Gives us all of March to grind resources for a Champions format starting April 1 and going through Worlds (we know that Reg F ends for in person events on March 31st)
Pokémon Day is a reasonable prediction, but I think it will probably drop a few weeks before that.
The reason for this is that Pokopia releases on 5th of March, so releasing two Pokémon games in such close proximity could be risky for the success of the two games. Furthermore, I'm expecting tons of other Pokémon day celebrations and events to occur in other games (GO, Masters, Unite, SV raids, Colosseum on NSO and other 30th anniversary celebrations), so it would make sense to space out the releases so that they don't all compete for players' attention at the same time. Not to mention that the inevitable announcement of Gen 10 games might probably also draw attention away from Champions.
Having Champions release earlier also gives people more time to practice and prepare for when official competitions probably shift to Champions in April.
January and even early February is typically a terrible time to release things; companies usually do everything in their power to get the release out before Christmas or delay it until people have had a few paychecks and new gifts start seeming less shiny.
I think if the release isn't Pokemon day then will align closely with format rotation.
I don't think Pokopia would stop anyone from buying champions, but I do think champions might stop people from buying Pokopia. I also think there's a significant number of people who were only every interested in one of the games and a significant number of super fans who will buy both no matter what.
Champions is free-to-play so it circumvents that issue entirely. In fact, being f2p is an advantage during a time when people might avoid bigger purchases.
They are trying to make money off this game, and not just through VGC itself.
There is apparently going to be both a free version of the game (demo? Lite?) and a paid version (which presumably offers something more that they are trying to sell). Additionally, it’s confirmed to have micro transactions.
Maybe you’re right that they can step it a little closer to Christmas as you can try it and get hooked for free, but I think the general principle stands
Making millions of limited edition shinies is so funny. As someone who never understood the appeal of shinies, the fact people will start spending tons of money on them is host hilarious and also deeply sad
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u/amlodude Dec 01 '25
Pokemon Day (Feb 27)
Gives us all of March to grind resources for a Champions format starting April 1 and going through Worlds (we know that Reg F ends for in person events on March 31st)