Video: A Snappy Analysis of the Pokémon Sun and Moon Trailers

Japanese trailer is so good! We got more gameplay, but Japan got the sensible one. That said, thanks to the internet we can watch both which is awesome, but show us the difference between Japan and Wester marketing.

The game looks pretty sweet.

The main player characters maybe aren't quite as strong as I recall, they seem to be getting a little bit more generic (losing some of their original lovely anime charm), but overall the game is looking lovely.

I'm happy that the recent-ish move to 3D with the Pokemon games didn't totally ruin the overall look and feel of them. I hope they fully keep that charm and style going forward.

@Frank90 Sadly, this is the first thought that popped into my mind when I saw the Japanese ad:

"Some marketing douche sat in a room and thought about exactly how to install an idea in young minds that if you have Pokemon you won't have to be/feel so excluded and friendless (just like that kid in the video)?

The advert is saying "Buy Pokemon because it will allow you to make friends that you might not be able to make otherwise". It's right there in your face. And that doesn't change just because Pokemon is awesome and that ad gives all us older gamers the "feels".

And, the fact that most people will just think I'm being cynical shows exactly why savvy advertisers can get away with this kind of thing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-ZORRE15RA

You know, like how Coke is actually selling you genuine happiness if you buy a frikin' soda drink. Happiness is literally found at the bottom of a Coke can/bottle.

Don't imagine the advertising men working for the Pokemon Company are any less manipulative than those working for Coca Cola—as the Sun/Moon ad shows they are basically exactly the same people (possibly literally the same advertising agency for all we know)."

Still, the game does look sweet.

Super Saiyan Entei and Super Zubat 2 Turbo.

If the cousin is named after a plant, does that mean he's the professor? Anyway, the game looks gorgeous! I'm glad they're increasing the realism in this!

i really hope we have alot of new pokemon and some mega's for newer pokemon and not just old one's

I like the new region too, nice to see Hawaii getting some love.

On the clothing. He stripped t shirt changes from blue stripes to black stripes, so I am guessing the custom clothing must be back. Hopefully. Combine that with the poke radar stuff from oras and this will be played for 999 hours easily. All looks very nice indeed.

@Kirk I was thinking the same then I remembered that Pokemon made an announcement earlier that they finally added Chinese language option. So this commercial about a boy from China that can barely speak English moving to say-Hawaii and trying to fit in and having so through Pokemon where can play with others, without the language barrier, makes sense.

I've just realised Rowlet looks just like Blathers from Animal Crossing. The resemblance is uncanny, especially the green bowtie.

Arcanine MK II and Batmon, lol. Good one.

@Manjushri Christ, if I started that list I'd be here a long time—and I'm not talking about any kind of "conspiracy theory" crap either.

I'm more like V for Van Damme.

I hope they do a Special Demo Version, like for ORAS. I'm sure people wanna try playing in the new tropical setting!

@Juxio Now that does make a lot more sense. OK, maybe I'll let them off this time. Let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say I was too harsh on them. But, I'll keep one eyebrow raised, just in case.

Thanks for pointing that out. It's important to get the full context sometimes.

Although, it could be even more savvy and sly than I first thought . . . to get the whole Chinese market to feel like this game connects with and speaks to them in some personal way—for lots of extra sales to this potentially massive new market that can finally appreciate the game in its native tongue.

It's probably mix of all the good and the bad to be honest.

Note: I have absolutely zero clue if that's a Chinese or Japanese kid in that ad, but I'd speculate he's Japanese just because it's titled the Japanese ad. Don't quote me on that though.

@Kirk I have to agree. Frankly, I didn't find the video touching at all, rather just cheesy. Sure, Pokemon brings people together, but not in this simplified look at reality that tries to manipulate us by finding the insecurity present in our current generation and showing our social insecurities to make us think that we can solve any social problems with Pokemon, just to force depressed/ socially insecure people to buy their game just so they can have friends. Sorry, but the world doesn't work that way.

Wow. That was dark. (I was definitely exaggerating, don't take this too seriously)

The game looks cool though.

None of my comments about the Japanese ad are intended to detract from what looks like another really high quality Pokemon game though, just to be clear.

First time it seems that I like the Grass Starter. I am honestly a bit disappointed that the starter types were not changed, but I am not surprised at all. Instead, the beginning with a Grass/Flying (as well as immunity to ground) is interesting. The additional attack mentioned for Rowlet and its design seems good and as long as it isnt like Fennekin I will be quite happy.

Litten is interesting but does not appeal to me at all. I got a similar vibe from Froakie last gen but this time I just find Litten bad to look at. The colors seem too antagonistic to work together. If the Final Evolution ends up being Fire/Dark it would become more interesting for me, but we already have Houndour and Houndoom. I think it would end up being a disappointment.

The least appealing to me is honestly the Popplio. All I see is a Circus Seal. Water type usually doesnt interest me much and seeing this design makes me feel it is suppose to be goofier than I would appreciate. Knowing my luck, it will end up being Water/Ground with one weakness and Rowlet will end as a Grass/Ice with Seven Weaknesses.

As for the Legendaries, I am partial to the "Arcanine MK II" despite planning on picking up Moon. I already decided that Moon would be the lesser appreciated version and I also like night time more than daytime so oh well.

The design for "Batmon" is also interesting. Functionally it wouldnt work for life due to the metal bracers outside the wings preventing them from folding up properly, however when you are a Legendary you are near God anyway and who am I to tell a God their design doesnt work?

Hopefully GameFreak brings back the Day/Night cycle. I liked that a lot but apparently it was removed because kids had a hard time playing at the right time. Maybe instead it will be like Majora's Mask and the day timer will only be 4 hours or so? That way every four hours it will be Day/Dusk/Night/Dawn or whatever and the Legendaries can help you get a Key Item that forces the change to their time of day?

@Kirk now you got both my eyebrows raised, there's a lot of money that can be made off the Chinese market. I have to see if that 3DS text is in Chinese or Japanese to make sure.. But you're right nothing special about this commercial just all business.
I'm just going to say these games look fantastic!

Japanese trailer warms up my heart <3

@Kirk Exactly this, I am struck at how many people are like "that trailer is so charming"! It's manipulative and typical of a megacorp advertising culture that I really despise.

That 3DS in the ad is fake. Not a finger print smudge or anything in sight.

@Juxio Yeah, the actual games themselves are all good.

@EverythingAmiibo Yeah, that was my first feeling. I like ads that "gives you the feels" and all, especially ones the bring back a bit of gamer nostalgia, but sometimes something about certain ads doesn't quite sit right with me, and that's what I got the second I watched the Japanese Pokemon one above (and what I get with most of the Coke, McDonalds, Microsoft, Apple . . . ads, any cosmetics ads, any car ads, any ads for banks or loans, almost every ad you see at the Super Bowl, etc).

The Pokemon Super Bowl ad, however, was pretty frikin' awesome:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F46tGehnfo

I was thrilled when I saw the new trailer! The visuals look incredible and Pokemon now looks the way I always imagined it look on the 3DS. The battle engine looks the same, which makes sense as there was nothing wrong with that.

I am also rather fond of the new starters. They're not as cool as what I've seen some digital artists create online, but they still look fine to me. I'm leaning toward Popplio, but I could easily switch to Rowlet as I have always wanted a grass/flying type starter. I'm really glad they showed off information about these new games and I'm excited to see more!

@Kirk
Ha, I see your point. I viewed those types of commercials as trying to dispel the "gamers are friendless weirdos" stereotype by showing that they can in fact be social and bring people together.
It's interesting to look at different marketing strategies, hooray for economics and anthropology.

Now I want an official "NintendoLife X GameXplain" crossover. Whether it is a site, a movie, a game, a web series, whatever, I'm in either way.

So, with this gen being Hawaii inspired, will the 4th gen remakes be named Pokemon Diamond Mine and Pokemon Pearl Harbor?

Yeah I didn't care for the Japanese trailer as much either, really overly manufactured attempt to tug at the heart strings. Even more so than that saccharine feel good video that took up half of the last Pokémon Direct. I guess it's aimed at parents more than anything though, "buy this so your kid can make friends and be happy" sort of thing. I don't have kids so I just want to see exciting new creatures bashing each other's faces in, and that's what I got

Can't wait to see the final evolutions for the starters so I can pick one! Really hoping Rowley isn't going to be another Fennekin situation!

I'm naming my Litten Delilah. 👍

They completely fail if Lunatone and Solrock are not version exclusives. Oh extra points if Lunatone is in Sun and Solrock in Moon just because.

Ugh, all of the cynical people in here. The kid had just moved to a new place that speaks a language he doesn't. I could understand your viewpoints IF if was some lonely kid who wasn't good at making friends in school because of anxiety, but that's not the case. It was just a nice little story of a kid who moved to a new place, and found common ground with other people. It's not like something similar hasn't happened to any of us. The message was that the main idea behind Pokemon is to bring people together, and that's truly what its been about this whole time, even before it became a big success. It was supposed to be something you and other people could form bonds over, as you trade and battle.

Stop over-analyzing everything. Freaking conspiracy nuts.

I prefer the international one, due to actual substance abounding.
The Japanese one is way too cheesy, and doesn't have the excuse of being a 20th anniversary celebration vid.

@Kirk

The kid is Japanese. There's a shot of his notebook in the trailer that says "My name is Shohei. I am from Japan." He also mentions his name is Shohei at the end of the trailer.

And the text on his 3DS is in Japanese.

Alex, you missed one shot of the male trainer wearing different clothes.

http://oi67.tinypic.com/20apelc.jpg

What? How did anyone get that this was saying gamers are lonely losers? The kid just moved to the other side of the planet to a country with a completely different culture and language. When you moved to a different place did it already come pre-installed with friends who knew your interests?

Jeez and I thought I was a cynic. I enjoyed the japanese trailer immensely, a lot more than the international one. I'm 26 and not ashamed to admit it got me a bit misty eyed at the end. Honestly it's how I really made friends when I was 9. I had just gotten a new gameboy pocket and Pokemon Red was the first game I ever got for it. Pokemon had just really started taking off in the states so even kids who weren't that nice to me ended up becoming good friends.

Oh, come on, a moon based Pokémon has gotta be a Fairy type! Perhaps Fairy/Dark with Levitate?

@Piersen While that would be hilarious, I can't see a Japanese product referencing "Pearl Harbor" in its title, especially since they removed Space Shuttle Columbia from the Pewter Museum in FireRed/LeafGreen.

@Kirk @Kirk not too sure about that.
the kid and his family have obviously moved from far and is feeling homesick and alone and having some trouble adjusting to his new life.
to me, it kind of seems to me that they're trying to say that pokemon is a constant. it instantly reminded him of his old life and gave him the confidence to go and meet new people.
essentially, no matter where you are, or what languages may be a barrier to you, pokemon will always be the same and bring people together.

beautiful :')

@BulbasaurusRex Came here to say the same thing, no way they'll miss the chance to try to establish Fairy type this gen.

Hope this time the game were full stereoscopic 3D...

@BlackBlotter Which I get, other than the fact they snuck in the whole bit about him specifically going to the store and buying the latest game, and every other kid was there buying it too. Like it's not about just having Pokmeon and sharing the experience with other kids; it's about having the very latest Pokemon.

Maybe if they'd just had the other kids already playing the new game at school and then have the new kid go up with the [new] game he already had in his system (which he could have been playing on the plane at the start) and asked to join them; I think that would sit a bit better with me. The way it was done, it just felt a bit like they were saying "Go to the store and buy this newest Pokemon game and it will fix all your worries." and not "Pokmeon is something we can all share and enjoy together."

Also, was that guy clapping when the kid introduced himself in class a genuinely nice gesture and not the "cool" kid trying to be even cooler by making fun of the new kid? It's a bit [intentionally] ambiguous imo, to reinforce this idea that maybe you're not one of the "cool" kids until you go out and buy the latest Pokemon so you are the same as them. Seeing as in the very next shot, even after that big kid was potentially being nice to him and basically welcoming him in a friendly way, the new kid is still eating his lunch all alone.

Or, maybe they're just implying that the new kid is a bit of plonker who doesn't think that a friendly gesture (the popular kid literally showing him support by clapping at his introduction) is enough for him to go up and try to be friends with the other kids, but buying a new Pokemon game and using that as a way to get in with them will be enough to establish a connection.

I'm just cynical whenever I see these big advertising agents doing their whole "marketing the product" thing to such an obvious and focused degree.

The message was simple, the Japanese kid found something he enjoyed that could help him fit into a new community and make friends while not being the best at speaking English. Pokemon has always been about bringing friends together. The last shot of his mom says it all. She is so happy he has friends.

@Trikeboy Yeah, it genuinely could be that simple.

But, why did they specifically have a shot with everyone buying the newest game at the store (right on launch day too)? Why not just have everyone already owning and playing the new game at school, and that kid can still go up and say "Pokemon!" when he sees/hears them playing it and realises that Pokemon is the common bond and the way he can communicate and connect with the other kids that bypasses his weak English speaking.

Seems to me it's still quite a bit about emphasising that it's having the newest and shiniest version of the game that's important here. It's not about the fact other kids play Pokemon, just like you; it's about going out and purchasing the brand new version, and that's the secret sauce to making new friends in your new school.

Again, I'm just cynical.

Maybe the only way they could establish that he realises the other kids are also playing Pokemon is by showing them all in the store on launch day buying the latest version of the game while he's also there, having been walking past on the very day the latest Pokemon game is launching by pure good luck and fate, and now is also about to buy the new version.

And the comment above applies to you too, @BlatantlyHeroic.

See, I'm actually analysing and re-analysing all this stuff after the fact to see if I can back up my initial opinion/assertion, but that's because my initial opinion/assertion was based on a gut feeling that something wasn't quite right, and the more I dig into it the more I seem to find things that support that initial gut feeling I had while watching the ad the first time around.

But maybe I really am just cynical, and maybe the ad agency that created this product advertisement didn't go into the same depth I am when considering every single shot and scene.

Am I the only one who thinks Sun's mascot looks like evolved white-shiny pyroar?

According to what I have seen, the intro talks about the trainer being new to the region and the professor tells him to get out there and explore. That mirrors what the Japanese kid is feeling and is what every Pokemon game is about. And, so what if they are buying the new game? it basically means everyone is at the same level.

Between that Japanese Trailer, the Sun and Moon reveal trailer, and the 20th Anniversary Train On commercial, I have to say, the marketing team behind Pokemon these days is amazing, they really know how to make you feel, I mean I feel like anyone watching these commercials, even if they've never played Pokemon before will find these commercials inspiring and emotional to some extent. I dunno, I guess I'm just saying that I like Pokemon's marketing as of lately, a whole lot.

Again, it looks like a money grab, having so little new differences from the last generation or even from the last 4 generations. That said, the character designs for the new starters are surprisingly excellent!

Much better than GameXplain's video. They drag out things way too long.

@Gauchorino Congratulations for having the worst comment here, and that's saying something! You saw what, two minutes of gameplay and you already know there's "so little new differences" from the last four generations. Also, what video game or consumer product in general is not a "money grab" as you put it? Do you think they're making these out of the goodness of their hearts?

As for the Japanese trailer, I enjoyed it, thought it was really well done and didn't really find it manipulative at all beyond what basic advertising is in the first place. Yes, they're selling a product. They try to make you want it and show you why you (think you) need it. That's what advertising has done for decades.

I'm loving the Hawaiin theming! I've had the good fortune to have visited Hawaii on several occasions. I absolutely love Hawaii and definitely left a bit of my heart behind each time. If they can capture the atmosphere, the music, the environment even just a little bit, it will melt my heart.

I like the new Pokémon and character designs too. Popplio may be the weakest, in my opinion, but I'm sure it'll catch on and find a lot of fans.

Finally, I want that trainers hat in real life. Come on Pokémon Center, make that happen!

The Japanese one was just fabulous, showing that Pokemon can bring kids together. And the U.S. one showed the gameplay. Overall, both trailers served their purpose, best when combined, and I can not contain my excitement for Sun and Moon.

Mahalo, Pokemon Company. Mahalo.

@CosmoXY No need to take it personally. But a game's debut trailer should show off (and historically for Pokémon at the very least, has shown off) its biggest features. So far, we've seen: Hawaii, new starters, the two cover legendaries, two new skin tones...and...? That's really pathetic, especially if these two new entries are supposed to create a radical new feeling of adventure and excitement. Sure, it's possible that the there could be some huge new features, but it seems rather doubtful at this point. Almost nothing has been shown to drastically distinguish these games from X&Y. All that has been shown besides vastly improved character designs is nostalgia, nostalgia, nostalgia, and touching moments. Right, because none of that has ever been a core feature of Pokémon until now.

But regarding the principle of your response, by redefining "money grab" as "any product sold by a company for a profit" rather than properly representing it as "an undignified or unprincipled acquisition of a large sum of money with little effort", you're attempting to deflect criticism away from your favorite series simply because someone dared to criticise it. Just because I give criticism doesn't mean I'm not a fan of the series or even that my criticism isn't just. It's perfectly fine if you don't agree with this particular criticism and plan on enjoying the product in whatever state it may be. But if you're unwilling to give a reason why you don't agree with it, and instead rather label it as "the worst comment here" and then go on to misrepresent the content thereof, please don't bother responding to it at all.

@Gauchorino You're five days late with that response. But really, who cares if you think it's pathetic? I actually don't and I'm pretty sure no one else does either. I gave you plenty of reasons why I disagreed with your original remark and I don't care to debate it any further.

@CosmoXY Again with the argumentum ad populum. That you love the games still doesn't refute nor even addresses the criticisms I provided. And again, you really should stop taking criticism over a game so personally, nor try to make such a thing personal.

@Gauchorino I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not taking anything you say "personally." I know you're just trolling, and as I said I don't even care.

You said they don't show anything new. I said it's a two minute trailer, how can you tell there's nothing new that hasn't been shown?

You said it's a money grab. I said yes it's a consumer product made to sell and make money. It is a sequel to a series that has a proven formula that works. They don't have to reinvent the wheel.

If you want to play a drastically different type of game, go play something else. Nothing wrong with that.

Again, I'm not taking your comments as personal attacks and what you say doesn't bother me. I just pointed out in my initial remark six days ago how your criticism of the trailer was the lamest I'd seen all day and I left reasons why I thought that. Maybe you're the one that needs to stop taking things personally.