Despite harsh criticism for its graphical shortcomings and performance errors, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet have established themselves as the second best-selling titles in the franchise's history, surpassing previous releases like Pokémon Sword & Shield. Since their release in 2022, they have reached 26.79 million copies sold, according to official data from Nintendo.
This phenomenon raises a key question about the video game industry:to what extent can technical issues affect commercial success when it comes to well-established brands and a solid fan base?
A new approach with evident flaws
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet introduced a drastic change in the saga with their first open world. This novelty attracted a wide audience interested in more free and immersive experiences. However, the technical leap did not meet expectations.
Player criticism was quick to appear. Among the most frequent complaints were graphical errors, frame rate drops, rendering issues, and "embarrassing art" in some scenarios. Despite this, the innovation in gameplay—with new mechanics like non-linear exploration and the ability to face gyms in any order—was widely appreciated by users.
