[Megathread] Pokemon GO

[sarym13]

Person 1 causes a car crash while playing on his phone. Game unknown. No one bothers to make news articles on it.

Person 2 causes a car crash while playing Pokemon GO. News agencies post stories left and right. Side by side, up and down. Shared on social media in the thousands. Person 2 is now being talked about nationwide.

Person 3 causes a car crash while playing on his phone. Game unknown. No one bothers to talk about it.

etc etc etc

[Moralgy]

It's a collect stuff out in the world game. It's fun in its own right, and we've been creating our own fun using this app for awhile. Acting like its the doom of the world / gaming is just completely hyperbolic and frankly, Unconstructive.

People are having fun, that isn't allowed on the internet!

[Gracin]

Yep. Was a Snorlax in my neighborhood I couldn't locate =[ Probably ended up being in someones backyard.

I did manage to find a Jigglypuff today though, and ran into a Scyther, but it ran off after the 2nd throw =[

Yea, couldn't find a scyther or beedrill yesterday, only managed to stumble upon a Golbat I was hunting for.

[Fojos]

There are plenty of other games you can play too.

I know, let's just not bother doing anything new again ever, waste of time.

Except the fact that developers spend time with these kind of jokes means we lose out on potential real games.

[unholytestament]

Except the fact that developers spend time with these kind of jokes means we lose out on potential real games.

Except that's factually incorrect. Niantic made the game, not Nintendo. Niantic makes these kinds of games, Nintendo (Game Freak/The Pokemon Company, actually) is making Pokemon Sun and Moon (and a bajillion other spin offs).

[Faltemer]

As far as incense goes:

PSA: Incense spawns 1 pokémon every 5 min while standing still and every 1 min/200 meters while moving

That lines up with what I've seen so far and seems fairly reasonable in terms of fairness. The game wants you to be moving, but adding something for people who can't walk around for a while is a good plan. It's been a steady stream of rain and thunderstorms where I'm at, so I havent been able to do much in terms of walking around.

[Crissi]

Except the fact that developers spend time with these kind of jokes means we lose out on potential real games.

You don't like what we like. That's fine. Doesn't mean our likes are somehow less worthy. They saw a business opportunity and took it. That's what they are supposed to do.

And considering another Pokemon game is coming out this year, it didn't replace any games either.

This argument really is the same as " money went to NASA when it could have went to Medicare. I call shenanigans!"

[Tech614]

Doesn't matter who created it. Nintendo sees the success and it's the birthchild of a beautiful market in their eyes.

Nintendo did not develop nor publish the game. The Pokemon IP was licensed from The Pokemon Company to Niantic. Nintendo owns 33% of The Pokemon Company, so they're only receiving 33% of what those licensing fees are. This game is going to turn Niantic into a billion dollar company, it is not giving Nintendo massive profits.

It IS driving up Nintendo stock, but Niantic, Creatures and Game Freak are all private companies so Nintendo is literally the only company of the 4 involved that could see an increase there. That stock could also drop as fast as it rose once people see the publicity this game is giving Nintendo is not turning into profit.

If Nintendo's in house developed mobile games bomb they're not going to see a game they didn't make or have really anything to do with as being their success in the mobile market.

[Pendulous]

Caught two rattata and an Oddish sitting in the break room at work. All weak, but I love Oddish so it's OK.

[Rixis]

Except the fact that developers spend time with these kind of jokes means we lose out on potential real games.

Yeah but we have other games to play, we don't need new ones. Just like we have reasons to go outside and don't need real ones.

[Mechazod]

Doesn't matter who created it. Nintendo sees the success and it's the birthchild of a beautiful market in their eyes. This thing has less substance than even candy crush, and it's destroying the industry (mobile gaming, more and more developers go to this shallow crap because of money). There are already plenty of things you can do with other people in the world.

This is why I have been against this and Nintendo doing mobile since they first hinted at it. As much as I love Nintendo, I don't want them to be successful in the mobile market. I don't want them to look at it as a profitable market that they would potentially over time more and more divert resources and development to. Feel free to call out their recent quality of their games from the past few years, but at least for the majority of their games they still offered up full-length experiences that tried to provide traditional gaming on dedicated gaming platforms without trying to cash in on the lowest common denominator for some quick microtransaction cash-ins. Maybe stuff like this will help them fund future projects, but its the fact that the seed of mobile gaming will have been planted in their minds to begin with that has me fearful of where they may shift down the road.
I don't want Nintendo to "get with the times" in this regard. I want them to make games for handheld and home console systems like they always have and if that makes me a stick in the mud, then so be it.

However, I DO think the idea behind Go is neat if it was incorporated into a main series Pokemon game as an optional feature. Basically have whatever their next handheld/NX is with the same kind of GPS tracking and have the ability to log onto the Nintendo Network to track a players position and give them bonuses in the game like catching, Pokestops, taking over and defending gyms and whatever features it currently provides, I could see it being a successor to the PokeWalker in that regard for finding wilds when in the real world. It could also be a neat way to incorporate Mystery Gifts and special events.
I will say that Go does have a very "Nintendo-like" quality in the sense of it being experimentally gimmicky and blending real-life with game play. I will admit even the social aspect of it certainly could be entertaining as well if the game it was attached to had more substance.

Essentially if they just incorporated the key features of Go as it is right now (minus the battle system) and worked it into the future REAL Pokemon games, I would have no problem with people getting shot trying to catch a Sandshrew in someones yard, but as just a mobile "game", I will be eagerly awaiting the day the hype starts to die down and the bandwagon dissipates.

Well that's my rant about it. Till then my only enjoyment from this will be hearing the ridiculous scenarios it produces.

[Moralgy]

Except that's factually incorrect. Niantic made the game, not Nintendo. Niantic makes these kinds of games, Nintendo (Game Freak/The Pokemon Company, actually) is making Pokemon Sun and Moon (and a bajillion other spin offs).

Like, the pokemon games could even benefit from this concept. Currently the games really are lackluster and just serve to add new pokemon to the meta when one comes out, so something new would be nice to spice up the actual games a bit.

[Shuji V2]

Nintendo did not develop nor publish the game. The Pokemon IP was licensed from The Pokemon Company to Niantic. Nintendo owns 33% of The Pokemon Company, so they're only receiving 33% of what those licensing fees are. This game is going to turn Niantic into a billion dollar company, it is not giving Nintendo massive profits.

Pokemon is owned by three companies: Nintendo, GameFreak, and Creatures INC. Each owns 1/3 of the IP. Nintendo owns Creature INC as well, meaning 2/3 of the IP is owned by Nintendo and their other internal studio. Nintendo also owns 54% Gamefreak basically meaning the franchise is 100% theirs.

In addition, they also own some shares (not sure how much) in Niantic. In addition, they work closely together with Niantic on this game. Niantic even had to rework the catching mechanic a few times from scratch because Nintendo didn't like what they came up with. So they still green light pretty much everything.

Saying Nintendo doesn't really benefit off this besides stocks is quite naive to say.

[unholytestament]

*snip*

What is this fear based on? Even if Nintendo released a dozen mobile games tomorrow that were the worst microtransaction ridden garbage you had ever seen why does anyone think that would have any effect on their handheld and console games?

Is there any basis in reality for this fear?

[Tech614]

Nintendo owns Creature INC as well

LUL stopped right there.

Creatures is a privately owned company, the same as Game Freak.

You know there is a free source of edumahcation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatures_(company)

- - - Updated - - -

In addition, they also own some shares (not sure how much) in Niantic.

Continued for more lul, apparently Nintendo owns shares in a private company somehow through Nintendo magic. Really dude?

[Waaldo]

As far as incense goes:

PSA: Incense spawns 1 pokémon every 5 min while standing still and every 1 min/200 meters while moving

That lines up with what I've seen so far and seems fairly reasonable in terms of fairness. The game wants you to be moving, but adding something for people who can't walk around for a while is a good plan. It's been a steady stream of rain and thunderstorms where I'm at, so I havent been able to do much in terms of walking around.

I'm glad someone datamined this info. I kept using Incense on top of Lures thinking it was the maximum possible Pokemon per 30 minutes. turns out I was just wasting my Incense.

Starting my 200m interval training tomorrow.

[Faltemer]

I'm glad someone datamined this info. I kept using Incense on top of Lures thinking it was the maximum possible Pokemon per 30 minutes. turns out I was just wasting my Incense.

Starting my 200m interval training tomorrow.

Yea, quite a big difference so should definitely save them for times you know you'll be constantly walking.

[Waaldo]

This is why I have been against this and Nintendo doing mobile since they first hinted at it. As much as I love Nintendo, I don't want them to be successful in the mobile market.

Talking about Pokemon only, Nintendo has been successful on the mobile market since 1996 when Pokemon Red and Blue first came out. This will not change a thing. This is still mobile, the only reason it's on a phone is because their current handheld doesn't have GPS/mobile networking.

Nintendo will continue to be Nintendo and one successful game on an experimental platform(for Nintendo) isn't going to halt development of Pokemon Sun/Moon, TLoZ: Breath of the Wild or any of their future games to come. Stop with the doom and gloom please.

If anything, this game will bring them more business for their Pokemon franchise. The amount of players I've ran into that have either never played a Pokemon game before, or at least in a long time, is insane. It's an easy game to get into for hardcore fans and new players. I wouldn't be surprised if Sun/Moon saw an increase in sales.

[JonnyBeoulve]

Something you can do without a game, and people do not socialize, they walk into eachother while staring at their phones. I don't play games to have a social experience with idiots.

Pokemon GO serves as a fantastic commonality. It's an easy conversation initiator that is reason for lots of low-barrier social interactions.

But I don't expect you to understand this anyway given your post history. You are clearly hateful, anti-social, and abrasive.

[Fencers]

I have never met or spoken to so many strangers out on the street in my entire life as I have since this game was released.

Spent an hour at the park this afternoon and as I walked up there were 5 young guys sitting in a little grassy area where two Pokestops overlapped. I stopped there too, of course. Lures went up and it was like people from all over the neighborhood started showing up. There was about 12-14 people sitting around the grassy area, chatting, catching the 'Mons, comparing 'Dexes, etc.

Went to the movies afterward, outside 5-6 people fighting over the gym located at the theater. Shouting and laughing at each other playfully. I won the gym, btw. Level 18 pokemaster, motherfuckers.

In the lobby of the theater, almost everyone playing Go. We get out and walk around a bit- hundreds of people playing Go.

Stopped at a little water fountain, took off my shoes so my husband could rub my feet. The fountain was a Pokestop, a lure went up and there was about 8 people there in minutes. Young adults, older adults, couples, kids. A street performer came up and playing his guitar while everyone was throwing Pokeballs.

Incredible stuff.