Pokémon Sword and Shield was one of the most anticipated games of 2019, so some recent announcements from the Pokémon have many fans excited and some upset. Nearly 2 months after the release, Nintendo announced new downloadable content (DLC) for the two most recent installments in the Pokémon franchise. This is the first time a main series Pokémon game has ever had DLC, which is most likely because this is also the first Pokémon game to be on a plug-in console and not a portable device. 

    The trailer has revealed that many fan favorite Pokémon not released in the base game will be added with the DLC. There are said to be at least 200 of the old Pokémon making a reappearance in the two DLC, along with an unspecified amount of new Pokémon. On top of this, there will be an unprecedented amount of new cosmetics for the player to design their character with. There will be a new story with new legendary Pokémon, along with new variants of fan favorite pokémon coming out. 

    All of this new content is pretty cool, but it has some people upset over the steep increase to the price tag for the full game. With Pokémon Sword and Shield already being the most expensive Pokémon game to come out to date, being roughly $60, it is an additional $30 for the two new DLC. Many people considered the base game to be lacking in content, especially for the steep price tag, and with this slight disappointment with the franchise, fans are hesitant to buy the DLC.

    “After I played through the relatively short game,” Cody Seaman, a senior at GLHS, says “I was disappointed to find there was really nothing to do after the short story.” Cody’s disappointment is understandable. 

    “I most likely won’t buy the new DLC” Cody says “it really seems like it is not going to be anything special, and I feel they could have fit it into the base game if they really wanted to”. Cody’s reasoning makes sense and is not easy to argue with, but overall it comes down to what the consumer decides is entertaining. Despite the base game not being groundbreaking for the series and fan’s scepticism about the DLC, it seems like it will be as fun, if not more than, the base game.