We have reached the first week since the official launch of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the ninth generation titles of the Pokémon world. The new chapters of the brand have enjoyed global success in terms of sales, so much so that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have boomed in Japan with 96% of total sales for the week.
How can we define these numbers if not as a global success? The relevance and power of the Pokémon brand is, to date, undeniable. On the other hand, we are talking about one of the most profitable franchises in the world. Nonetheless, the success of Scarlet and Violet led him to a greater exposure to criticism. In fact, the technical and visual aspect of the titles has been rejected by specialized critics and users, precisely because of quality standards that are not at all in line with Nintendo’s productions.
A week after the release of the two titles, the first technical analysis of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The guys from Digital Foundry have tried their hand at meticulous observation of the quality of image resolution and frame rate of the two new chapters released on Nintendo Switch, both in docked mode – i.e. when the Nintendo Switch is connected to your TV – and in portability. This study on the two new Pokémon iterations highlighted all the technical limits of the new productions. But how did the technical analyzes go?
Let’s start from an assumption: as glimpsed in the numerous videos that have appeared on the net, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in no way do they have a discrete or even sufficient technical quality. As for the docked mode of the two products, the Digital Foundry analysis highlighted a dynamic resolution ranging from a range of 1080p to 720p. In general, however, we can say that the visual quality settles on average at 864p, at least in the various phases of the gameplay. The situation, however, appears more drastic for the portable mode: in portability, the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet resolution goes up to 576pwith a maximum peak of 720p based on the more or less excited game situations.
The real Achilles heel of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is the frame rate: always in the first of the two modes, the titles run at a maximum of 30FPS both in docked and in portability, which will only decrease based on the game situation and the number of items appearing on the screen. The analysis of Digital Foundry continues by underlining how Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are able to reach a minimum of 20 FPS, which is not instantaneous but prolonged and associated with different moments of game exploration or interlude phases.
The numbers speak for themselves, but the launch of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is anything but positive. The two new Pokémon chapters are ready to welcome the first teracristal raid dedicated to Eevee, even if the user is far from ecstatic about the technical aspect of the two productions. When and how much can the two titles dedicated to the Pokémon world be improved? Unfortunately there is no way to know the answer to the question, even if we know that the first week of launch has shown how the Pokémon brand has, at least on the technical front, reached a point of no return.
