Mobile gaming is a huge market today, and it has become a driving force behind the growth of the entire video gaming market around the world. There used to be days when almost everybody played Snake on the Nokia phone. In fact, the game became a huge success and helped Nokia sell over 350 million handsets worldwide.
Nowadays, people enjoy more sophisticated games that can be downloaded from the app stores of their smartphones. And, with better graphics and performance, mobile games have increased in popularity. There are over hundreds of thousands of different games that users can download and have fun with.
For mobile games, it is tough to become one of the best games in the massive gaming market. One of those very few games that could make a name for its self is Pokémon Go. Today we talk about the basics of the game, how to play the game, how many times it has been downloaded, and the reason for its extreme popularity.
- About Pokémon Go
- Catching Pokémon In Pokémon Go
- Gym Battles In Pokémon Go
- Where Does Pokémon Go Stand Today And Why?
- Distraction Factor In Pokémon Go
About Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go is one of those very few games that could take the world by storm. Launched in 2016, Niantic developed the augmented reality game in collaboration with the video game giant Nintendo.
The game is one of the most successful games of all time and smashed several records. The game takes the Pokémon concept out of the animated series and video games into the real world.
It is a smartphone game that blended the real and digital world, tasking players to explore their neighborhood to find creatures, aka Pokémon, and treasure them for in-game training sessions and battles. Pokémon Go is available for download on the App Store or the Google Play Store.
Pokémon Go isn't the kind of game that players can win by finishing every level. The game takes place in a world full of exotic and powerful Pokémon monsters. Players can catch every Pokémon available in the game – and there are many other Pokémon being released.
How To Play Pokémon Go
Playing Pokémon Go is very easy – all thanks to its straightforward user interface. Pokémon Go shows you the map of the real world with your location on it. As you wander around in your location, you will come across Pokémon, which you can then capture by throwing a Pokeball.
But first things first, you will need to download the game on your smartphone. When you enter the game, you will have to set up the game account using a Facebook account or other email account. Once you have logged into the game, you will get a brief introduction to the game by the in-game dreamy Professor Willow.
Besides introducing you to the game, Professor Willow will also walk you through catching your first Pokémon. You have three choices – Charmander, Squirtle, or a Bulbasaur. After that, the game pretty much leaves you on your own. There are three essential parts of Pokémon Go: catching Pokémon, visiting PokeStops, and gym battles.
Catching Pokémon In Pokémon Go
Catching a Pokémon is most probably everybody's favorite part of the game. You walk around with the app open on your phone, which will buzz if a Pokémon is nearby. Pokémon Go was launched with only 150 species of Pokémon, but to this date, the game features around 600 different varieties of Pokémon – and there are more to come for sure.
To catch a Pokémon, tap on the map, and you will switch to the catching interface – throw a Pokeball and acquire the Pokémon.
There are various levels of Pokémon represented by a color ring in the catching interface. As you level up your character, you will encounter higher-level Pokémon in the wild.
PokeStops In Pokémon Go
PokeStops and other landmarks are an important part of the game; they are marked on the map at specific locations. Here you will find items like Pokeballs, potions, revives, and eggs.
Players can also activate lure modules at PokeStops, which are marked by a swarm of hearts on the map, increasing the likelihood of Pokémon.
PokesStops also has some items that can only be purchased with PokeCoins – which can be earned by fighting in gym battles or bought through in-app purchases.
Gym Battles In Pokémon Go
Gyms are the in-game locations that are typically represented by real-world areas. Here you can battle other trainers – select a single Pokémon or train against a whole team.
In the battle, Pokémon can fight one-on-one or in the team – tap on the enemy's Pokémon to deal a low amount of damage, or tap-and-hold to unleash a special attack.
To dodge enemy attacks, swipe left or right. It is also worth noting that your Pokémon can be healed using the potions or revives obtained from PokeStops.
The Fame Of Pokémon Go
The game launched in July 2016 and quickly became a global phenomenon. Talking about its extreme popularity – there was even a Pokémon Go Frappuccino at Starbucks – a drink named after the game. Pokémon Go earned a staggering $207 million in the very first week of its release – the highest amount for any mobile game in its first month.
The game still resides in fifth place in terms of the highest one-month revenue for a free-to-play game. It was also the most downloaded game, topped most of the international charts, and grossed $100 million in just 20 days – seven times more than that of Candy Crush and nearly double that of Clash Royale.
In 2019, Pokémon Go was downloaded 55 million times – 19% from the United States, 10% from Brazil, and 6% from India. Also, 69% of these downloads were made on Android and 31% on iOS.
Where Does PokémonGo Stand Today And Why?
After becoming a sensation soon after the release, the iconic-location-based title saw a decline in 2017, thanks to several negative criticisms. However, the game has been rising each year since then, with 2020 becoming its best year to date.
The first half of 2020 saw Pokémon Go generate a staggering $445.3 million in revenue. Even today, after the serious pandemic outbreak, Pokémon Go continues to enjoy wild success.
But the question is still the same – what makes Pokémon Go so successful? Below we present a few points that might be the reason behind Pokémon Go's immense success.
Pokémon Nostalgia
Most people who play Pokémon Go are millennials, people who are in their twenties. Now, these are the same people who have grown up playing Pokémon on Nintendo DS and watching Pokémon cartoons on television.
As a millennial myself, I grew up watching Pokémon cartoons, and even I feel happy with Pokémon Go. Therefore, nostalgia and the reminder of happy memories might have played a great role in Pokémon Go's success.
Distraction Factor In Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go has a great distraction factor as well – many people play the game to pass the time on their way to and from work. In the long run, people found it quite fun and got addicted to it, and with all its amazing features and unique gameplay, the game became a huge success.
The game is fun and helps the player find a community and get good exercise as a bonus. Seeing that you need to walk around and explore your areas to catch the latest Pokémon.
A unique thing about Pokémon Go is that it requires players to go outside and search for Pokémon. The game puts forward a great mixture of real and virtual environments.
It is basically a virtual scavenger hunt in which you could roam around and find Pokémon.
Social Interaction In Pokémon Go
In today's world of the web, socializing can be tricky, and especially for introverted people. Pokémon Go requires the player to go into the outside world and find Pokémon – you could probably interact with people around you and achieve exciting feats.
Once a player reaches level 5 in the game, they can join teams and often go on a scavenger hunt together. Pokémon Go showed its adaptation capabilities at the end of 2020. During the pandemic lockdowns, developers made changes to their system to make it easier for players to stay inside their houses and catch Pokémon.
Niantic changed gym locations, allowed remote raid passes, and implemented daily automatic quests to ensure that their user base was getting their uninterrupted daily dose of Pokémon Go.
The Bottom Line
To sum up, Pokémon Go has proven to be a global phenomenon in the smartphone gaming market. Time will tell whether Pokémon Go is going to stay around or will it soon fade away. But right now, it is going very strong, and it seems not to be stopping anytime soon.
