Pokémon GO on its way to becoming a passing fad
Pokémon GO, what could be considered the summer craze of 2016, is slowly losing its players as the hype cools off.
The game was released for Canada on July, 17, 2016 and players wasted no time taking to the streets, crowding parks and monuments. I can remember excitedly stepping out with my roommates and friends and being greeted by many other players. We adopted a respectful head nod and cell phone salute with passing Pokémon hunters.
Now two months later the game, which blew up so quickly, has gradually seen a decline in interest. I believe this decline is due to three factors: the updates to the game, the focus of pokemon in populated areas, and poor timing.
“…this decline is due to three factors: the updates to the game, the focus of pokemon in populated areas, and poor timing.”
The creators of the game released updates on a bi-weekly basis, adding some new features and removing others. While being able to customize your character was an excellent addition, the loss of the step counter was a hit that many could not recover from. When the game initially opened, there was a “nearby list” in which Pokémon would appear in order of their proximity with one to three steps below them. As you neared the Pokémon, the step count would drop until the creature appeared on your screen and you could catch it. If you were walking away the step count would increase or the Pokémon would fall off of the nearby list so you knew you were headed in the wrong direction. It made searching for a Squirtle, or hunting a Vulpix much easier. Therefore, I attribute the first loss of players to updates like these.
Inhabitants of Guelph enjoyed the benefit of being able to head over to Riverside Park or explore the University of Guelph campus while hunting for Pokémon or battling over gyms. Toronto has stops on almost every corner and a bounty of Pokémon close to the waterfront. For people who live in more rural areas, they have to travel in order to have anything pop up on their screen. This makes the satisfaction of discovering new Pokémon mere steps from your house much less likely. The appeal of the game was quickly lost to users who had to drive far in order to find anything.
In addition, unless you go to other cities and towns, you cannot find new Pokémon. This may have been a strategy to encourage users to travel but limits those who cannot afford to. Users determined to catch them all come across difficulty in adding to their collection.
“For now, I will continue to play, so that one day I can say that I caught them all.”
Finally, the last potential cause I will argue is the timing in which Pokémon GO developers announced new hardware. Within a few weeks of the app being available Nintendo reported the development of a watch that allowed you to play with game without wasting the battery life on your cell phone. The Pokémon GO wristband would allow players to catch pokemon, or collect items with the press of a button. Some criticisms of the wristband include that it does not count the walking that you do with the wristband on and it’s late release. It only became available at the beginning of September, where as more players would have benefited from the device in July.
While I admire the game developers for all they accomplished with the game, the lack of organization seems to have been their downfall. They should have kept the step counter, spread the available Pokemon to less populated areas, and released helpful technology earlier. I hope that Pokémon GO will rise again once newer updates to improve game play. For now, I will continue to play, so that one day I can say that I caught them all.
Photo by Mariah Bridgeman/The Ontarion.