Ugh.

So, Pokemon Platinum is coming out soon.

If there is one thing I despise about Pokemon, it is the fact that they release two “must-have” installments of the game, requiring you to purchase both or know someone who has your game’s counterpart in order to “Catch ‘Em All”.

But then, after less than a year of the originals being released, they release a single version that stands alone and usually doesn’t require a counterpart. Why do they do this? It is such a huge slap in the face.

It is as if the game is at an incomplete stage, but an executive walks into the room, demands the game be split in two, and then tells them to get back to work on the same game while he embraces the lifestyle of Scrooge McDuck.

It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just the usual tweaks in Pokemon sprites and things like that. But there are literally things that you cannot do in Pokemon Diamond and Pearl that happen in Platinum. Like enhanced Wi-Fi. That completely changes the gameplay experience. Why would they release a purposefully crippled game if this was on the agenda? Now, people who have Diamond/Pearl cannot interact with people who purchase Platinum unless they also purchase Platinum.

It is absurd.

And don’t even get me started on the fact that Nintendo Events to unlock special Pokemon do not occur in North America, rendering it literally impossible to “Catch ‘Em All”.

Lousy Nintendo.