When Karl Marx said history repeats itself, I don鈥檛 think he had 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 in mind.
The latest entry in Nintendo鈥檚 20-year 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 franchise, 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go hit the App Store on July 6 and instantly became the most popular mobile game in the world. It surpassed blockbuster titles like Slither.io, Clash Royale, and Candy Crush within a mere 24 hours, causing Nintendo鈥檚 market value in Japan to grow by $7.5 billion. Excitement about the game pervades social media, ranging from photos of monster sightings, play-by-play recaps of mobile battles, and insults hurled between the various teams and factions present within the game world. But, despite the generally positive (dare I say rapturous?) reception to the game, plenty of Pok茅-doubters, surprised at the success of the 鈥渇ad,鈥� are already predicting the game鈥檚 eventual demise.
The same thing happened when 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Red and 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Blue arrived stateside in 1998: every Millennial with even a slight interest in gaming (including yours truly) went into a collective frenzy. We bought the games, marathoned the anime, played the card game, purchased the auxiliary merchandise, and eagerly awaited additional entries in the franchise. Parents, teachers, and even dismissed it as a phase that would eventually pass. But here we are, 20 years removed from the release of the first 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 game in Japan, having the same discussion about the same property.
The games only make up one small component of the 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 empire. TV shows, movies, and, in particular, card games also contribute substantially to the franchise鈥檚 market share.
During those two decades, 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 grew from a project pitched to Nintendo by Game Freak (a company that started as a gaming magazine, not a developer) into the most financially successful video game franchise in history. Full stop, no hyperbole. As of May 2016, over 280 million copies of 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 games have been sold and, including all 笔辞办茅尘辞苍-related merchandise (movies, TV shows, card games, and licensed products) the franchise possesses a market share of 楼4.8 trillion. 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 could be the Star Wars of video games, folks. It may never go away if Niantic (笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go鈥檚 developer) plays its cards right and continues to update and tweak its product. This new app could be a force on mobile platforms for years to come.
For the uninitiated, 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 is a series of games, typically played on handheld Nintendo consoles (like the Gameboy or DS), where players take on the role of 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Trainers, collecting, leveling up, and evolving the eponymous monsters to do battle with other Trainers around the world. The franchise borrows elements from role-playing games, adventure games, and turn-based strategy games. In short, there鈥檚 something for practically everyone in this series.
The original in-game sprite for the 151st 笔辞办茅尘辞苍, Mew.
In some ways it鈥檚 surprising that the franchise achieved the level of success it did. As you鈥檇 expect from a novice game developer, Game Freak鈥檚 first entries in the series were, to put it kindly, not polished. The in-game art was sub-par, the mechanics poorly balanced, and the code riddled with bugs and exploits that could easily corrupt your game cartridge and erase all your data.
One might assume 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 achieved its success in spite of these issues, but I鈥檇 argue that these glitches actually helped the game reach the heights that it did. It was a perfect storm of quirks and bugs: they were all obvious (even to a child), but none of them came close to ruining the experience of the game. On the contrary, I think the problems inherent with the original games on release gave the product a wholesome quality. Some of the defects actually led to urban legends developing around the game that kids everywhere discussed in hushed tones. The end-result made 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 feel like a low-budget labor of love. It seemed almost like a game developed by kids and for kids. In reality, the original 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 was a product by gamers for gamers, and it hit every button that makes us love the hobby.
MissingNo. is a glitch 笔辞办茅尘辞苍, the result when the first few iterations in the series tried to access a 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 species that doesn鈥檛 exist. They were very easy to encounter and led to a number of game-breaking exploits and glitches.
That brings me to 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go and what differentiates it from the rest of the franchise. Many of the elements of the originals remain firmly in place: the player still takes on the role of a 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Trainer who collects and battles 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 throughout the world. However, some of the elements are simplified and de-emphasized for mobile platforms. While the main franchise revolves around battling 笔辞办茅尘辞苍, 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 catching and collecting take center stage in 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go. Battles have been stripped of the strategy present in the main series, and 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 grow in strength, not when they participate in combat, but when the Trainer catches extra copies of monsters. In traditional iterations in the series, it鈥檚 possible to build a single team early on and keep that team together throughout the game. That鈥檚 not feasible in 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go, and I鈥檇 argue that the game is poorer for it.
Gameplay mechanics aside, what truly distinguishes 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go from every other entry in the series is the fact that Go represents 笔辞办茅尘辞苍鈥檚 first foray into the realm of augmented reality, and neither mobile gaming nor marketing will ever be the same again. 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go takes place in the real world; it monitors the player鈥檚 location using GPS and, when the app is running, the user has a chance to encounter a wild 笔辞办茅尘辞苍. The game determines the type of 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 based on the player鈥檚 location (for example, if a Trainer is near water there is a higher chance a water-dwelling 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 will appear than if he or she is in the middle of a desert). Once the 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 materializes, the Trainer uses the interface to throw a Pok茅 Ball at it to capture it and add it to his or her team. And, thanks to the built-in camera in mobile phones, when someone encounters a 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 in 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go, the phone allows the Trainer to see the monster standing right in front of him or her.
While 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go isn鈥檛 the world鈥檚 first augmented reality game (it isn鈥檛 even Niantic鈥檚 first attempt鈥攖hat title belongs to the 2013 game Ingress), it is the first game of its kind to be adopted on this scale, which has led to an immersive experience unprecedented in gaming. Suddenly the real world and the setting for a video game are one in the same and, because the app is a free download, tens of millions of people can share that experience at once. These monsters appear for every player in the same place at the same time and the battlegrounds and shops can be accessed by anyone. So, while the monsters and features are digital, because of the communal and persistent nature of 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go, we鈥檙e getting to the point in gaming where lines between fiction and reality are truly starting to blur.
Marketing opportunities abound thanks to 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go. For the first time, businesses around the world have begun advertising campaigns based on the digital monsters that dwell on their property. 鈥淐ome shop here and you might encounter a Pikachu!鈥� is a phrase vendors can use without a hint of shame, irony, or, apparently, copyright infringement. Businesses have begun dropping 鈥湵蚀前烀┏敬遣� lures,鈥� which attract the digital monsters, in their businesses to draw 笔辞办茅尘辞苍, and thereby additional foot traffic, into the premises. One New York pizzeria has reported at least a 75 percent increase in its business since they began that practice.
There have even been 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 sightings at the 91自拍! Here鈥檚 a Pidgey that was, ironically, found near the 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 display in 91自拍鈥檚 Revolution exhibit.
However, not every organization delights in its newfound traffic. Because of the increasingly global nature of 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go, the monsters can be found everywhere, and the game does take into account any impropriety that could arise from hoards of 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Trainers flocking to certain locations. The two most publicized examples, the Holocaust Memorial Museum and Auschwitz Memorial, have found their patrons hunting for monsters instead of paying respects to the victims of Nazism. They鈥檝e requested that Niantic make their locations incompatible with 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go, but, as of this writing, the developer has been unable to comply.
However, because the vast majority of businesses are ecstatic with their spike in visitors, Niantic quickly recognized the sponsorship opportunities with local businesses and already offers deals to companies that want to shape how their locations interact with 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go鈥檚 digital world. Vendors can pay to become a 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Gym (battleground for battling monsters) or a Pok茅stop (a digital store to obtain Trainer gear) and, doubtless, will soon be able to select the monsters that roam their buildings. Considering the potential financial benefits here, expect to see plenty of games copying 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go鈥檚_ formula.
So, while 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Go is not a perfect game, it can鈥檛 be considered anything but a colossal triumph for Niantic, the 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 franchise, augmented reality, and 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 fans around the world. This new game has given every 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 player something they鈥檝e wanted (whether they admit it or not) for nearly 20 years: a chance to live in a world inhabited by 笔辞办茅尘辞苍. So, I grant you, the game isn鈥檛 perfect, but remember the original 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 wasn鈥檛 perfect with its first release.
And you know what? That just might be what makes it great.
The video game wing of 91自拍鈥檚 exhibition is an ideal place for aspiring 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 Masters to test their mettle and build their teams! Patrons at the Museum have reported dozens of types 笔辞办茅尘辞苍 within the exhibit and there are even two Pok茅stops on site. Follow our Twitter to find out when we鈥檙e setting up our Lures!