New Pokemon Game facing performance issues – is this false advertising?

The new entries into the main-series Pokemon franchise, Scarlet & Violet, officially release worldwide tomorrow but with reviews starting to be released, there seem to be one main sentiment emerging: the current Nintendo Switch console has difficulty processing the game. Frame-rate drops, leading to visuals and characters resembling still photos more than active pieces of the digital environment, are the main culprit and result in breaking the immersion of players from pretending they are a part of a living, breathing world.

Pokemon games have never exhibited the cutting edge in graphical quality and technological development, instead relying on its successful gameplay loop and nostalgia it fosters from its fanbase. In fact, it has often been slammed for its poor graphics relative to how financially successful the games are. The prevailing opinion of fans seems to be that Nintendo & The Pokemon company don’t have any incentive to make huge improvements since they make a ton of money regardless of game quality. However, this time is different; the game shows great ambition and effort that is betrayed by the processing power of the console.

These issues remind me of a similar game that faced backlash over the game-breaking bugs featured in CD Projekt Red’s much-hyped game Cyberpunk 2077 that released in late 2020. Infamously, the game was virtually unplayable on launch for players on PS4 or Xbox One and resulted in the sterling reputation of CDPR taking a massive hit. In response, CDPR offered refunds for those who purchased digital copies of these games and later contained a warning message for those who were looking to buy the game on PS4, with Sony writing that “Purchase for use on PS4 systems is not recommended”. It is way too early to consider if Nintendo will feel any pressure to take similar actions, but it’s worth monitoring.

What’s interesting is whether issues of these type could lead to a cause of action for consumers against these companies on the basis of an implied condition that the games are usable and enjoyable in the way it was advertised. Cyberpunk’s remedies seemed to be based on an attempt to make up for the bad PR and fan backlash more than any real fear of legal action. Any inquiry in this area would first require a determination of what it exactly means for a game to be “playable”, which is a fascinating question in and of itself, especially considering all the gameplay that was featured in game advertisements.

What do you think? Is there a point of quality where a game should be considered to be so beyond expectations that players are entitled to a refund?

Sources:

https://kotaku.com/pokemon-scarlet-violet-performance-game-freak-nintendo-1849794943

https://kotaku.com/pokemon-scarlet-violet-bugs-performance-paldea-nintendo-1849798801

https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/22/22545876/cyberpunk-2077-refunds-microsoft-store-xbox-digital-july

https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/21/22543298/cyberpunk-2077-playstation-store-ps4-warning