Fans of the earliest Pokemon games will remember a simple game mechanic that added something genuinely fun to the base-level game. While running around collecting little pocket monsters is always a laugh, having a few mini-games to play helped split up the story and gave you something else to do for a few minutes.
For those who have no idea what I’m talking about because you joined the Pokemon franchises during the Black and White era, I’m referencing the Game Corners in older generations. Effectively, they were mini-casinos within a Pokemon game offering different games (primarily slots) where you could gamble your hard-earned Pokedollars.
Everyone loved them, yet they completely disappeared after the 5th generation of games came out. Even the re-released versions of older games no longer let you enjoy in-game casinos. It’s a shame as this was a very fun part of the games that we’d love to see make a return.
You’re probably wondering why were casinos removed from Pokemon games and if it’s possible to enjoy them at all now. The reasons behind their disappearance make sense but are a bit stupid in our eyes – you’ll see why in just a moment.
A History Of Pokemon Casinos
Before we look at why these casinos disappeared from the games, let’s establish where you could find them. Each of the first four generations had at least one “Game Corner” and the Pokemon Wiki site lists them as follows:
- Celadon Game Corner in Kanto (1st Generation Games)
- Joyful Game Corner in Two Island (Fire Red/Leaf Green Gen 1 Remakes)
- Goldenrod Game Corner in Johto (2nd Generation Games)
- Mauville and Mossdeep Game Corners in Hoenn (3rd Generation Games)
- Veilstone Game Corner in Sinnoh (4th Generation Games)
Depending on which of these Game Corners you visited, you could play slot machines, Pokemon roulette or the VOLTORB Flip game. They were quick and fun little games to use to earn coins within the main game. These coins could be traded at the casino (like chips) to unlock a wealth of prizes ranging from small consumables to full-on Pokemon like Scyther or Porygon.
Sometimes, these casinos were the only way you could get specific Pokemon in certain games if you didn’t have a friend to trade with. The original Game Corner in Kanto also formed a critical part of the storyline, serving as a Team Rocket base (oops, spoiler alert!). You were actively encouraged to visit it and play the games as part of the story – but that all changed when the 5th Generation of games came out.
The Disappearance Of Pokemon Casinos
To be fair, the disappearance of Pokemon Casinos started when Diamond and Pearl was released in South Korea. Due to a gambling ban, the casino games in these titles were removed and replaced with “game machines” to appease the regulations. This was a taster of what was soon to come elsewhere as changes to PEGI ratings across Europe meant that Pokemon would be raised from a 3 up to a 12.
Gamefreak and Nintendo both didn’t want this as it made the games appear less family-friendly from the outside, which could potentially impact sales. So, they removed the casino games from Black and White and got rid of Game Corners entirely from then on.
You’ll also see an absence of games in any remakes of previous generations from this point onwards. For a timescale reference, we’re in around 2009 at the moment. Fast forward to 2018 and Let’s Go, Pikachu was released on the Nintendo Switch as a modern version of the 1st Generation games. It had to keep the Game Corner for plot purposes, but all the games were unplayable and replaced with simple un-interactable depictions of game machines.
Why The Removal Of Pokemon Game Corners Was Stupid
This is, of course, my opinion. I’m sure many fans also agree with this, particularly when you consider why the feature was removed. It got taken away because it resembled gambling…okay, but you’re never gambling real money. The coins are virtual and they’re used to buy things in the game itself – no money is ever spent.
I could understand if Pokemon were trying to draw you in with 20 free spins on registration add card no deposit bonuses. If they were making you put your card details down and offering proper casino bonuses with real money involved, then yeah, fair enough, remove the feature entirely!
My biggest two gripes are this:
- Removing the feature got rid of a fun way to get cool items or Pokemon
- Other games have features that are far more like real gambling and are still marketed as PEGI 3 titles
I’d say my biggest issue with new Pokemon games is that they’re too easy. Good Pokemon or items are fed to you with no effort involved. Having these little casinos or Game Corners added some spice to the titles and made you work for rare Pokemon or key battle items. You’d have to grind to earn money and then play the games to earn coins – it extended your playthroughs and made the post-game more interesting too.
Addressing my second gripe, you need only look at the EA Sports FIFA franchise (now called EA Sports Football Club as they couldn’t be bothered to pay FIFA anymore). It’s always been a PEGI 3 game despite the fact you can load money onto your account and use it to open card packs in the Ultimate Team part of the game. These packs are completely randomised and the chances of you getting something valuable are very slim. It is gambling in its purest form, yet somehow manages to sidestep the regulations and means the game can stay as it’s rated.
Will We See This Feature Return?
Probably not. It pains me to say this as any new feature that adds something to the base Pokemon experience is always enjoyable. I loved the mini-games so maybe they could try and create something similar without it being construed as gambling.
Overall, it’s crazy to me that this feature had to be removed and I wish it could come back! I don’t have high hopes, but maybe they can figure out a loophole someday.