Is Pokemon Go dying?

[Deleted]

It was a fast-burning fad from the starting point.

[Deleted]

Yes-ish. I say ish because I am not convinced it is the final product. I think pretty much all they did was slap together a few assets, test it out using some very basic models that they'd developed and see how it flies in regards to performance etc.

Really, beyond the core novelties of the game- catching pokemon irl omg!- there really isn't much of anything to it. That's why I'm pretty sure it's a proof of concept for a larger project so whether it dies or not is ultimately irrelevant as the initial push was successful and they've gotten some data on what could be a problem down the line. I don't believe it was ever intended to live for long.

Yeah, this is what I think as well. Hopefully they can work more closely together with the Pokemon company to create something greater or incorporate some of the successful elements of this test into the new generation of Pokemon games in a few years. Though I very much doubt that the pokemon company (nintendo) would be willing to move on from their handheld exclusive model any time soon...

[xChurch]

Probably be just a novelty for most people until they make it so you can battle others, then it'll explode even bigger.

[LilSaihah]

Though I very much doubt that the pokemon company (nintendo) would be willing to move on from their handheld exclusive model any time soon...

I would honestly be very surprised if they weren't paying very close attention to how the smartphone market is moving. While pokemon is strong as it is, being able to target a far greater userbase while also having a strong platform to provide microtransactions would be extremely appealing to any business. I have a lot of difficulty seeing a dedicated handheld console retaining viability in today's smartphone dominated era.

[-aiko-]

It's far from dead, but it will probably never reach the peak of its initial success either.

[Leih]

Yes, Pokemon Go is losing subscribers very quickly. The devs have destroyed the game with their design decisions and making the game too casual. The latest expansion was terrible. Vanilla Pokemon Go was the best.

Erh, wait, sorry, wrong game.

[Deleted]

I would honestly be very surprised if they weren't paying very close attention to how the smartphone market is moving. While pokemon is strong as it is, being able to target a far greater userbase while also having a strong platform to provide microtransactions would be extremely appealing to any business. I have a lot of difficulty seeing a dedicated handheld console retaining viability in today's smartphone dominated era.

I fully agree with you, however, I would say that expanding to the smartphone market has been very much viable for a few years already though, yet they have not done anything so far. Hopefully the "success" of Go will open their eyes.

[Deleted]

It's a shallow fad, of course it's going to go extinct unless they add significant updates which basically turn it into an open world Pokémon RPG version (Pvp, training pokemon, actual battles instead of the shit they have now).

[Post]

or
b) give that function to the official game.

That would defeat the purpose of the whole game.

[Gracin]

Is it dying? Yes and no. It still has something like 30 million daily users, but this of course is down from the 42 million at it's peak. This can be attributed to a lot of things including, Niantic's poor communication, tracking system, lack of features, huge gameplay differences between rural and urban areas. I personally quit after Niantic bombed the tracking websites, to me living in a very rural area, not having any form of tracking is a death blow.

[Nurvus]

That would defeat the purpose of the whole game.

I think it's already defeated.
I don't believe Niantic will ever really prevent people from "faking" their GPS to move around with their PCs.
What they can do is add stuff that "evens" the playground, even if just a little bit.

They could do something smaller like you can move freely within X m your current location - essentially increasing your reach.
Keeps the "essence" of the game but evens the playground slightly, and that should also remove issues like trespassing.

[Herbert]

I sure hope not, it's acting as a population control for those who die playing it, it's quite nice.... almost like smoking.

[Chloral]

It was to be expected that non-pokemon fans would stop playing after a week or two after release.

My friends and I are still playing and we still get together once a week at our favorite pokestop. The appraisal feature is amazing and I can't wait for the future.

[Post]

I think it's already defeated.
I don't believe Niantic will ever really prevent people from "faking" their GPS to move around with their PCs.
What they can do is add stuff that "evens" the playground, even if just a little bit.

They could do something smaller like you can move freely within X m your current location - essentially increasing your reach.
Keeps the "essence" of the game but evens the playground slightly, and that should also remove issues like trespassing.

Increasing the reach would be cool, I don't agree with making it full on free roam though. Even if people are hacking (the scum!).

[CastletonSnob]

Might just be me, but catching Pokemon in Go just isn't as fun or satisfying as it is in the main games.

[Syenite]

Liked the game initially. ANd i really wanted to keep on enjoying it.

Went offshore for a 3 week job (3 first weeks in august), when i came back everything evaded, escaped and was an upright pain in the arse to play. Spending 5 bucks worth of pokeballs catching a 220 AP pigey doesnt fit my definition of "fun".

But everyone still enjoying it, good for you. Many people need the exercise. When it first went live i noticed people outside who (from the looks of it) hadn't been outside in years

[Venziir]

I wish more people would pick up the real pokemon games. They have come a LONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG way from what we had growing up.

Even Pokemon Blue and Red are amazing games of mindblowing depth and quality compared to how shallow PKMN GO is...

[CastletonSnob]

Even Pokemon Blue and Red are amazing games of mindblowing depth and quality compared to how shallow PKMN GO is...

I recently replayed Blue, and I had more fun with it than Go.

[dope_danny]

It was just the fad of the summer. Every year theres something that people latch onto. 15 years ago it was shit like yoyos or everyone trying to take up rollerblading or something. For a lot of mainstream consumers it was their first AR experience and had some novelty but that kind of stuff fizzles out fast because thats what it always does.

[Azrile]

It seems every day this week, I see articles about how Pokemon Go is hemorrhaging players.
So, is the game dying? If so, is it because of all the problems, or has the novelty just worn off?

It is a free2play game, it is as easy to quit as it is to start playing. There are just a ton of people who heard the hype and tried it because it was free, I don´t think anyone would think they would not leave.