''Pokémon Go'' (stylized as ''Pokémon GO'') is a 2016
augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
(AR)
mobile game
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone ( feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
, part of the ''
Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of what each of thos ...
'' franchise, developed and published by
Niantic in collaboration with
Nintendo
is a Japanese multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade playing cards ...
and
The Pokémon Company
The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, '' Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon'') is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video ga ...
for
iOS and
Android devices. It uses mobile devices with
GPS to locate, capture, train, and battle virtual creatures, called
Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of what each of thos ...
, which appear as if they are in the player's real-world location. The game is
free-to-play
Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
; it uses a
freemium
Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium," is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical ...
business model combined with
local advertising and supports
in-app purchases for additional in-game items. The game launched with
around 150 species of Pokémon, which had increased to around 700 by 2021.
''Pokémon Go'' was released to mixed reviews; critics praised the concept but criticized technical problems. It was one of the most used and profitable
mobile app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
s in 2016, having been downloaded more than 500 million times worldwide by the end of the year. It is credited with popularizing
location-based and AR technology, promoting
physical activity
Physical activity is defined as any voluntary bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure.Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health, 2009. World Health Organization. Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed 13/ ...
, and helping local businesses grow due to escalated foot traffic. However, it attracted controversy for contributing to accidents and creating public nuisances. Various governments expressed concerns about security, and some countries regulate its use. The game had over
monthly active users
Active users is a measurement metric that is commonly used to measure the level of engagement for a particular product or object, by quantifying the number of active interactions from visitors within a relevant range of time (daily, weekly and m ...
by May 2018, over a billion global downloads by early 2019, and grossed more than in revenue by 2020.
Gameplay
Augmented reality gaming
After establishing a game account, players create and customize their own
avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...
s.
Once created, an avatar is displayed on a map based on the player's geographical location. Features on the map include 'PokéStops' and 'Pokémon Gyms'. These PokéStops can be equipped with items called 'Lure Modules', which attract additional wild, and occasionally rare, Pokémon. Gyms serve as battle locations for team-based
king of the hill
''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...
matches.
PokéStops and Gyms are typically located at places of interest.
These locations were initially re-purposed portals from ''
Ingress'', Niantic's previous augmented reality (AR) game. This has led to PokéStops and Pokémon Gyms being placed at dangerous or inconvenient locations, such as a now-deleted Gym at the
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone ( Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ...
and
Bagram Airforce Base, which was abandoned by U.S. forces in July 2021. Since 2019, these locations also include submissions from ''Go'' players which are largely reviewed by other players.
As players move within their real world surroundings, their avatars move within the game's map. Different
Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of what each of thos ...
species reside in different areas of the world; for example,
Water-type Pokémon are generally found near water.
When a player encounters a Pokémon, it may be viewed either in AR mode or with a live rendered, generic background. If the player flees, the Pokémon will face the spot it was last engaged, except
Nosepass, which will always face north because of its Pokédex entry. AR mode uses the
camera
A camera is an optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), with ...
and
gyroscope
A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rot ...
on the player's mobile device to display an image of a Pokémon as though it were in the real world.
Players can take screenshots of the Pokémon they encounter either with or without the AR mode activated.
Although the game is free to play, it supports
in-app purchases, where players can purchase additional Poké Balls and other in-game items. These items include Incense, which attracts Pokémon to the player as they move for sixty minutes, Lure Modules, which players use at PokéStops to attract Pokémon to their current location near the PokeStop, and Lucky Eggs, which double experience points gained for a thirty-minute period from use. All Pokémon are displayed with a Combat Power, which is a rough measure of how powerful that Pokémon is in battle. Generally, as players level up, they catch Pokémon with higher CP and Pokémon are somewhat harder to catch. The player can check how strong their Pokémon are by the "Appraisal" system.
Pokémon collection
Unlike most other installments in the ''Pokémon'' series, players in ''Pokémon Go'' do not battle wild Pokémon to
catch
Catch may refer to:
In sports
* Catch (game), children's game
* Catch (baseball), a maneuver in baseball
* Catch (cricket), a mode of dismissal in cricket
* Catch or reception (gridiron football)
* Catch, part of a rowing stroke
In music
* Catc ...
them. During an encounter with a wild Pokémon, a player may throw a Poké Ball at it by flicking it from the bottom of the screen up toward the Pokémon. If the Pokémon is caught, it will come under the ownership of the player. Factors in the success rate of catching a Pokémon include the Pokémon's catch rate, the timing, the type of Poké Ball used, etc. After catching a wild Pokémon, the player is awarded two types of in-game currencies: Candies and Stardust. The Candies awarded by a successful catch depend on what evolutionary chain a Pokémon belongs to. A player can use Stardust and Candies to raise a Pokémon's level and hence "Combat Power" (CP). However, only Candies are needed to evolve a Pokémon, except for certain Pokémon that might need special items. Each Pokémon evolution tree has its own type of Candy, which can only be used to evolve or level up. The maximum level a player can achieve is originally level 40, but expanded to 50 as of November 30, 2020. The player can also transfer the Pokémon back to the Pokémon Professor Willow to earn more Candies and create room for more Pokémon.
Shiny Pokémon are available through multiple ways, mostly by chance. One popular goal of the game is to complete the entries in the
Pokédex, a comprehensive Pokémon logbook, by catching and
evolving them to collect every one in it.
In September 2016, Niantic introduced a "Buddy Pokémon" feature, which allows players to pick a Pokémon to appear alongside them on the profile screen, and receive in-game rewards and bonuses based on the chosen Pokémon. The feature was released later that month. Certain Pokémon have different distances that they need to be walked in order to receive candy. The more the player walks in real time, the more candy they can earn. During the same update, Niantic made it impossible for players with rooted or jailbroken devices to log into the game in an effort to reduce and prevent cheating.
On January 20, 2018, ''Pokémon Go'' held the first Community Day, a monthly event that increases the appearance rate of a specific Pokémon and offer an exclusive move to the final evolution of the featured Pokémon only if caught or evolved during the event window. Players also have a higher chance to catch the Shiny variant of the featured Pokémon. The first Community Day featured Pikachu, with the exclusive move Surf to Raichu.
Pokémon availabilities
The game is regularly updated with new Pokémon, and as of March 25, 2022, there are just over 730 Pokémon in the game (not including regional varieties) out a total 898.
Regional Pokémon are often released together, such as Hoenn region Pokémon released in December 2017,
Alolan variants in May 2018,
Sinnoh region Pokémon(along with the Sinnoh Stone item used to evolve them) released in October 2018,
Unova region Pokémon (and the Unova Stone) in September 2019,
Kalos region Pokémon in December 2020, and again more
Alola region Pokémon in March 2022.
Mythical and legendary Pokémon are often released individually (or in pairs/trios) in special events or quests. The first Legendary Pokémon released was Groudon, in December 2017. The Mythical Pokémon Meltal and its evolved form, Melmetal are so far the only Pokémon to have made their debut on Pokémon Go. Their release coincided with the release of
''Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!'' and ''Let's Go, Eevee!'' on the
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...
, ''Pokémon Go'' introduced the new Mythical Pokémon Meltan originally as a teaser, later to be available to capture only in Pokémon Go via a "Mystery Box" item that could be obtained through transferring Pokémon from ''Pokémon Go'' to either Nintendo Switch Pokémon games, or by completing new Research Tasks.
In August 2020, Mega Evolution came to ''Pokémon Go'' with four Pokémon able to Mega Evolve into five forms.
Battle system
Gyms and Raids
Players earn experience points for various in-game activities. Players rise in level as they earn experience points (XP), with various features being progressively unlocked. Most-notably, at level five, the player can battle at a Pokémon Gym and join one of three color-coded teams (red for Team Valor, blue for Team Mystic, or yellow for Team Instinct), which act as factions battling for control of Gyms within the ''Pokémon Go'' world.
In June 2017, Niantic announced that the game mechanics of Gyms would be revamped for a more teamwork-oriented experience;
Gyms were disabled on June 19, 2017, with the new Gyms being released with the next app update a few days later.
As of the update, Gyms included a spinnable component to receive in-game items such as Potions and Poké Balls. Additionally, Gyms are capped at containing six Pokémon, each of which must be unique in that Gym. Coins are now earned based on the amount of time the defending Pokémon has been in a Gym, as opposed to a one-per-day gym defender bonus of 10 coins per current defending Pokémon. Legendary, Mythical and Buddy Pokémon cannot be placed in Gyms.
In July 2017, Raid Battles were introduced. Raid Battles consist of a group of players gathering to confront an over-leveled Pokémon located in a Gym. If the Pokémon is defeated, the players gain the chance to catch a regular version of it. Raid difficulties range from 1 to 5, with 1 being of the lowest difficulty, and 5 being the most difficult to defeat. Level 5 raids are exclusive to Legendary Pokémon. The first of these,
Articuno and
Lugia
is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's ''Pokémon'' franchise. Created by Takeshi Shudo and drawn by Ken Sugimori, Lugia was the central character of the film '' Pokémon: The Movie 2000.'' It later served as the version mascot of ...
, were released on July 22, 2017, after the Go Fest, with
Moltres and
Zapdos following. From September to November, the 3 Legendary Beasts:
Entei,
Raikou and
Suicune, were released shortly after, rotating regions every month. Following their departure, the Legendary Pokémon
Ho-Oh appeared in Raid Battles from November 27, 2017, to December 12, 2017. In August 2020, level 3 Mega raids arrived with the introduction of Mega Evolution. At the same time, Level 2 and 4 raids were combined into Level 1 and 3 raids.
In May 2022, Raid Battle were updated to include the addition of Mega Legendary Pokémon, which were turned to 6 stars, the highest currently in the game. The only Pokémon included in these Raids were
Mega Latios and
Mega Latias.
In October 2022, a new form of raid battle called "Elite Raids" were introduced. Elite Raids differ to normal raids in a number of ways, most notably that they can only be battled in person, take 24 hours to start, and are extremely difficult, often requiring a large number of players to defeat the Pokémon. The only Pokémon featured in Elite Raids so far has been the "Unbound" form of
Hoopa.
Trainer Battles
In December 2018, Niantic added
player vs player
Player versus player (PvP) is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between human players. This is often compared to player versus environment (PvE), in which the game itself controls its players' opponents. The terms are m ...
Trainer Battles. In January 2020, Niantic rolled out an online battle format Go Battle League which allows players to fight other players worldwide. Unlike the Trainer Battles format introduced in 2018, Go Battle League does not require physical proximity, scanning
QR code
A QR code (an initialism for quick response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso Wave. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that can contain information about t ...
on each other's phone, knowing each other's friend code, or any other real-world interactions between players. Instead, participating players are automatically paired by the game server via some variant of the
Elo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor.
The Elo system was invented as an improved c ...
.
Team Go Rocket battles
In July 2019, ''Pokémon Go'' introduced Team GO Rocket battles. Team GO Rocket
NPCs
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...
could be battled at PokéStops indicated with it twitching and being a dark color or in Team GO Rocket Balloons which follow the player on the map. After victory, the player has the opportunity to capture a "Shadow Pokémon" which are relatively low-leveled, angry-looking Pokémon. Shadow Pokemon have a higher attack stat but a lower defense stat than a normal Pokémon. After capture, the player can choose to purify the Shadow Pokémon. Purified Pokémon are higher-leveled than their Shadow counterparts, can learn an exclusive move when purified, and need fewer candies to evolve.
Development
Pre-release
![John Hanke by Gage Skidmore](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/John_Hanke_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg)
The concept for the game was conceived in 2014 by
Satoru Iwata
was a Japanese businessman, video game programmer, video game designer, and producer. He was the fourth president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Nintendo from 2002 until his death in 2015. He was a major contributor in broadening the app ...
of Nintendo and
Tsunekazu Ishihara of The Pokémon Company as an
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which may ...
collaboration with
Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
, called the
Google Maps: Pokémon Challenge. Ishihara was a fan of developer Niantic's previous
transreality game, ''
Ingress'', and saw the game's concept as a perfect match for the ''Pokémon'' series.
Niantic, a subsidiary of Google, used the
crowdsourced
Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...
data from ''Ingress'' to populate the locations for PokéStops and gyms within ''Pokémon Go'', data from
Google Maps
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets (Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
to spawn specific Pokémon on certain terrain, and map display from
OpenStreetMap
OpenStreetMap (OSM) is a free, open geographic database updated and maintained by a community of volunteers via open collaboration. Contributors collect data from surveys, trace from aerial imagery and also import from other freely licensed g ...
since December 2017. The game's application logic uses the
open source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized so ...
Kubernetes system - and due to the game's sheer scale of users, a number of bugs with the Kubernetes system was discovered and later fixed. Niantic was spun off from Google as an independent company in 2015 following the company reorganization into
Alphabet Inc.
Alphabet Inc. is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It was created through a restructuring of Google on October 2, 2015, and became the parent company of Google and se ...
In 2015, Ishihara dedicated his speech at the game's announcement on September 10 to Iwata, who had died two months earlier.
Tatsuo Nomura, who joined Niantic in 2015 after he developed the Google Maps Pokémon Challenge, acted as Director and Product Manager for the game. The game's soundtrack was written by longtime ''Pokémon'' series composer,
Junichi Masuda
is a Japanese video game composer, director, designer, producer, singer, programmer and trombonist, best known for his work in the ''Pokémon'' franchise. He was a member of Game Freak where he was an employee and executive at the company sin ...
, who also assisted with some of the game's design. Among the game's graphic designers was
Dennis Hwang
Hwang Jeong-mok ( ko, 황정목; born 1978), known professionally as Dennis Hwang, is an American-born South Korean graphic artist currently working for Niantic, who was the original designer of some of the festive logos for Google.
Early life a ...
, who previously created the logo of
Gmail while working for Google.
On March 4, 2016, Niantic announced a Japan-exclusive
beta test would begin later that month, allowing players to assist in refining the game before its full release. The beta test was later expanded to other countries. On April 7, it was announced that the beta would expand to Australia and New Zealand. Then, on May 16, the signups for the field test were opened to the United States. The test came to an end on June 30.
Post-release
At the
Comic-Con 2016,
John Hanke
John Hanke (born 1967) is an American technology executive.
Hanke led Google's Geo product division, which includes Google Earth, Google Maps, StreetView, SketchUp, and Panoramio.
He is founder and CEO of Niantic, Inc., a software company spun o ...
, founder of Niantic, revealed the appearances of the three team leaders: Candela (Team Valor), Blanche (Team Mystic), and Spark (Team Instinct). Hanke conveyed that approximately 10% of the ideas for the game were implemented. Future updates, including the addition of
trading, more Pokémon,
implementation of Pokémon Centers at PokéStops, a patch for the "three step glitch", and easier training, were also confirmed.
He also stated that Niantic would be continuing support for the game for "years to come".
In an interview with
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is an American online newspaper
An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical.
Goi ...
in September 2016, Hanke hinted that
player vs. player Pokémon battles would be released in a future update. In December 2016,
coffeehouse
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
chain
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain.
As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
and telecommunications company
Sprint collaborated with Nintendo to add PokéStops and gyms at certain locations of theirs throughout the United States. That same month, a companion app for
Apple Watch
Apple Watch is a line of smartwatches produced by Apple Inc. It incorporates fitness tracking, health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates with iOS and other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch was rel ...
devices was released, which allows users to receive notifications about nearby Pokémon, but does not allow for them to be caught. In January 2017, an additional 5,000 more Starbucks locations became available as gyms. In February 2017, an update was released which introduced over 100 species based in the Johto region from the second generation of the core Pokémon series, which were added alongside the original 151. The update also included the addition of new berries, new Pokémon encounter mechanics, and an expanded selection of avatar clothing options. Some of the Pokémon introduced in ''
Ruby and Sapphire'' were added in late 2017, starting with a
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...
event in October and 50 more in December. A weather system was added alongside the latter, allowing real-world weather to affect gameplay. In November 2018, a game developed by
Game Freak and heavily inspired by ''Pokémon Go'',
''Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!'' and ''Let's Go, Eevee!'' was released on the
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...
. This game will feature ''Pokémon Go'' style catching with Joy-Con and there has integration between the two games.
In addition, new Pokémon Meltan was revealed in September, becoming the first new Pokémon to be released through ''Pokémon Go''. On October 10, 2018, The Pokémon Company and Niantic announced plans to introduce Pokémon from ''
Diamond and Pearl'' into ''Pokémon Go''. On October 12, Niantic teased one of the
Generation IV Pokémon that would be coming to ''Pokémon Go''. On October 25, a feature known as Adventure Sync was announced, which will record the player's walking data in the background. On October 26, Niantic announced research tasks for Bug type Pokémon that will give players a chance to catch Shedinja throughout November.
According to John Hanke in a January 2019 interview with ''
Business Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
'', 2018 saw ''Go'' become the game initially envisioned by Niantic.
In 2020, Niantic made major changes to gameplay mechanisms to account for the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
which saw many players unable to leave their homes to play. These development shift saw changes like the addition of indoor step tracking to count toward in-game distance challenges, long distance PVP battles, increased "incense" effectiveness, increased spawn points, and a doubled player radius.
''Pokémon Go'' Plus
![Nintendo-Niantic-Pokemon-Go-Plus-wStrap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Nintendo-Niantic-Pokemon-Go-Plus-wStrap.jpg)
The ''Pokémon Go'' Plus is a
Bluetooth Low Energy
Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE, colloquially BLE, formerly marketed as Bluetooth Smart) is a wireless personal area network technology designed and marketed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (Bluetooth SIG) aimed at novel applications i ...
wearable device, developed by Nintendo's
Platform Technology Development
commonly abbreviated as Nintendo PTD, is a Japanese hardware development division for Nintendo. The division was created in September 2015 after the merger of Nintendo's Integrated Research & Development and System Development divisions.
His ...
division, that allows players to perform certain actions in the game without looking at their
smart device
A smart device is an electronic device, generally connected to other devices or networks via different wireless protocols (such as Bluetooth, Zigbee, near-field communication, Wi-Fi, LiFi, or 5G) that can operate to some extent interactively a ...
.
When a player is near a Pokémon or PokéStop, the Plus vibrates.
The player can then press the button to capture the Pokémon or receive items from the PokéStop; the player cannot check what they have received until the next time they sign into the app onto their mobile device.
The design consists of a
Poké Ball and the shape of the
Google Maps pin.
The decision to create the device rather than create a
smartwatch
A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. Whil ...
app was to increase uptake among players for whom a smartwatch is prohibitively expensive. It was released in the United Kingdom and North America on September 16, 2016.
Release
Regional availability
The game's official launch began on July 6, 2016, with releases in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Due to server strain from high demand upon release, Niantic CEO John Hanke stated that the release in other regions was to be "paused until Niantic was comfortable" fixing the issues. European releases started on July 13, and the game became available to most of the continent over the following ten days.
The Japanese launch was initially reported to be on July 20; however, the game was delayed after a sponsorship deal with
fast food chain McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
was leaked, instead releasing two days later.
Although the game was proposed to be released in France on July 15, it was postponed until July 24 out of respect and due to safety concerns following a
terrorist attack
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
in
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...
on July 14.
Following the shut down of third-party apps and websites in late-July 2016—significantly reducing server strain—Niantic was able to continue pushing release worldwide.
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
and most of
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...
subsequently saw releases in early August.
Indonesia was the first Asian country to have the game playable, despite the game not being officially released in that region until August 6.
In South Korea, the game was not officially released as major restrictions on the use of online mapping data exist. However, due to a
glitch, a small area around
Sokcho in the northeastern part of the country was considered a part of Niantic's
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
mapping region, making the game fully playable in that area. Numerous people took advantage of the gap to play the game. Bus tickets from the capital city of
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
sold out and people living within Sokcho shared information on free Wi-Fi areas to tourists.
Players also discovered a gym in
Panmunjom
Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean A ...
, along the Korean Demilitarized Zone; however, Niantic later removed it from the game.
Following the release of ''Pokémon Go'' in Japan, parts of
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...
also became playable as parts of the city are considered part of Japan's mapping area due to the proximity of
Tsushima Island
is an island of the Japanese archipelago situated in-between the Tsushima Strait and Korea Strait, approximately halfway between Kyushu and the Korean Peninsula. The main island of Tsushima, once a single island, was divided into two in 167 ...
. The game officially released in the country in January 2017.
In
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the China, People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming Island, Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territorie ...
, Google services are banned by the
Great Firewall
The Great Firewall (''GFW''; ) is the combination of legislative actions and technologies enforced by the People's Republic of China to regulate the Internet domestically. Its role in internet censorship in China is to block access to selected for ...
, whereas the GPS function in the game is blocked by Niantic. Players of ''Pokémon Go'' in China have to download the game with
App Store
An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...
IDs from other regions and use
VPN to access Google services in order to load the game, and some even use a
GPS spoofing
In the context of information security, and especially network security, a spoofing attack is a situation in which a person or program successfully identifies as another by falsifying data, to gain an illegitimate advantage.
Internet Spoofing and ...
app to bypass the GPS blocking. Some players also downloaded a clone app called ''City Spirit Go'', which was released shortly after ''Pokémon Go'' beta test in Japan.
As of 2020, the official game is still unplayable in most parts of China with GPS modules being blocked in-game.
During its launch in Southeast Asia in August 2016, the game officially excluded
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, but users in Thailand discovered that the game was fully playable in border cities near the nation.
The game was released in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
,
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
, and
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...
in September 2016, and was also released throughout
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, and
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...
by the end of the year.
On September 11, 2018, the game appeared in Russia's App Store and Google Play Store over two years after the first launch. However, Niantic did not officially announce the release.
Commercial response
Nintendo
![Nintendo Stock Value July 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Nintendo_Stock_Value_July_2016.png)
Investors were buoyed by the response to the initial release of ''Pokémon Go'' on July 7, with Nintendo's share price rising by an initial 10% and by July 14 shares rose to as high as 50%. Despite Nintendo only owning a 32% stake in
The Pokémon Company
The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, '' Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon'') is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video ga ...
and an undisclosed stake in Niantic, Nintendo's market value increased by US$9 billion within five days of release of ''Pokémon Go''. The trend continued for more than a week after the game's release and by July 19, the stock value of Nintendo more than doubled as compared to pre-release. Turnover sales reached a record-breaking ¥703.6 billion (US$6.6 billion); and trading of the stock accounted for a quarter of all trades on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange
The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...
's main board. The ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' believed that investors were speculating not on ''Pokémon Go'' as such, but on future Nintendo app releases being as successful as the company moves more into the mobile app market—an area they were historically reluctant to enter in the belief it would
cannibalise its portable console and video game sales. Nintendo plans to release four more smartphone app games by March 2017, and investors remarked that ''Pokémon Go'' showed Nintendo still has some of the "most valuable character intellectual property in the world" with franchises such as ''
''Super Mario'''', ''
The Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-relea ...
'', and ''
Metroid
is an action-adventure game franchise created by Nintendo. The player controls the bounty hunter Samus Aran, who protects the galaxy from Space Pirates and other malevolent forces and their attempts to harness the power of the parasitic ...
''.
By July 22, Nintendo gained ¥1.8 trillion ($17.6 billion) in market capitalization since the game's launch.
However, following clarification from Nintendo that the company did not produce ''Pokémon Go'' nor had tangible financial gains from it, its stock fell by 18%—equating to a ¥708 billion ($6.7 billion) loss in market value—on July 25.
This was the largest single-day decline for Nintendo since 1990 and the maximum one-day exchange of finances allowed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company has an approximate 13% "effective economic stake" in the game, according to
Macquarie Securities.
Other companies
The surge in stocks extended beyond Nintendo, with
Tomy
is a Japanese entertainment company that makes children's toys and merchandise. It was created from a merger on March 1st 2006 of two companies: Tomy (founded in 1924 as Tomiyama, changing the name to Tomy in 1963) and long-time rival Ta ...
,
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certifie ...
, and the
Bank of Kyoto
The is a Japanese bank based in Kyoto. The bank operates mainly in the Kansai region with more than 165 branches in Kyoto, Osaka, Shiga, Nara, Hyogo, Aichi and Tokyo prefectures.
The bank offers several banking services such as deposits, loans, ...
, among other companies, all seeing significant gains. Similarly,
Zagg
Zagg (stylized in all-caps) is a company based in Midvale, Utah. It was originally called InvisibleShield. Under its subsidiaries, the company distributes phone and audio accessories.
History
In March 2005, InvisibleShield was created by Phi ...
, which owns a company that manufactures battery cases, saw a 25% rise in its stock in relation to ''Pokémon Go''.
Technical issues
At launch, the game suffered from frequent server outages due to extreme usage. The global server usage expectation for the game was surpassed within 15 minutes of the game's release in Australia and New Zealand, and peaked at 50 times expected traffic, or 10 times the expected worst-case scenario. Frequent crashes and authentication errors plagued the game's release and persisted for several days. For the first two days after launch, players were unable to access the game through their Pokémon Trainer Club accounts; only Gmail-based accounts were able to gain access to the game. Servers again suffered frequent outages in Australia on July 11; players blamed people in the United Kingdom for bypassing local servers and using Australian ones to play the game before its official release. On July 16, a few hours after the release in many European countries, the game's servers temporarily went down.
The outage was claimed by a
hacking group called "PoodleCorp", who said they used a
DDoS attack to take them down, although the problem was fixed later that day.
The next day, the servers went down again as the game was launched in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
. John Hanke issued an apology for the server issues at San Diego Comic Con 2016, stating "we weren't provisioned for what happened".
Some early iOS installs of ''Pokémon Go'' required users to provide the app with full access to their
Google accounts, thereby allowing the app to "access players'
Gmail-based email,
Google Drive
Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service developed by Google. Launched on April 24, 2012, Google Drive allows users to store files in the cloud (on Google's servers), synchronize files across devices, and share files. In add ...
-based files, photos and videos stored in Google Photos, and any other content within their Google accounts". The Pokémon Company and Niantic responded to the concerns, recognizing that the iOS app, at the time, "... erroneously requests full access permission for the user's Google account ..." However, Adam Reeve—the person who initially made claims of the security issues in a
Tumblr
Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to ...
post—later backtracked on his claim and was not "100 percent sure" it was valid.
Dan Guido, CEO of the security company Trail of Bits, analyzed the app's programming and discovered that although the game did request full account access, this did not enable third-party usage as initially conveyed. Guido found that this did enable Niantic to access people's email addresses and phone numbers unintentionally.
A subsequent iOS app update reduced the scope of access.
Niantic also issued a statement assuring users that no information was collected nor was any information beyond what was necessary to use the app accessed.
Alongside server issues, ''Pokémon Go'' suffered from several
glitches
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as amo ...
. One of the more prominent bugs appeared in mid-July 2016 and rendered the game's tracking feature useless. Normally, this feature shows between zero and three footprints to inform the player of how close they are to a nearby Pokémon; however, it universally became "stuck" at three steps, earning it the name "three-step-glitch". Niantic removed the footstep feature altogether on July 30,
sparking criticism from players.
By August 1, players reported a new glitch that swaps their captured Pokémon with another creature at random. Another bug, confirmed by Niantic in August, inadvertently made capturing Pokémon more difficult. Some
legendary Pokémon, which are rare and powerful versions of the creatures, were also obtained by players in a glitch, though they were later removed from the accounts of the trainers to keep the game fair.
Reception
''Pokémon Go'' released to "mixed or average" reviews, according to
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
. Upon release, critics called the experience enjoyable, but noted the game's technical issues.
Critics praised various aspects of ''Pokémon Go''. Oscar Dayus (''
Pocket Gamer
''Pocket Gamer'' is a video game website that focuses on mobile, portable and handheld games. The site launched in 2005 and is published and owned by UK company Steel Media Ltd. The site covers all major portable and mobile gaming formats, incl ...
'') said that the game was an immensely enjoyable experience and continued with how "the very personal nature of catching Pokémon in your own neighborhood made me smile more than any game has for years".
Jeremy Parish (''
US Gamer
Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...
'') compared the game and its social aspects to a
massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game (MMOG or more commonly MMO) is an online video game with a large number of players, often hundreds or thousands, on the same server. MMOs usually feature a huge, persistent open world, although there are ...
. Reviewers also praised the game enabling the promotion of physical exercise. Terri Schwartz (''
IGN'') said it was "secretly the best exercise app out there" and that it changed her daily walking routine. Patrick Allen (''
Lifehacker
''Lifehacker'' is a weblog about life hacks and software that launched on January 31, 2005. The site was originally launched by Gawker Media and is currently owned by G/O Media. The blog posts cover a wide range of topics including: Microso ...
'') wrote an article with tips about how to work out using ''Pokémon Go''.
Julia Belluz (''
Vox'') said it could be the "greatest unintentional health fad ever" and wrote that one of the results of the game that the developers may not have realized was that "it seems to be getting people moving".
Users took an extra 194 steps per day once they started using the app, which approximated to 26% more than usual.
''IGN'' named it the 100th best video game of all time in 2018.
Philip Kollar and Allegra Frank (''
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two ...
'') both agreed that ''Pokémon Go'' was "an exciting social experience", but were not sure how long the game and its popularity would last, stating it could either last for coming years or "end up as a brush fire craze that the whole gaming world is talking about for a few weeks and then is forgotten".
Other critics expressed more negative opinions of the game, with many citing frequent crashes and other technical issues, along with shallow gameplay.
Kallie Plagge (''IGN'') said that although the game lacked in polish and depth, the overall experience made up for it.
Matt Peckham (''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'') criticized the game for its frequent crashes.
Mike Cosimano (''
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History ...
'') also took issue with the game, saying the original idea showed promise, but was improperly executed.
Kat Brewster (''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'') wrote that although she thought ''Pokémon Go'' was not a good game, it was "a great experience".
The server problems also received negative press. Miguel Concepcion (''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'') said that although he enjoyed the game's strong social appeal and visual design, the game's "initial iteration is a buggy mess on all levels", with one of the reasons being the constant server problems.
Another glitch that appeared a few days after launch was the "three-step glitch", reviewers also gave this bug negative press. Patricia Hernandez (''
Kotaku
''Kotaku'' is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network. Notable former contributors to the site include Luke Smith, Cecilia D'Anastasio, Tim Rogers, and Jason Schreier.
Histor ...
'') said, "the three step glitch adds to what has been a terrible launch for ''Pokémon Go''".
Paul Tassi (''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'') said that due to this bug it's "anyone's best guess where Pokémon are 99% of the time" and that it "renders almost all traditional methods of tracking pointless".
Critics also emphasized on the large gap between the rural and urban players. Rural players seem to be at a major disadvantage when playing the game, while city players have access to more PokéStops and Gyms.
Downloads and revenue
2016
![Pokemon Go Revenue - BoA ST](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Pokemon_Go_Revenue_-_BoA_ST.png)
''Pokémon Go'' rapidly rose the American iOS App Store's "Top Grossing" and "Free" charts. The game has become the fastest game to top the App Store and
Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...
, beating ''
Clash Royale
''Clash Royale'' is a free-to-play real-time strategy video game developed and published by Supercell. The game combines elements from collectible card games, tower defense, and multiplayer online battle arena. The game was released globally ...
'', and it became the most downloaded app on the App Store of any app in their first week. Within two days of release, it was installed on more than 5% of Android devices in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, according to
SimilarWeb
SimilarWeb Ltd. is an Israeli web analytics company specializing in web traffic and performance. Headquartered in Tel Aviv, the company has 12 offices worldwide. Similarweb went public on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2021.
History
The c ...
,
According to Sensor Tower, the game was downloaded more than 10 million times within a week of release, becoming the fastest such app to do so,
and reached 15 million global downloads by July 13. According to
SurveyMonkey the game became the most active mobile game in the United States ever with 21 million active users on July 12, eclipsing ''
Candy Crush Saga
''Candy Crush Saga'' is a free-to-play tile-matching video game released by King on April 12, 2012, originally for Facebook; other versions for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Windows 10 followed. It is a variation of their browser game ''Ca ...
s'' peak of 20 million. By July 15, approximately 1.3 million people were playing the game in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, despite the app not being officially released in the country at the time. On the day of release in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
, more than 10 million people downloaded the game, including 1.3 million in the first three hours. By July 31, the game exceeded 100 million downloads worldwide, according to App Annie and Sensor Tower.
On August 8, ''Pokémon Go'' reached the milestone of over 100 million downloads on Google Play alone after barely 33 days on the market.
Through in-game purchases, the game generated more than by the end of July 2016, with App Annie reporting that ''Pokémon Go'' had generated around in revenue every day that month. The same month, Sensor Tower reported that the game had passed more than in worldwide revenue, beating every existing record set by
Clash of Clans
''Clash of Clans'' is a 2012 free-to-play mobile strategy video game developed and published by Finnish game developer Supercell. The game was released for iOS platforms on August 2, 2012, and on Google Play for Android on October 7, 2013.
...
and
Candy Crush by a wide margin. On August 12, 2016, the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...
'' reported that ''Pokémon Go'' reached in revenue after five weeks counting only the U.S., British, and German markets. The average daily usage of the app on Android devices in July 2016 exceeded that of
Snapchat
Snapchat is an American multimedia instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...
,
Tinder
Tinder is easily combustible material used to start a fire. Tinder is a finely divided, open material which will begin to glow under a shower of sparks. Air is gently wafted over the glowing tinder until it bursts into flame. The flaming tinder i ...
,
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
,
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
, and
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
. Due by the game's massive popularity, several app developers became focused on developing similar AR apps using available
software development kit
A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific ...
s (SDK). By September 2, 2016, ''Pokémon Go'' had generated more than $440 million in worldwide revenue, according to Sensor Tower. By September 30, it had received downloads and grossed in 80 days, according to market research firm Newzoo. Pokémon Go reached the milestone of $600 million in revenue after only 90 days on the market, becoming the fastest mobile game ever to do so.
Besides in-game purchases, partnerships with retail chains like Starbucks, McDonald's, Sprint, pay Niantic Labs fo
"Foot Traffic"on-demand of the retail shops.
The game was awarded five ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' in August 2016: most revenue grossed by a mobile game in its first month (); most downloaded mobile game in its first month (130 million downloads); most international charts topped simultaneously for a mobile game in its first month (top game in 70 different countries); most international charts topped simultaneously for a mobile game in its first month (top grossing in 55 countries simultaneously); and fastest time to gross $100 million by a mobile game (reached in 20 days on July 26). By September 2016, ''Pokémon Go'' had been downloaded over 500 million times worldwide, and became the fastest game to make over $500 million in revenue. ''Pokémon Go'' was awarded the App Store's breakout hit of 2016. ''Pokémon Go'' was reported to be the most searched game on Google in 2016.
Usage of the game in the United States peaked on July 15, and by mid-September, had lost 79% of its players there. ''Forbes'' said "the vaguely curious stopped playing and the more committed players ran up against a fairly unsatisfying endgame". In October 2016, Niantic released a
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observan ...
-themed event, which saw a surge in revenue up to 133% as reported by Sensor Tower, placing the game back to top of the charts of highest grossing apps. It was reported that the game earned approximately $23.3 million between October 25 and 29, up from approximately $10 million between October 18 and 22. According to App Annie, ''Pokémon Go'' grossed an estimated in 2016.
2017–2021
In February 2017, ''Pokémon Go'' was awarded being the best app at the Crunchies award event. By February 2017, the game has been downloaded more than times worldwide, with a reported in revenue made, becoming the fastest mobile game ever to do so. By June 2017, the game was downloaded more than 750 million times, with an estimated revenue of according to Apptopia. According to mobile app research firm Apptopia, approximately 60 million users were still playing the game a year after launch. In May 2018,
The Pokémon Company
The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, '' Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon'') is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video ga ...
announced that the game reached over 800million downloads worldwide.
''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' estimated that the game may have come close to 900million downloads by September 2018. The top five countries where it has received the most downloads are the United States (21%),
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
(9.3%),
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
(8.6%),
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
(5.5%), and
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
(5%).
As of February 2019, the game has been downloaded by over 1billion people worldwide.
A report from
SuperData Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
ranked ''Pokémon Go'' as the 9th highest grossing mobile game of 2017, with an annual revenue of .
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to:
People
* Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer
* Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian
* Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...
estimated that ''Pokémon Go'' generated up to in total revenue by late 2017.
Two years from its initial launch, analyst firm Sensor Tower estimated the game had grossed over from
in-app purchase
Microtransactions, often abbreviated as mtx, are a business model where users can purchase virtual goods with micropayments. Microtransactions are often used in free-to-play games to provide a revenue source for the developers. While microtransac ...
s, reporting that players around the world continue to spend each day. SuperData Research reported that, in May 2018, ''Pokémon Go'' grossed in monthly revenue and had
monthly active players, its highest since Summer 2016.
In July 2018, ''Pokémon Go'' was the top-grossing mobile app of the month. Since the introduction of trading and friends features, Sensor Tower has reported that players spend an average of per day. Apptopia reported that, by September 2018, the game had grossed over from in-app purchases; the top five countries where it has received the most revenue are Japan (), the United States (),
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(), the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
(), and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
().
It was the fourth highest-grossing game of 2018, with ,
and in 2019 alone ''Pokémon Go'' earned , according to Superdata Research, a division of
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
.
''Pokémon Go'' live events earned in tourism revenue during 2019. According to Sensor Tower in November 2020, ''Pokémon Go'' had accumulated nearly unique installs and generated almost in revenue from in-game purchases via the
iOS App Store
The App Store is an app store platform, developed and maintained by Apple Inc., for mobile apps on its iOS and iPadOS operating systems. The store allows users to browse and download approved apps developed within Apple's iOS Software Deve ...
and
Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...
. Its largest market in terms of both installs and revenue is the United States, followed by Japan and Germany in revenue and by Brazil and Mexico in installs.
During 2020, with the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
causing restrictions on the ability of players to play ''Go'' outside their homes, Niantic implemented new features which allowed players to play the game from inside their homes, and this was credited with increasing its playerbase throughout the year despite the restrictions. Despite a brief drop early in the pandemic, the number of
monthly active users
Active users is a measurement metric that is commonly used to measure the level of engagement for a particular product or object, by quantifying the number of active interactions from visitors within a relevant range of time (daily, weekly and m ...
of the game rose by 45 percent between January and August 2020, and the game's revenue in 2020 was the highest in its history, exceeding even its 2016 revenue. The game generated more than of revenue in the first 10 months of 2020 according to Sensor Tower,
and it was the top-grossing mobile game of December 2020. ''Pokémon Go'' was one of the top five
highest-grossing games of 2020 with an annual revenue of according to SuperData Research,
bringing the game's cumulative revenue to by 2020.
The game generated a further in the first half of 2021.
Community and cultural impact
![Pokestop in Alameda Central, Mexico City](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Pokestop_in_Alameda_Central%2C_Mexico_City.jpg)
The game was referred to as a "social media phenomenon" which has brought people together from all walks of life.
231 million people engaged in 1.1 billion interactions that mentioned ''Pokémon Go'' on Facebook and Instagram in the month of July. Numerous media outlets referred to the surge in popularity as "''Pokémon Go'' Mania", or simply "Pokémania".
The massive popularity of the game resulted in several unusual positive effects. For example, the game placed players where they can help catch criminals and report crimes in progress, although it has also placed some in harm's way,
and has even aided law enforcement's community relations,
albeit with caveats.
Businesses also benefited from the nearby presence of PokéStops (or them being PokéStops themselves) with the concomitant influx of people, and the intense exploration of communities has brought local history to the forefront.
The game was also seen bringing its players to
places of worship
A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...
, as many Pokégyms are located there. Despite some criticism by religious leaders, this was received positively by religious groups, who saw it as reminding adherents to come and pray. Some establishments considered purchasing lures in the game to attract additional players to PokéStops on their property.
Within a week of its release, a secondary
market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
emerged for the game, both for the resell of high-level accounts on
Craigslist
Craigslist (stylized as craigslist) is an American classified advertisements website with sections devoted to jobs, housing, for sale, items wanted, services, community service, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.
Craig Newmark began the ...
and PlayerUp, and for the sale of expert advice on
Thumbtack
A drawing pin (in British English) or thumb tack (in North American English) is a short nail or pin used to fasten items to a wall or board for display and intended to be inserted by hand, usually using the thumb. A variety of names is used ...
. Wireless provider
T-Mobile US
T-Mobile US, Inc. is an American wireless network operator headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and Bellevue, Washington, U.S. Its largest shareholder is a multinational telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG, which , holds 48.4 perc ...
started an offer for free data for a year for ''Pokémon Go'' sessions, and
Yelp
Yelp Inc. is an American company that develops the Yelp.com website and the Yelp mobile app, which publish crowd-sourced reviews about businesses. It also operates Yelp Guest Manager, a table reservation service. It is headquartered in San F ...
added a filter that only shows businesses which have a PokéStop nearby. National parks across the United States saw an influx of visitors due to the game, with "hundreds or thousands" of people visiting the
National Mall and Memorial Parks
National Mall and Memorial Parks (formerly known as National Capital Parks-Central) is an administrative unit of the National Park Service (NPS) encompassing many national memorials and other areas in Washington, D.C. Federally owned and administ ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
on the weekend following ''Pokémon Go'' release in the country. Small museums with PokéStops placed at exhibits also reported increased attendance, such as the
McNay Art Museum
The McNay Art Museum, founded in 1954 in San Antonio, is the first modern art museum in the U.S. state of Texas. The museum was created by Marion Koogler McNay's original bequest of most of her fortune, her important art collection and her 24-room ...
in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
, Texas, and the
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens
The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is a center for Japanese arts and culture located west of Delray Beach in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The campus includes two museum buildings, the Roji-en Japanese Gardens: Garden of th ...
in
Boca Raton, Florida.
Charity organizations also sought engagement from players, with animal shelters offering dog walks to people who want to hatch eggs.
Eduardo Paes
Eduardo da Costa Paes (, born 14 November 1969) is a Brazilian politician who was the mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro from 2009 to 2012, re-elected for a second term from 2013 to 2016 and returning elected again in 2021. He is currently t ...
, then-mayor of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, stated that he hoped the app would be released in Brazil before the start of the
2016 Summer Olympics in the city (and it was, on August 3), and United States presidential candidates
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
and
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
mentioned the app during their 2016 election campaigns. In late July 2016, during a public address, the
President of Italy
The president of Italy, officially denoted as president of the Italian Republic ( it, Presidente della Repubblica Italiana) is the head of state of Italy. In that role, the president represents national unity, and guarantees that Italian poli ...
,
Sergio Mattarella
Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician, jurist, academic and lawyer who has served as the president of Italy since 2015.
A Christian leftist politician, Mattarella was a leading member of the Christian Democracy par ...
, compared a political issue about the date of an incoming
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
as preposterous as the hunt for the Pokémon. Shortly after the game's release,
Bellator mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...
Michael Page
Michael Jerome Reece-Pagewkaassociation.com, Retrieved 28 August 2017. (born 7 April 1987) is a British Kickboxing, kickboxer, Boxing, boxer, and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is recognised in the MMA community for his unortho ...
celebrated a knockout of his match opponent,
Evangelista Santos
Evangelista Santos ( born December 12, 1977) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 until 2016, Santos competed for Strikeforce, Bellator MMA, the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, International Vale Tudo Ch ...
by putting on a red
Ash Ketchum
Ash Ketchum, known as in Japan, is a fictional character in the ''Pokémon'' franchise owned by Nintendo. He is the protagonist of the ''Pokémon'' anime and certain manga series as well as on various merchandise related to the franchise. I ...
-like hat and rolling a prop Poké Ball in Santos's direction. On July 25,
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...
released a promo video featuring
MatPat
Matthew Robert Patrick (born November 15, 1986), known online as MatPat, is an American YouTuber and internet personality. He is the creator of The Game Theorists, The Film Theorists, and The Food Theorists YouTube channels, each analyzing vari ...
and Ali-A with himself as a tough, rare Pokémon.
The game was credited for popularizing AR,
and was praised by
genderfluid
Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...
groups for letting the players choose a "style" instead of "gender".
The game also had a positive impact among individuals with
autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
. The "
Pokémon Theme
"Pokémon Theme" (also known as "Gotta catch ’em all!") is a song written by John Siegler and John Loeffler and performed by Jason Paige. It is the original theme song for the first season of the English adaptation of the ''Pokémon'' anime ...
" from the
animated series
An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...
saw a 630% increase in listeners on
music streaming
A music streaming service is a type of streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to stream d ...
platform
Spotify
Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...
during the month of the game's release. Meanwhile, streaming services such as
Hulu experienced an increased viewership of the ''Pokémon'' series and films. Nintendo reported that sales of the
3DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
Pokémon
(an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise.
In terms of ...
games rose as a result of the game's popularity. A
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
channel, ''Twitch Plays Pokémon Go'', was created that mimics the crowd-played ''
Twitch Plays Pokémon
Twitch Plays ''Pokémon'' (TPP) is a social experiment and channel on the video game live streaming website Twitch, consisting of a crowdsourced attempt to play Game Freak's and Nintendo's ''Pokémon'' video games by parsing commands sent by u ...
'' channel, allowing viewers to direct a virtual avatar in the game using an iPhone programmed to spoof its location. Niantic later issued permanent bans to those who cheated the game by means such as GPS spoofing and bots. ''Pokémon''-themed
pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, increased in popularity after the release of the game.
xHamster
xHamster is a Cypriot pornographic media and social networking site headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus. xHamster serves user-submitted pornographic videos, webcam models, pornographic photographs, and erotic literature and incorporates social ...
, an
adult video
Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotical ...
streaming website, reported that within 5 days of the game's release, ''Pokémon'' related terms were the most searched for videos. Another adult video streaming website,
Pornhub
Pornhub is a Canadian-owned internet pornography website. It is one of several pornographic video-streaming websites owned by MindGeek. , Pornhub is the 10th-most-trafficked website in the world and the second-most-trafficked adult website aft ...
, reported that ''Pokémon'' related searches spiked 136%. ''Pokémon Go'' was
spoofed in the
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...
music video, "
Don't Wanna Know
"Don't Wanna Know" is a song by American pop rock band Maroon 5. It features additional vocals from American rapper Kendrick Lamar. The song was released on October 12, 2016, as the lead single from their sixth studio album ''Red Pill Blues'' (20 ...
". In the 2016 ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' Christmas special, "
The Return of Doctor Mysterio
"The Return of Doctor Mysterio" is an episode of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. First broadcast on BBC One on 25 December 2016, it is the twelfth Christmas special since the show's revival in 2005. It was written by ...
", the Doctor creates a distraction by "flood
ngthe downstairs with Pokémon", causing the people to run off with their cell phones. In the episode "
Looking for Mr. Goodbart
"Looking for Mr. Goodbart" is the twentieth episode of the The Simpsons (season 28), twenty-eighth season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons'', and the 616th episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on Fox ...
" from the
28th season of ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', the people of
Springfield become addicted to ''Peekimon Get'', a parody of ''Pokémon Go''.
''Go''s release resulted in a resurgence in popularity for the ''Pokémon'' franchise as a whole. The
''Pokémon Sun'' and ''Moon'' games for the
Nintendo 3DS, released later in 2016, was the best-selling video game for the 3DS with over 16 million copies sold, and this was partly attributed to the new fans to the series brought in by ''Go''. In an interview, director of ''Sun'' and ''Moon'' Shigeru Ohmori remarked that the
''Ultra Sun'' and ''Ultra Moon'' sequels were designed partly to facilitate entry for newcomers to the franchise brought in by ''Go''. The first ''Pokémon'' games for the
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...
,
''Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!'' and ''Let's Go, Eevee!'', took significant inspirations from ''Go''. A line of official ''Go'' merchandise was released in November 2019.
![Pokemon go fest](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Pokemon_go_fest.jpg)
In addition to standard gameplay, the game has held several in-game and live events. The first live event officially held by Niantic was held in
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
, North Carolina, in May 2017. In July 2017, a community event was held in
Grant Park, Chicago, in honor of the first anniversary of the game's release. Despite the fact that almost no information about the event, including ticket prices and attractions, was released by Niantic ahead of the ticket sale, over 20,000 tickets sold out within a half hour. During the event itself, attendees suffered connectivity issues and crashes, due to the heavy amount of localized cellular activity. Afterwards, Niantic announced that they would refund everybody who bought a ticket, as well as give them $100 of in-game currency. Following the event, around two dozen attendees filed suit against Niantic, seeking travel reimbursement.
Following the event in Chicago, other events have been held in
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
,
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, and
San Jose. In September 2017, a series of events named "Safari Zone" was held in
Unibail-Rodamco
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE (previously Unibail-Rodamco SE) is a French commercial real estate company headquartered in Paris, France. Its history originates with the formation of two separate shopping centre operators, Unibail (founded in Fran ...
shopping centers in
Oberhausen
Oberhausen (, ) is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen ( ). The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Rout ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, with events the following month in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
,
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
and
Amstelveen
Amstelveen () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of 92.353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area.
The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villages ...
.
In January 2018, Niantic announced monthly community event Community Day which aims to get players to meet up in their local areas. During a multi-hour period, players can encounter more frequent wild spawns of a particular Pokémon, an exclusive move for that Pokémon (or its evolution), an increased probability for the shiny form of that Pokémon, and bonuses such as extra stardust or XP. The Community Days in 2018 featured Pikachu (January 20), Dratini (February 24), Bulbasaur (March 25), Mareep (April 15), Charmander (May 19), Larvitar (June 16), Squirtle (July 8), Eevee (August 11–12), Chikorita (September 22), Beldum (October 21), and Cyndaquil (November 10).
''Pokémon Go in Syria'' is a photography series published in 2016 by Syrian artist
Khaled Akil. Akil places Pokémon characters in destroyed Syrian streets as a reminder for a world lost behind the screen. While Pokemon Go was trending worldwide, Akil couldn't help but notice how the media forgot about the war in Syria. So he visualised his idea in the form of digital collages. Khaled's Pokemon series quickly went viral across the globe after he posted it online. This photography series was exhibited in various locations including the
American University Museum
The American University Museum is located within the Katzen Arts Center at the American University in Washington, DC.
History and description
The American University Museum consists of a three-story, museum and sculpture garden. The region’ ...
.
Criticism and incidents
![Pokémon Go sign on Ontario Highway 401 in Windsor, ON](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Pok%C3%A9mon_Go_sign_on_Ontario_Highway_401_in_Windsor%2C_ON.jpg)
The app was criticized for using locations such as cemeteries and memorials as sites to catch Pokémon, including the
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum ( pl, Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau) is a museum on the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Oświęcim (German: ''Auschwitz''), Poland.
The site includes the main concentration camp at Auschwi ...
, the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust hi ...
, the
National September 11 Memorial & Museum
The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bomb ...
,
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
, the
ANZAC War Memorial
The Anzac Memorial is a heritage-listed war memorial, museum and monument located in Hyde Park South near Liverpool Street in the CBD of Sydney, Australia.
The Art Deco monument was designed by C. Bruce Dellit, with the exterior adorned wi ...
, and
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
is a memorial park in the center of Hiroshima, Japan. It is dedicated to the legacy of Hiroshima as the first city in the world to suffer a nuclear attack at the end of World War II, and to the memories of the bomb's direct and indirect vict ...
. Niantic later removed content from sensitive areas such as the Hiroshima Memorial and Holocaust Museum. The game sparked complaints from Dutch company
ProRail
ProRail () is a Dutch government organisation responsible for the maintenance and extension of the national railway network infrastructure (not the metro or tram), the allocation of rail capacity, and controlling rail traffic. Prorail is a part o ...
, who said that players entered their railway tracks, and fire stations told players to not impede their staff by congregating outside.
![Hsi Lai Temple no Pokemon go allowed](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/93/Hsi_Lai_Temple_no_Pokemon_go_allowed.jpg)
The game's distribution of PokéStops and gyms (derived from the portals in
''Ingress'', Niantic's
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
-themed AR game) was noted to be sparser in many minority neighborhoods in a reflection of
American demographics.
Players in
rural area
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...
s also complained about the lack of Pokémon spawns, PokéStops, and gyms in their area. ''Pokémon Go'' was criticized for
game accessibility issues by players with
physical disabilities
A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders, blindness, epileps ...
.
The AbleGamers Foundation
The AbleGamers Foundation (also known as The AbleGamers Charity) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to improving accessibility in the video game space, enabling more people with disabilities to be able to play video games. The charit ...
COO
COO or coo may refer to:
Business
* Certificate of origin, used in international trade
* Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high-ranking corporate official
* Concept of operations, used in Systems Engineering Management Process
...
, Steve Spohn, said that when ''Pokémon Go'' was compared to other mobile games, it "excludes disabled players to a significant degree".
Police departments in various countries issued warnings, some
tongue-in-cheek
The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scot ...
, regarding inattentive driving, trespassing, and being targeted by criminals due to being unaware of one's surroundings.
In the state of
New York,
sex offenders
A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crime ...
are banned from playing the app while on
parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
. Bosnian players were warned to stay out of minefields left over from the 1990s
Bosnian War.
In Russia, a 21-year-old video blogger, Ruslan Sokolovsky, was arrested in September 2016 for two months after playing ''Pokémon Go'' at the
Church of All Saints in Yekaterinburg, and eventually received a suspended sentence for three and a half years in prison for charges of
blasphemy
Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...
.
![Pokemon GO Sign at Nijō Castle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Pokemon_GO_Sign_at_Nij%C5%8D_Castle.jpg)
People have suffered various injuries from accidents related to the game. In Japan, the first accident occurred within hours of the game's release. The first death in Japan attributed to ''Pokémon Go'' occurred in late August 2016. A
distracted driver playing the game killed one woman and seriously injured another. The 39-year-old farmer did not notice the women crossing a street and struck them with his truck. The woman died of a broken neck. Japan's National Police Agency said it was the 79th ''Pokémon Go''-related accident in the country. On August 11, 2016, a young girl in
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
was reportedly killed after being hit by a car while trying to capture a Pokémon on a road. The case was the first death related to ''Pokémon Go'' among Southeast Asian countries. In January 2017, Chinese-American civilian
Jiansheng Chen was shot dead while playing ''Pokémon Go''.
Al-Azhar University in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
described the game as "harmful mania." A
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
leader declared that it "smacks of
Satanism", Kuwait banned the game from government sites, Indonesian officials deemed it a national security threat, and in Israel the
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
banned the game from Army bases out of security considerations.
In
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, the General Secretariat of the
Council of Senior Scholars declared, in light of a 2001
fatwa banning the ''Pokémon'' card game as a form of gambling, that the electronic app required a new ruling.
This was also followed by both Indian and
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n Islamic leaders telling Indian and Malaysian Muslims to avoid the game.
During Thailand's
2016 constitutional referendum polling, ''Pokémon Go'' players were told to refrain from entering polling stations. Thus the
Thai National Broadcasting and Communications Commission intends to ask Niantic to remove Pokémon characters and PokéStops from locations such as government facilities, historic and religious sites, private property as well as dangerous spots such as narrow footpaths and rivers. Cambodia has banned the game in a former genocide site after Pokémon players showed up at the site. Vietnam has banned players from entering the government and defense offices. The
Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications is also considering the game's negative impact to Vietnamese society, where many people left home at night, crossed the road or drove on the street with their eyes kept focused on phones, which brought the need to ban the game in the country. Following the move by other Southeast Asian neighbors, the Philippines also banned the game in all administration offices. According to a survey by Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF), around 4% of employers in Malaysia fired their staff for playing the game during working hours.
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
also voiced their concerns over the application, with
Nikolay Nikiforov
Nikolay Anatolyevich Nikiforov (russian: Никола́й Анато́льевич Ники́форов; born 24 June 1982) is a Russian politician. In 2012, he became Minister of Communications and Mass Media of Russia.
Career
At age 19, N ...
, the country's
Minister of Communications and Mass Media, suspecting foreign intelligence agencies using the application to collect information, while some fundamentalist religious groups in the region claim it to be
demonic.
The Supreme Council of Virtual Space in
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
officially banned the game in August 2016 over security concerns. The same month,
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
facility in U.S. restricted the use of the game on their property, citing security risks by collecting secret information. In the United Kingdom, 290 police incidents were reported to have occurred in July 2016 in the country due to the game. In September 2016, Niantic stopped supporting the
CyanogenMod
CyanogenMod ( ; CM) is a discontinued open-source operating system for mobile devices, based on the Android mobile platform. It was developed as free and open-source software based on the official releases of Android by Google, with added origi ...
mobile operating system. This prevented users playing on CyanogenMod from playing the game from that point forward.
In India, the Gujarat High Court issued a notice to Niantic, the developer of the popular AR-based game, on the grounds of "posing danger to public safety".
The notice was issued on a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) seeking a ban on the location-based AR reality game in India. In addition,
a second PIL was filed against the developers of ''Pokémon Go'' for hurting religious sentiments by showing images of eggs in places of worship of different religious groups. But the Indian Government refused to ban the game.
''Pokémon Go''s targeted local advertising has been described by
Shoshana Zuboff in ''
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
''The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power'' is a 2019 non-fiction book by Shoshana Zuboff which looks at the development of digital companies like Google and Amazon, and suggests that their b ...
'' as an experiment that initiated from Google to move targeted advertising from the digital domain (cost per click) into the physical domain (cost per visit) by the use of sponsored locations. "In the end we recognize that the probe was designed to explore the next frontier: the means of behavioral modification. The game about the game is, in fact, an experimental facsimile of surveillance capitalism's design for our future."
Third-party services
Multiple unofficial, third-party apps were created to correspond with ''Pokémon Go''. Notable apps include "Poké Radar" and "Helper for ''Pokémon Go''", where players can crowdsource much of the Pokémon that can be found in the game at a particular time. At its peak of popularity, "Poké Radar" hit #2 on the Apple App Store, behind ''Pokémon Go'' itself.
Another app, GoChat, which allows players to leave messages for other players at specific locations, accrued more than 1 million downloads in five days and reached the top 10 in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. However, the app's developer
Jonathan Zarra chose to leave the app unmonetized and had financial trouble keeping the app's servers online until bringing on angel investor and board member
Michael Robertson. After acquiring significant funding, the app reached over 2 million active users. According to
RiskIQ
RiskIQ was a cyber security company that was based in San Francisco, California. It provided cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) for organizations to detect phishing, fraud, malware, and other online security threats.
The company was co- ...
, at least 215 fake versions of the game were available by July 17, 2016. Several of these fake apps contained malicious programming and viruses.
Launched on July 22, 2016, "Pokévision" enabled players to find exactly where Pokémon spawned and how much time was left until they despawned; the site used data hacked directly from the game. In the five days following the website's launch, 27 million unique visitors used the site. On July 31, multiple search apps and sites, including Pokévision, were disabled as they violated Niantic's terms of service.
COVID-19 pandemic
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, Niantic responded by implementing new changes and features in the game which allowed players to easily play remotely.
[Covid-19 Event & Feature Updates](_blank)
''Niantic "Support"''. However, starting on August 1, 2021, Niantic began rolling back these changes as part of their Exploration Bonus Updates. Players in New Zealand and the United States were the first to receive the post-pandemic changes, and gradually, they will be rolled out to the rest of the world "in accordance with recommendations from global health organizations."
In fear of violations in health and personal safety regulations, as well as
negatively impacting players with disabilities, the company has since received heavy criticism from the player base (including top players Brandon Tan and Nick Oyzon) due to their reverting safety measures implemented during the pandemic, in which gym and Pokéstop interaction distances were increased from 40 to 80 metres. Despite increasing rates of the
SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant
The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) was a variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It was first detected in India in late 2020. The Delta variant was named on 31 May 2021 and had spread to over 179 countries by 22 November 2021. The ...
in various U.S. states (resulting in overflowing hospitals), Niantic are firm on not keeping the pandemic bonuses. Players began boycotting ''Pokémon Go'' since in first week of August 2021.
On
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, the #HearUsNiantic started trending worldwide as fans and players voiced their censure towards Niantic's decision in removing the pandemic bonuses. A letter was sent to Niantic, which responded to the community by stating that the pandemic changes will not stay. As Niantic are an AR company, part of their business strategy is to sell user data by players after completing AR Mapping tasks where they can log their surroundings at marked PokéStops in their in-game maps. The reduced distance means an increased potential for Niantic to generate more revenue. Another reason for their changes is for Niantic to preserve their image of being an AR tech giant; on their blog post they stated that it is their "mission" to "encourage outdoor exploration" and "to connect
eopleto real places in the real world, and to visit places that are worth exploring." Players have also speculated that Niantic are rolling back the pandemic bonuses in an effort to send players closer to sponsored businesses such as
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...
(marked by a PokéStop or gym), from which Niantic have made a lot of money.
Sponsored Locations for Business
/ref>
Awards
See also
* List of highest-grossing mobile games
This is a list of the highest-grossing mobile games. This is a list of mobile games that have generated at least $100 million in gross revenue. Among them, there are more than 30 mobile games that have grossed more than . The video game company ...
* List of Pokémon
The ''Pokémon'' franchise revolves around 1008 fictional species of collectible monsters, each having unique designs, skills, and powers. Conceived by Satoshi Tajiri in early 1989, Pokémon are fictional creatures that inhabit the fictional P ...
, the list of all of the original Pokémon by order
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokemon Go
2010s fads and trends
2016 video games
Android (operating system) games
Augmented reality games
Free-to-play video games
IOS games
Niantic, Inc. games
Location-based games
Pervasive games
Go
Pokémon spin-off games
Video game controversies
Video games developed in the United States
Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender
Proprietary cross-platform software
WatchOS software
Video games scored by Junichi Masuda
Vertically-oriented video games
BAFTA winners (video games)
The Game Awards winners