Pokemon Go

The Active Mobile Game Revolution has Begun

On Google searches, Pokemon Go overtook news of the world’s stories with a fun little mobile app which lets you wander about in the real world catching Pokemon on your smartphones. There are hacks and tricks that have been already developed to maximize your Pokemon catches. While the game is still going through its global roll-out, the real question that is being asked is whether this is the next frontier in gaming.

After all, Pokemon Go is unique enough that it doesn’t have competitors in the field yet, but it is the ultimate proof-of-concept: it is now possible to see the success (and potential revenue streams that come with them) of a game that makes use of mapping technologies and allows people to get outside more while searching for newer and better Pokemon. Already there are news articles almost daily of people getting into accidents with the app (and we’re not going to blame the little Pokemon, as people who cause said accidents are almost always people who had “no problem” with driving and text messaging).

What this does tell us is that augmented reality games are here to stay, and we are going to see more people getting active and even using the app to meet people in real life. In a sense, Pokemon Go is an answer to the question of social media disconnection: eventually, it was only a matter of time before people feeling disconnected from each other jumped on a fun little game as an opportunity to get outside and meet others with a similar interest as well.

Verdict: No one predicted that solving the problem of social media creating a disconnect with real life could be solved with Pikachu, but to be honest, there are worse solutions out there, so kudos to the Pokemon company for a fun bridge to the real world.