If you haven’t noticed the hordes of people across a variety of age groups walking around and bumping into each other while on their phones, then downloading Pokemon Go might be what you need in order to go out more. The game has been out for less than a week and is already shattering records for active users. This includes trumping other mobile games like Candy Crush, and even online platforms such as Twitter. That’s right, more people play Pokemon Go each day than use Twitter so it’s safe to say, it’s pretty big. But why? Awesome combat systems? The interactive Augmented Reality (AR)? To find out, let’s look at some of Go’s finer points and soon-to-come features.
Capitalizing on the nostalgia of millions, Pokemon Go utilizes some of Nintendo’s most valuable intellectual property on a platform everyone is guaranteed to have access to. It captures the hearts of collectors and competitors alike and most of all it builds a community. For many who have spent their lives enthralled by video games, social interaction hasn’t been the most plentiful resource but with Pokemon Go, hangouts, meetups, and organic interaction occurs at each and every Pokestop.
In addition to meeting new people, going outside and walking around is incentivized through the previously mentioned Pokestops. These stops give players potions to heal their creatures, and Pokeballs with which to gain new companions on their journey to catch them all. Without going out and logging Pokestops, players would rapidly run dry on resources to continue playing.
Finally, planned expansions to player interactions. As of right now players cannot properly trade or battle one another in standard Pokemon fashion, a decision for the released product which many players did not appreciate. This functionality however, is due to releaese in the coming months with hooks for faster deployment already spotted in the existing Pokemon Go code. All of this put together and it makes sense why Go has burst out the gates. With its release and with the coming release of Pokemon Sun and Moon, it’s clear that Nintendo doesn’t have plans on letting the franchise die out anytime soon.
