Latest news with #JoeMerrick
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Switch 2 update footage shows the "notorious frame drop lake" running at 60fps, and fans say it might be "the best possible advertisement" for the new console
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Switch 2 is officially out tomorrow, and with it, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are getting a free update to improve their performance on the new console, with improved draw distance to load in even more wild Pokemon, as well as a boosted frame rate, finally bringing the adventures to 60fps. Considering how notoriously poorly Scarlet and Violet run on the original Switch – with problems like frame drops and stuttering still an issue over two years since launch – this is a massive deal, and the first gameplay footage and extended preview looks shown ahead of release have fans in a frenzy. Not only does everything look buttery smooth, but it remains that way even when embarking on Casseroya Lake. If you've spent any time at all in Scarlet and Violet's Paldea region, you'll know why this is a big deal. While far from the only location in the games to experience performance issues, it's largely considered one of the worst – stuttering and considerable frame rate drops while traveling across the water are commonplace. Or, at least, they were on the OG Switch, because Nintendo has jumped at the opportunity to show off what exploring the lake looks like now. As one stunned fan puts it, "the Casseroya Lake footage literally made me get up and stare at the screen like a 60-year-old father witnessing his football team score a goal on TV." Another adds that "showing the notorious frame drop lake at a crisp framerate was such a power play," while one fan argues that "this is the best possible advertisement they could have done for the Switch 2 oh my god." Again, it's not just a frame rate boost, as improved draw distance means a lot more wild Pokemon now populate the screen than ever before (potentially a huge boon for shiny hunters, might I add). Former Pokemon world champion Wolfe "Wolfey" Glick suspects that "if you tried to put that many Pokemon in the lake on my Switch from 2017 I think it would actually explode." All of these reactions were to the few short seconds of footage posted on the Nintendo Today app earlier this week, but since then, the owner of Pokemon news site Serebii, Joe Merrick, has shared even more from a preview event. His footage takes things to the next level, because that 60fps apparently remains consistent even in the rain, folks. "It is so beautiful," Merrick adds. It's just one day to go now before the Switch 2 is out and we can all try Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's update for ourselves – from what we've seen so far, it looks like there's never been a better time to explore Paldea. Keeping up with all the Nintendo Switch 2 news before launch? Be sure to check out our roundup of upcoming Switch 2 games, too.
Newsweek
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Become Second Best-Selling Games in the Series
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors Nintendo has just released its latest quarterly financial report, revealing that the latest games in the Pokémon mainline series, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, have risen to the position of second best-selling games in the entire series. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which were released in November 2022, have now sold 26.79 million units, surpassing the previous generation pair of games, which are currently sitting on 26.72 million units sold. The best-selling games in the series remain Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue for the original Game Boy, which have combined sales of over 31 million units. A player gliding through the region of Paldea on the back of the Legendary Pokémon Koraidon in Pokémon Scarlet. A player gliding through the region of Paldea on the back of the Legendary Pokémon Koraidon in Pokémon Scarlet. Nintendo As noted by Serebii webmaster Joe Merrick, Scarlet and Violet overtaking Sword and Shield is also the first time the second generation of games on a single system – in this case the Nintendo Switch – has outsold the first generation released on the same system. It's worth noting that this also the first time a second generation on a console has outsold the first GB Red, Green & Blue: 31.38m Gold & Silver: 23.7m DS Diamond & Pearl: 17.67m Black & White: 15.64m 3DS X & Y: 16.78m Sun & Moon: 16.33m — Joe Merrick (@JoeMerrick) May 8, 2025 Pokémon Scarlet and Violet were first released on the Nintendo Switch in late 2022, where they received equal parts praise and criticism from media and players alike. Players praised the games for their innovative gameplay improvements, including the addition of a full open world for the first time in the series' history, but they were heavily criticised for performance issues, bugs at launch, and poor visual quality. The games subsequently received a number of post-launch patches, which reduced the number of bugs experienced by most players, but the poor performance and visual quality remained the same, even after the release of paid DLC in 2023. Nintendo has announced that Scarlet and Violet will be getting updates following the release of the Nintendo Switch 2 which will allow the games to take advantage of the more powerful hardware, but no further details have been announced about these updates. The milestone comes ahead of the release of a brand-new Pokémon game on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, Pokémon Legends Z-A, which will take players back to the Kalos region first featured in Pokémon X and Y for the Nintendo 3DS. The new game will take place entirely within the region's major city, Lumiose, and will feature a mix of exploration and real-time battles. Pokémon Legends Z-A will be released on the Switch and Switch 2 in late 2025.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Pokémon Company Yet Again Promises It Will Print More TCG Cards, But...
If you've tried to buy a pack of Pokémon TCG cards in recent times, you'll already know what a shitshow it's all become. As we've been reporting, the last six months has seen the trading card game's explosion in popularity lead to an epidemic of scalping, leaving new cards all but unavailable to the regular players and collectors. Now, but not for the first time, The Pokémon Company has promised it will be addressing these shortages. It's just that their words don't really match reality. In a new statement issued on the eve of the release of the next set Journey Together, and posted to socials by Serebii's Joe Merrick, The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) explains that it's aware of the difficulty people are having buying the cards, but promises that it is 'actively working to print more of the impacted Pokémon TCG products as quickly as possible.' The thing is, that's exactly the same thing they said when we contacted them back in January about the same issue. Here's a quote from the new statement: We're aware that some fans are experiencing difficulties purchasing certain Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) products due to very high demand impacting availability. We understand this inconvenience can be disappointing for fans, and we are actively working to print more of the impacted Pokémon TCG products as quickly as possible and at maximum capacity to acknowledge this. And here's a quote from the statement in January: We're aware that some fans may experience difficulties purchasing certain Pokémon Trading Card Game: Scarlet & Violet—Prismatic Evolutions products at launch due to high demand impacting availability. We understand this inconvenience can be disappointing for fans, and we are actively working to print more of the impacted Pokémon TCG products as quickly as possible and at maximum capacity to acknowledge this. Which, given there has been no noticeable increase in availability of any affected sets in the two months since, makes this repeated promise a little harder to take seriously. It's almost word-for-word the same! Those who've been able to buy a pack of Prismatic Evolutions without paying scalped prices are the very lucky few. The new statement goes on to say that, 'For Pokémon TCG product releases at Pokémon Center, we are committed to providing a smooth purchasing experience and employ technology that helps get products into the hands of fans first and foremost.' As anyone who's tried to use the Pokémon Center on days when new cards are made available for pre-order will tell you, this simply isn't true. The statement continues, 'Currently, Pokémon Center implements a virtual queue for certain products to help provide a more seamless purchasing process during periods of increased site traffic.' But TPCi has to know this isn't working. When pre-orders for May's set, Destined Rivals, went live this week, the site was just broken for hours. Sometimes, if you were lucky, you'd see the 'queue' screen, but in my experience it never resolved to the site, and more often there was simply a message saying the site was down for repairs. To describe this as 'seamless' is quite something. By the time I was able to access the site, everything was of course sold out. In the past, even when the site hasn't gone down, product has been marked as sold out within moments of being added. And limiting purchase numbers does almost nothing against an army of bots that can make multiple purchases to multiple accounts. It just all sucks. Tomorrow, people will line up outside stores in desperate hope of being able to find some Journey Together product, and many will miss out. Scalpers will do all they can to scoop the majority of the cards, and kids and collectors will be disappointed. What we need at this point is not a copypasta of a statement issued two-and-a-half months ago, re-promising the same things that clearly haven't happened. We need The Pokémon Company to get on top of this, to actually start printing and delivering product to retailers (I've spoken to specialist shop owners who say they cannot get answers, let alone cards to sell), and more than anything else, to drop the disingenuous statements and offer a bit more honesty and clarity. We've reached out to TPCi to ask for that, to get some specifics on how much more product it intends to print and how, and what practical plans it has for its websites given things clearly aren't 'seamless.' . For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
