Nostalgia

The Pokémon franchise was originally released in 1996 as two video games for the Nintendo Gameboy. The original target audience of Pokémon was school-aged boys. During the remainder of the 1990s, the franchise expanded to include a trading card game, an anime television series, and even movies.^[4]

Into the 21st century, the key focus of the franchise became the video games. Since 1995, there have been seven generations of the game released for Nintendo devices. Beginning with the 2009 release of the fourth-generation games, a large percentage of the users were high school students and adults aged 19-24. The percentage of users in these demographics only increased with the next three generations of the game.^[5] The people in these two age groups are the same people that were Pokémon's original target audience in the mid to late 1990s. Since Pokémon Go is a free-to-download application, many of this demographic jumped at the chance to revive their interest in the series in a more modern way.

Augmented Reality

Pokémon Go is one of the first widely available products on the market that uses augmented reality technology. Augmented reality is a new technology that entails overlaying virtual sounds, video, and/or graphics on a realtime view of the user's physical environment. Experts predict that it will be a $90 billion industry by the early 2020s.^[6] Since 2010, several companies, including Google and Microsoft, have publicized their efforts to commercialize augmented reality hardware. Few of these products have actually been released to the public, each costing more than $1000.^[7] Playing Pokémon Go gives consumers an augmented reality experience at little to no cost. Google trends shows that google searches for "augmented reality" increased four-fold during July, 2016.^[8]

Physical Activity

Pokémon Go is one of the first widespread games not just to incorporate physical activity, but to revolve around it. Successful players must travel, whether it be by foot, bike, automobile, etc. One of the most convenient ways for players to discover new Pokémon is walking, whether it be around the neighborhood, during a lunch break, or with friends. A study performed by three Microsoft researchers who monitored 32,000 people within a three-month period.^[9] Researchers measured physical activity through wearable sensors and tracked Pokémon Go use using search engine queries and mobile activity. Of that 32,000, 25,446 of them issued at least a single search query for Pokémon related terms. There were 1,420 users who were deemed "active" Pokémon Go users due to the frequency and familiarity of their queries of in-game features. This number is 5.6% of the sample, falling very close to the 5.9% national usage statistic. These users were found to increase their average daily activity by 1,473 steps. Additionally, the researchers estimated that Pokémon Go added close to 144 billion steps to the United States' physical activity. Figure 1 in the report displays the steps per day of a single Pokémon Go user tracked by the study. This user's step count increased from an average of 5,000 to almost 15,000 steps per day. While it only displays a single user, the extreme effect of the game on physical lifestyle is clear.

The health benefits of increased daily activity range from reducing risk of cardiovascular disease, improving mental health and mood, to an increased life expectancy.^[10] The researchers extrapolated that if each user of Pokémon Go between 15 and 49 years old sustained his or her average increase of 1,000 steps per day, that would translate into 41.4 extra days of life expectancy per person, or 2.825 million years of life expectancy for the entire United States.

Collaboration and Community

Pokémon Go was released with minimal instruction, leading users to discover its features together. The discovery of Pokémon locations were shared through word of mouth and social media. Dedicated Twitter accounts such as NYC Pokemon Go Tracker exist to constantly update their followers on the locations and times that different Pokémon are found and caught.^[11]

As word spreads, large groups of users will often congregate to catch a specific Pokemon. This YouTube video shows a massive gathering where hundreds of people flocked to Central Park for a Venasaur, a rare Pokemon, disrupting traffic and even running to make sure they did not miss the opportunity.^[12]

Pokémon Go was also used in a social setting for users to collaboratively catch Pokemon and socialize. One woman started a small Facebook event with her friends to go on a "Pokemon Go Crawl" through downtown San Francisco.^[13]By the end of the week, the event had grown to over 9,000 people marked as attending. Bars and restaurants along the crawl advertised food and drink specials for the large crowd. According to the article, there were even renditions of the Pokémon theme song sung by the crowd.

Large communities of users formed online as well. There are numerous forums throughout the internet dedicated to Pokemon Go, but the two largest are PokemonGoPro^[14] and the Pokemon GO subreddit^[15] on Reddit. The subreddit alone boasts over 705,000 subscribed players. These websites give users a chance to discuss all things Pokemon Go, whether it be issues with the game, strategies, or new insights. Oftentimes users would even create highly detailed mock ups of in-game features they want implemented.^[16]

Missing Features

Issues on Launch

Niantic Response

In response to the plethora of problems facing Pokémon Go, including failing to meet expectations, server crashes, and game-breaking bugs, Niantic released an update on July 20th, 2016 with a single line description, "Minor text fixes." The patch did not address any of the concerns revolving around the game. The decline of monthly active users also started around this time.^[25]

Network Effects

Pokémon Go splits users into three distinct factions: Mystic, Instinct, and Valor. Battling gyms with friends and fellow faction players is key to Pokemon Go. This phenomena where players derive additional value from other players usage is coined network effects.^[26] As the number of active trainers decreased, other player's enjoyment of the game dropped due to network effects, causing them to stop playing the game. This negative feedback cycle could also contribute to the fall of Pokémon Go.

Distracted Players

Road sign warning drivers not to play Pokémon Go while driving

Pokémon Go fosters distracted users through its promotion of physical activity during gameplay. Since players must constantly look at their phone screen while moving to check for Pokémon, they are often not fully aware of their surroundings. Police have reported that people run across streets without looking for oncoming traffic in a rushed attempt to catch Pokémon and obtain Pokémon Go items. Some players have even gotten hurt while playing.

Drivers also started using Pokémon Go behind the wheel. In one incident, a driver drove into a parked Baltimore police car; soon after, he admitted he was distracted by Pokémon Go.^[27] Multiple state transportation departments have warned drivers through social media to stop playing Pokémon Go while driving. Highway signs have also been programmed to display "Don't Pokémon and Drive" and "Pokémon Go is a No-Go When Driving." ^[28]

Pokémon Go has exacerbated society's phone addiction. Through its demand for constant attention and usage, Pokémon Go allows its players to become absorbed into the game, even when walking and driving.

Luring Crime

Lure party in London

Some criminals have taken advantage of distracted Pokémon Go players. Players may set a Lure Module at any Pokéstop to increase the frequency of Pokémon sightings nearby. If one player sets the Lure, other players may come to the same location to catch more Pokémon. Three men in Missouri set a trap by placing a lure at a remote Pokéstop and waiting for people to show up. When the Pokémon Go users arrived, they were focused on finding Pokémon, and the criminals robbed the unsuspecting players at gunpoint.^[29]

The combination of the augmented reality and the Lure Module was intended to promote a sense of community by bringing players together, both physically and through Pokémon Go. However, people with malicious intent may use the application to fight, rob, or kidnap the distracted players.

Unusual Locations

Sign banning Pokémon Go at Hsi Lai Temple

Since Pokémon Go maps an augmented reality world on top of the real world, most Pokémon Go locations are paired with landmarks, such as parks, murals, and stores. However, some locations in Pokémon Go are mapped onto memorials, inviting controversy. The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. was made into a Pokéstop, distracting visitors from the memorial displays. The museum consequently issued statements about the inappropriate trivialization of the memorial to both its visitors and Niantic Labs.^[30]

Additionally, many players have roamed into unknown locations in search of Pokémon. Police have warned players not to trespass, as some have reported players traveling through private property. A teenager in Wyoming looking for water-type Pokémon made her way underneath a bridge to a nearby river, only to find a dead body in the water. She later claimed that she would not have gone down there if it weren't for Pokémon Go.^[31]

Data Theft

Malware versions of Pokémon Go have also been created. Proofpoint researchers discovered an Android version that was infected with DroidJack, a remote access tool (RAT) that attackers use to gain full control over a device.^[32] Since Pokémon Go was first only released in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, many people outside of those countries resorted to file repositories for downloads. In order to use these repositories, users must configure their phone settings to allow downloads from third parties, often called "side-loading." If users are not careful, they may grant permissions to a hacker through an infected Pokémon Go application.