's healthy.
- I think that the company has the right to make what decisions they want, as long as they are ok with accepting the consequences (financial, social, and otherwise) of those decisions. Most of the time, they are ok with it. I don't recall seeing the Pokemon Company or Game Freak issue an apology for something they did.
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