“Half of my high school classmates are getting married and having kids and the other half are out chasing Pokemon. What a time to be alive…” @Sarcasm_only
This is one of the few Pokemon Go texts related to this new and yet nostalgic phenomenon that we’re dealing with in 2016. A lot of older gamers had the privilege to live in a time where the term “Pokemon” released to the public and it was such an amazing experience to be part of it. This “feeling” has returned to the year 2016. What is Nintendo doing to this world?
Nintendo seems to have big plans for the years to come and it looks like they’re going back to history with the release of Pokemon GO app and an announcement of Nintendo’s mini version of the NES packed with 30 games, that will be released this November. Pokemon GO is just a small step in the right direction in starting a world domination of nostalgia, but what did it actually bring to the table?
Pokemon Go is a fantastic app, it’s not perfect but it’s really enjoyable. A lot of people are running around catching virtual Pokemon in the real world. It is something every 1995 kid has dreamed of. It’s actually crazy to think that one game can open up social interactions with people you haven’t seen once in your whole lifetime. I remembered this Monday where I was talking a walk in the park and everyone who was looking on their phone, were playing Pokemon Go. People were helping each other out in finding directions to the nearest Poké Stop or even Pokemon. This simplistic app united every Pokemon fan out there without the urge of a certain “competition”. Everyone took their smartphone, bought a Powerbank from the store and went out exploring. This Pokemon Go app is bigger than Tinder, it’s the most search term on Google instead of Porn and it will probably take on the big Social Networking app giant “Twitter”.
Beware Twitter, Pokemon Go is going to challenge you in its quest to become the greatest of them all!
Nintendo couldn’t have planned this app any better. I don’t know what Nintendo is doing but it’s working. The last couple of years, Nintendo was in a weak spot when it comes to the games market. At E3, Nintendo only showed one game and that was “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild”. At first people were skeptic about this setup but in the end, it was the most discussed subject of the whole E3 convention. Nobody said anything negative about the game, people were actually excited to get their hands on the new Zelda game. People couldn’t care less about all the other games that were presented at E3 except for maybe the Battlefield 1 game. It doesn’t matter how you look at it, this year E3 convention was weak… Anyhow, not only was Nintendo’s presentation of the next Zelda game a big win, the unexpected launch of Pokemon GO was even bigger and better. Nintendo’s shares skyrocketed with more than 50 percent since the release of Pokemon Go. Well done, Nintendo!
But what makes this game so positive for the whole gaming community? First of all, the game is a great addition to the mobile gaming market and it’s a good example of how a mobile game can be, except for the technical issues and the big power drain of the mobile’s battery. But in the end, it opens so many opportunities for developing new and interesting gaming experiences. Pokemon GO is actually an adapted version of Geocaching. Second of all, it’s bringing Augmented Reality to the main public. A term a lot of people, never even heard of. I know, shocker! This blending of virtual elements with the physical world is an amazing experience that not everyone has yet experienced. The army is using this technology for the displays in the helmets of F-35 fighter pilots, but they poorly invested in it and I don’t think everyone has the finance status to actually buy these AR-kits.
Even though the AR engine of Pokemon GO isn’t the best, it’s definitely new and exciting enough for players to experience Augmented Reality. Every developer can make something like this, but Nintendo has the upper hand since Pokemon made this game so popular. Last but not least, it’s blending real experience with virtual progression. Gamers need to get out and be in the open. Even though gamers benefit from a lot of skills during their actual game time, they also tend to suffer from social anxiety and bad physical health problems. This app contributes to a positive interaction with persons who are actually other gamers, so you can literally find someone and actually talk about something you both like. You can actually make new friends and the app also motivates you to go out and explore your environment. The game does this perfectly since the Pokemon eggs can only be hatched by walking a certain amount of kilometers. The game motivates you to actually walk, and this goes hand in hand with the “collecting” part of this virtual world.
Pokemon Go is also a game that cuts both ways. A lot of people are in love with this “exploring” part of the game but it’s not appreciated by everyone, in other words, a lot of non-Pokemon Go players don’t understand this world phenomenon. These people are complaining about the fact that “social interaction” is getting harmed since everyone’s playing their game on their mobile. Also, some Pokemon Go players, go fully into this “virtual world” and aren’t paying attention to their surroundings, even though the game does mention this every time you start up. Since the Pokemon Go release, people are complaining about traffic accidents, players are getting bruised due to their “awesome” awareness, trespassing and privacy problems, vandalizing environments since you can be part of a certain team and even robberies were mentioned too. A lot of non-Pokemon Go players are using these problems to hate the gaming community again. They’re saying “Gamers are the cause of all of these problems, Gamers can’t be trusted,… etc. ” But let’s get one thing straight, not every Gamer uses an app to rob people or even vandalize key monuments of a certain town. A lot of the Gamers, aren’t that stupid or dumb. We shouldn’t put every Gamer under the same umbrella. A couple of days ago, people were complaining about a team “Mystic” vandalizing scam. One of the team members sprayed “Mystic” on a description panel in a certain park. No one of that team actually “claimed” this action. Not only were the non-Pokemon Go players disappointed but the whole Pokemon Go community was shocked. You know what this community did. One of each “virtual team” came together and cleaned it! Our heroes!
And another thing, don’t expect that every Pokemon Go related story is true. Most of these websites, use the term Pokemon Go as “clickbait”. People see the term, and they automatically click on it. It’s the same thing about ” the scandal between Pewdiepie and Warner Bros”. Pewdiepie would have gained a lot of money to high praise Middle- Earth: Shadows of Mordor and not talk about the “bad” things. In the end, Pewdiepie never did do anything wrong but sites use this popular Youtuber’ name to get attention. Anyhow, can you guess which story of these 4 is true?
- Pokemon Go: Major Highway accident after man stops his car in the middle of the highway to catch a Pikachu. Answer!
- Teen kills younger brother because he thought he deleted his Pokemon. Answer!
- Teen playing Pokemon Go got stabbed and robbed because he was in a bad neighborhood. Answer!
- A 19-year-old found a dead body while playing Pokemon. Answer!
Even though 3 of these stories are false, people do need to look out for robbers since a couple of smart robbers used this app’s features to lure unsuspected victims to a certain Pokéstop using the lure module. This lure module will be active for 30 minutes at a Pokéstop to lure Pokémon and everyone close to this Pokéstop can see this lure device and benefit from it. The makers of Pokemon GO therefore said: “play with friends when going to new or unfamiliar places” and “remember to be safe and alert at all times”.
Pokémon Go still hasn’t been officially released in all countries but take the time to take this information in and think about what this game actually did or does. Now is the time to be part of something great and try to benefit from it because I believe that the Pokemon Go app’s magic will slowly fade away as everyone is rushing through the game as quickly as they can. But as always, be careful and stay alert! For all those non-Pokemon Go players, be understanding and give it a try, you might even like it yourself. We’ll keep you posted, if anything new rises to the surface, now there’s only one thing left to say…
