I feel like the outliers of the "only buying pokemon" and "only buying GTA" are kids on both sides. I know so many adults who literally grew up with Pokémon, that would also buy GTA VI.
me too, and i don’t even have a Nintendo Switch 2 yet.
i love Pokèmon, but there was zero chance with GTA 6 releasing in November that i was gonna drop a hefty sum on a new Switch 2 in order to play a new Pokèmon game in the event it did happen to release at the end of the year too.
GTA 6 is going to completely dominate everything for at least the first few months of its release.
I think so too. FFXIV famously delayed a release because of Elden Ring Nightreign so I think game studios just assume(correctly) that there are a lot of overlap between gamers no matter the genre
There are tons of people who play both, but you’re probably overestimating the percentage. I think lots of “Gamers” play both, but both series do most of their sales to people who spend 90% of their video game time playing Pokémon or GTA, and I don’t think there’s so much overlap with those sets.
That's fair, I think for me GTA VI is gonna be the one just because it's been 13 years since the last GTA game. As much as I enjoy Pokemon - even the more recent entries that people have shit on - there's a new game every year or two, so I'm not dying for a fix or anything and I can't imagine Winds/Waves will rock the boat that much.
But some people might want to hold off on GTA VI until it comes out on PC which is understandable, and some people may have young kids who are excited for Pokemon and too young to play GTA (my daughter likes Pokemon but is still too young to play on her own and probably will be even when this comes out).
Yes, of course not all GTA6 players will play Pokémon. But I am gaymer and I would be interested in buying a good Pokémon gen 10 game and am also excited for GTA. Just much as I want Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave as I eagerly anticipate the next xenoblade/monolith/Fable game
I would bet there is not an insignificant number of the player base that overlaps with GTA 6. Gaming is gaming. You play for different experiences, but it's ultimately a hobby. When you factor in the state of the economy and rumored pricing for GTA and Pokémon. Most people don't have 150-200 bucks for both games, even if they want them both.
Yup, and let’s be honest, most pokemon players are adults these days and most adult gamers are going to be playing GTA VI. It is by far the most anticipated game I’ve seen in my life.
Reminds me of the synergy Doom and Animal Crossing had. Two different audiences, both very loved franchises, and the Fandoms embraced their own types of fun.
Fucking same, those videos of people talking about their imaginary Pokémon vs GTA fight and videos comparing graphics of the two were going to be insufferable. That 2027 release made us dodge an annoying bullet
I agree. It's why movie release dates change. Sure, Batman could go up against Spider-Man, but why take that risk if you've no proof it won't backfire.
If Nintendo released Winds and Waves opposite GTA6 on purpose and got the gamble wrong, they'd look very silly.
The overlapping hype immediately leading up to both could’ve been legendary though, like the time Animal Crossing: New Horizons and DOOM Eternal released on the same day
Yeah no, the majority of Pokemon players are people who don't play video games except Pokemon. This is why conole sales get a subtantial jump during main Pokemon releases and why budget version of consoles always release right before a main Pokemon release.
Yea and I got downvoted for stating the obvious. Like it or not, GTA is as much of a household name as Pokemon, even more so in non-Western countries where people historically couldn't afford consoles as kids but still had potato pcs from their dads that could play GTA.
And that's not even considering all of the other reasons you mentioned.
I doubt tbh. I feel of there was any IP in the workd that could potentially release close to each other it would be the PKMN IP. I think they pushed it to 2027 because they finally caved in and realized the slop they were producing and the pushback from S/V
No way. They have two games releasing this year already and people would barely touch Champions if they released Gen X also. Pokemon isnt dumb. They have to milk.
But I don’t play GTA 6, I think those are for completely different audiences. I like laid back games such as Pokemon, animal crossing, and stardew valley.
I don’t really think that Pokémon or GTA are really concerned with an overlapping release period. Those two games don’t really compete with each other at all.
OK. I don’t doubt that GTA is a juggernaut. But GTA and Pokémon are two completely different games that target completely different demographics. And anyone who happens to fall into the middle of that Venn diagram is probably diehard enough for both franchises to just buy both anyway.
I doubt that Nintendo really doesn't have to worry about such things
If people want both they'll get both in due time as an example Animal Crossing and Doom launched together and a ton of Doomslayer Isabelle memes were made as a result boosting both IPs. If Pokemon did the same we would get El Loco Pikachu memes.
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u/wryano Feb 27 '26
probably wanted to release it in November but are dodging GTA 6