So next will we get an R/S/E remake?
Matthew Harrington However, while RS were incomplete games, Emerald wasn't. And the games are still playable. Do they really have to make every Generation over and over again so they're on par with current ones? Wow... I don't think any other franchise besides Final Fantasy does this, and it's just been with FF3 (Much-needed for any country not named Japan) and FF4 (A game this good deserves all remakes it can get anyway). They just ported the original FF4, 5 and 6 in the GBA too, as well as Chrono Trigger in the DS. They also hog to past glories, but those that are actually worth it. Games that no generation can go without playing, for they're truly some of the best classics ever made. Same goes with New Super Mario Bros. which was a spiritual remake of the original Mario Bros. game, and Metroid Zero Mission, for NES's Metroid. Now, Metroid 2 is a game that every Metroid fan would love seeing remade, since it's pretty bleh in its original form (Not to mention hard as all hell to get outside of ROMs), and it's yet to happen. I doubt it will ever be remade, even. You don't see everything else of said franchises being remade once they become "Old School".
The compatibility is no issue anymore. the reason behind the incompatibility between RBY/GSC and RSE was an integral change in the game's very coding. With the new coding since 3rd Gen, there's space for 4095 Pokémon. Enough for an entire lifetime, at the rate they're going (Unless they start adding 500+/- new Pokémon starting with 5th Gen, but I highly doubt it). That's no excuse anymore.
No. system compatibility isn't an issue either. The Nintendo Portables make a point of all being compatible with their previous iteration. You could play Game Boy games on Game Boy Color. You could play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games on the Game Boy Advance. You can play Game Boy Advance games on the DS. Whatever comes after the DS (Probably DSi as of now) will be able to play DS games, and as such, we'll be able to get our Pokémon from 4th Gen games. I don't think 5th Gen will come around for the DSi. It'll most likely come for the successor of the DS, if any. The industry is changing too much to be able to tell anything will happen. The way Nintendo went with the Wii is an even clearer indicator of this.
Seriously... it'll be very sad if GameFreak resorts to this trend. I can understand, even justify, FR/LG, and even GS, but RSE... even if these won't be playable in the future consoles, you don't need to have every game of any franchise available anytime. Better graphics and crap isn't a need either. The mythos in the Pokémon world will just get more and more convoluted if this keeps on going as well. Really, once they resort to that trend, if ever, it's the time I'll lose all respect for GameFreak. They're done in already with their cheap gameplay stunts which force you to buy the 3rd version. This'll just prove their lack of interest on creating actually new ideas and stuff to enrich their world, just going back to revive old glories, and tie loose ends that never existed.
This also speaks poorly of the franchise's fans. The first main Final Fantasy game I played was Final Fantasy 7. Upon enjoying it, I decided to check out previous games on my own. Yes, I got the ports in the PSX (The system I had back then), but if I had to get their SNES or even NES versions, I would have without hesitation. A ROM would be my last resort. I would've even gotten the system. I'm dead serious. A true fan would do this and more to find out more about this game they really liked, and see how it was back in the days. Pretty sad the new generation can only enjoy games if they're pristine new, gorgeous-looking and right off the shelf...
