Pokemon Legends: Arceus Should Stick to Free Updates With Gen 9 Incoming

gamerant.com:

A new update was announced for Pokemon Legends: Arceus during the Pokemon Day livestream on February 27. This update contains new battle challenges, side missions, Pokemon spawning mechanics, and more, but the most important factor is that it comes at no extra cost.

The Pokemon franchise is no stranger to paid expansions after Sword and Shield received two rounds of additional content, adding tons to the original game that justify its price point. This first update to Legends: Arceus is smaller, though it will undoubtedly bring many hours of gameplay to those who already can't put down the base game. This free, small-scale style of update works better for Pokemon Legends: Arceus than larger paid expansions would, especially with Scarlet and Violet just around the corner.

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Pokemon Sword and Shield first released in late 2019 and went on to receive two paid expansions in June and October 2020. These expansions, The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, each include a new hub area to explore that are filled with Pokemon to catch (some of which were new to the series). They also included new game modes, like Dynamax Adventures. These updates are bundled as part of the $30 Expansion Pass, which is a reasonable price for the amount of new content offered to players.

These large-scale updates worked on Sword and Shield for multiple reasons. In the past, updated versions of Pokemon games would release, such as the third generation's Pokemon Emerald after Ruby and Sapphire. These games' plots are primarily unchanged until near the end, or after completing the game. Sword and Shield's Expansion Pass changes this, as players no longer need to play through the same game