Why Pokémon BDSP’s Game Corner Was Cut (And Where To Find The Prizes)
The Game Corner may have been removed in Pokémon BDSP, but the developers provide a creative solution to ensure players are still rewarded.
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Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl has largely been a faithful remake of the original games for the Nintendo DS, but the removal of certain features, such as the Veilstone Game Corner, has proven disappointing in some regards. The slot machine mini-games present in the Game Corner provided a fun diversion for players, as well as offering several prizes in the form of desirable in-game items. Its absence in the remakes may leave some confused as to why the Game Corner was cut from BDSP entirely.
The Game Corner was a staple of the Pokémon series since Red & Blue on the original Game Boy, and the concept remained the same throughout the series up to Diamond & Pearl. Players would exchange money for coins, which were used to play the slot machines, and upon acquiring enough, could exchange these coins for prizes, usually including Pokémon’s best TMs, held items, and in some instances, rare Pokémon. Some Pokémon were even exclusive to being won through the Game Corner, such as Porygon in Pokémon Red, which could only be obtained for 9999 coins at the prize counter in the Celadon Game Corner.
As the series continued, the Game Corner would get more complex. Pokémon Diamond & Pearl had a particularly in-depth slot machine game. Upon winning a jackpot, a bonus game involving a Clefairy would begin, instructing the player to stop the reels in a certain order. Players could now obtain large amounts of coins by keeping the bonus game going as long as possible, injecting some strategy into what would normally be random chance. As the Game Corner had always been a staple of the series, with the Diamond & Pearl variant being particularly well-received, it begs the question as to why the Game Corner was quietly replaced with an outfit shop for players to change clothes in. The answer may lie within international ratings boards.
Software Ratings Boards May Have Led To Pokémon BDSP ‘s Game Corner Cut
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl isn’t the first time the popular Game Corner faced censorship. The Korean versions of Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum removed all traces of slot machine gameplay due to gambling being illegal in South Korea, and the Game Rating and Administration Committee, South Korea’s board for rating videos, deemed the presence of simulating gambling as going against the standards of a game intended for everyone. The Veilstone Game Corner remained in these games, but removed the slot machine mini-game, with players acquiring coins exclusively from interacting with the “game machines” to receive a random amount of coins per day.
Pan European Game Information, or PEGI, is Europe’s video game content rating system. Prior to 2021, games featuring simulated gambling required a 12 age rating. This was seen when PEGI increased Red & Blue’s age rating upon the original games’ re-release in the Nintendo 3DS eShop. However, as of 2021, PEGI now requires any form of simulated gambling to have at least an 18 rating. As Pokémon is a series enjoyed by all ages, including many children, Nintendo may have felt it would be too great a loss to accept an 18 rating for its games, as it would be more difficult for younger players to access them. As a result of this, it makes sense, although disappointing, that Nintendo would choose to remove the Veilstone Game Corner from Pokémon BDSP.
Where To Get Prize Corner Rewards In Pokémon BDSP
Although the Veilstone Game Corner is gone in Pokémon BDSP, players won’t need to worry about missing out on the prizes offered by the facility. Every prize that was once offered by the Game Corner is still obtainable in Veilstone City, with some actually proving easier to acquire than in previous games, fixing one of Gen 4’s more annoying features. The absence of the Game Corner can be a boon to players who didn’t enjoy putting in-game money and time into the slot machines but still wanted the rewards.
For example, every TM move that was available as a prize at the Veilstone Game Corner in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl is now simply available for sale in Veilstone Department Store. Some of the most sought-after moves, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Psychic, are now a very affordable 3000 Pokédollars. Compared to the coin-Pokédollar exchange rate of Diamond & Pearl, those same TMs, which cost 10,000 coins each, would’ve gone for a whopping 200,000 Pokédollars. Although it took losing the Game Corner to happen, the powerful TMs players want are available at more affordable prices, and multiple are available, as the shop won’t run out of inventory.
The Game Corner wasn’t only a good place to purchase TMs, but also several held items that can aid a Pokémon in battle. The Game Corner contained four held items – The Metronome, which boosts the damage of moves used consecutively; the Zoom Lens, which boosts accuracy if the holder goes second in battle; the Wide Lens, which provides a flat accuracy bonus; and the Silk Scarf, which boosts Normal-type move damage. These items are very powerful during a Pokémon battle, whether in-game or in competitive online matches. These items are also all found through Veilstone City. The Metronome is gifted from a Psychic by the meteorites on the east side of town. The Silk Scarf can be found to the far right of the stairs leading to the Galactic Building. A Zoom Lens can be found by speaking to a Stunky after talking to the trainers around it, and the Wide Lens is received by talking to the girl by Stunky after receiving the Zoom Lens.
Although these methods are more convenient for many, eliminating the need to pay six figures of in-game currency or spend a great deal of time with a minigame to earn items, there are some drawbacks. Namely, the fact that only one of each held item is present in Veilstone City. Although these held items are now free, players are now limited to one of each, decreasing flexibility, as players will have to swap items back and forth if they want multiple Pokémon to benefit from them. In light of the restrictions surrounding simulating gambling by PEGI and other similar organizations internationally, it was a clever solution to the problem of where to move all these items on the part of ILCA. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are still very faithful remakes despite these ostensible issues with ratings boards, finding interesting ways to keep these rewards in-game, and adding a brand new location, the Metronome Style Shop, to make up for the loss of the Game Corner.
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