GO Did you expect Pokemon GO to be as successful as it is?

[Elementar]

Hey guys.

I know that I personally didn't expect Pokemon GO to be so successful and popular. All I expected was for it to be a decent game that would have been nice for Pokemon fans. What I didn't expect was seeing it in the news, the newspaper and everyone single person I know talking about it. I presume Niantic didn't expect this either, and that's why they had their server issues. But we now know that GO was a huge success and really worked.

Did you guys see this success coming? And, do you think there is a future for Pokemon in the smart phone/tablet industry?

 

[Soki]

I didn't see it coming at all and actually thought it would fail. The more information was shown beforehand, the more disappointed people seemed to be and I thought almost no one was excited about it anymore.

But it's everywhere. It seems people that don't normally play Pokémon (anymore) love it too and I hadn't expected that either honestly. Not sure if the hype is going to last long though, I'm not able to play it myself but it seems like something that gets boring after a few weeks. I could be wrong (again) though.

 

[Elementar]

I hope the hype lasts. I know people who never liked Pokemon who are addicted, and there are Youtubers who have gone on 5 hour road trips to find Pokemon. I even know someone who broke their arm playing it after they fell over xD But it's been on the front paper of the news and everything here (safety issues )

 

[Gengarzilla]

I definitely saw this coming. I even expected the server issues. The very same thing happened with Pokémon Bank, remember?

 

[Flower]

I expected it; even though lots of people were saying it was gonna fail I just knew it was gonna be successful, though not to the degree it is! Servers flopping all the time (I expected a few downtimes but it's often according to my American friends that play it), people getting into accidents or getting hurt from distraction (I'm most surprised at this!), and even the international release being delayed... goodness. x'D

 

[dragon_nataku]

I honestly didn't even really know about Pokemon GO until like Friday or Saturday, but if I had known about it before release I probably would've assumed it would be a big hit. After all, stupid phone games like Angry Birds has a movie now, so why wouldn't something with a pre-established franchise succeed? Personally, I'm enjoying the game but if they don't let us transfer our Pokemon to Sun/Moon or something (and I'm pretty sure they won't) then I can see myself getting pretty bored of the game within the next week or two (although I think a large part of this is that I live in Miami and the summer heat and humidity makes even nighttime wandering seem like being trapped in an inferno (or trapped inside Fire Spin, hurr hurr), so I think if it'd been released in winter I'd have more interest for longer).

 

[Aulos]

Of course, it was obvious it would be a huge hit... at first. The game plays so heavily on the dreams of kids that grew up with the first generation of Pokemon. So of course, a bunch of people are eating it up right now, including 'regular' people (sorry not the best way to describe them, but you know what I mean, I hope?) who haven't played Pokemon since they were a kid.

I fear for the longevity of this app's success. I already know some of my coworkers who are loving it right now, couldn't get back into the new Pokemon games because "there's too many Pokemon". Thus, when Niantic releases Pokemon beyond G1, you can guarantee these casuals will no longer be interested in the app, and a lot of its success will be gone just like that.

It's a shame... I'm sitting here disappointed that there are only G1 Pokemon. There are sooo many Pokemon I love in the later generations and I want to get to catch them, too, but once they're released, many people who are playing it now will drop out. I guarantee it.

So, the truth is that its success right now hinges on its existence as nostalgia for mid to late 90s kids.

 

[Peachy]

I knew it'd be popular when it dropped. But how long is that going to last? It's not a very good app, it's super janky and really poorly optimized for many phones. When the honeymoon phase wares off it really needs to have constant updates that fix a lot of the problems or adds new content. If those don't happen I really can't see this lasting more than a month.

 

[Alolan Coconut]

I'm really surprised and happy. All my friend who don't play main series Pokemon are suddenly picking up on GO. Whenever I'm on the streets I see people of all ages searching for Pokemon. Yesterday I was at a bar, watching the Euro Final and at halftime people went outside to catch Pokemon, love it.

I'm also a bit concerned about how long this thing will last, but so far, it's a great start.

 

[Aulos]

I'm really surprised and happy. All my friend who don't play main series Pokemon are suddenly picking up on GO. Whenever I'm on the streets I see people of all ages searching for Pokemon. Yesterday I was at a bar, watching the Euro Final and at halftime people went outside to catch Pokemon, love it.

I'm also a bit concerned about how long this thing will last, but so far, it's a great start.

That's exactly why it won't last, I'm afraid.

These people are not Pokemon fans, they were as children, but they aren't anymore. They are playing purely for a nostalgic rush. If they don't end up getting bored with it real quick (very likely they will), they will drop it the instant any Pokemon beyond G1 are added.

 

[IncineROAR]

I feel like Pokemon Go was really marketed towards the "casual" and "nostalgic" Pokemon fans. After being a hardcore fan of the main series game for many years, I actually find the app to be extremely boring. But I'm happy for it being successful and I won't give it a negative opinion if asked by another individual.

 

[Mitchman]

I expected this thing to hit the ground running, not to hit the ground harder then Saitama. Shit's wild. I'm pretty sure when Japan gets this theu are gonna have to create an entire legislative system just for Go bans.

 

[leaf-green]

I expected this which is why it frustrates me so much when Niantic says they didn't expect it to be such a hit. I mean come on.. You release a Pokémon game during the Pokémon 20 year and expect average interest?
All their server issues show that the company themselves didn't pay attention to their market research. I haven't even experienced the game yet though and it feels like I'm being punished for not downloading the apk.
But alas... I will continue to refresh the Play Store even after the hype dies down so I can finally join in the fun
(but seriously.. They should have had security measures in place for those region locked since they're just adding to the traffic. Or they should have done one launch so that when the app crashed, no one could play then they would be able to figure out how to manage everyone)

 

[Batbloodx]

I absolutely expected this. The *game itself* differs from my expectations, but that makes it no less fun and addicting. xD

For all of you who are worried that the popularity won't last...to be honest, I kind of look forward to when "regular people" move on to something else. That will leave me and other dedicated Pokemon fans to challenge each other's gyms and enjoy a game free of server issues.

 

[Falconwing]

Honestly, no. I expected it to flop hard.

The beta, while okay, was a big-ridden mess that was unplayable most days. The game wasn't in its current build and there were not nearly as many people playing. I started losing interest very quickly. When they said it was going to be out in July I truly thought it was going to a rush app that got slapped together before it was truly ready.

And I'm not too proud to say I was wrong. It's not perfect, but it's great fun.

 

[Necrozma]

I'm surprised as well. The bigger question, however, is whether the hype will last.

I can't see people remaining interested with only 151 Pokemon available. If the game offers nothing new then people will quickly get bored.

 

[Champion Red]

Honestly I was worried I was too hyped for Pokemon GO, I didn't want to be disappointed by my high expectations. But this game is incredible, I just really hope content comes out regularly enough to keep people interested.

 

[The Outrage]

Its even more of a success than even Niantic and Nintendo gave it credit for. Obviously they anticipated some server issues, hence the delayed roll out for the game around the world, but they didn't anticipate it would be this popular. Its kind of annoying really, because some people have taken to downloading it from third-party sources (and there's been report of malware) so people in Canada and Europe don't even get to all start at the same time as each other.

And here's the thing--its a free app, and in the time its been out its not only topped the app stores in terms of downloads, but also revenue. It's also done what Game Freak says it wants to do with its games, but never managed to achieve to--bring random strangers together and promote friendship. Its an amazing phenomenon, and I can't wait for it to come out here.

I'm surprised as well. The bigger question, however, is whether the hype will last.

I can't see people remaining interested with only 151 Pokemon available. If the game offers nothing new then people will quickly get bored.

The game's already going to have trading. They'll introduce more Pokemon as well--shuffle didn't have the full roster from the beginning.

 

[Elementar]

Some of you talk about it lasting because of a 'nostalgic' rush. That may be true in some cases, but I know plenty of people who never liked Pokemon at all who play it. So, will this last without a nostalgic rush? Or will it gain new fans and bring back older ones? It will be a bit of both. And that's okay, because that's still heaps of people and this had already brought Pokemon back to massive popularity around the world, which is a huge success in my book.

 

[Necrozma]

The game's already going to have trading. They'll introduce more Pokemon as well--shuffle didn't have the full roster from the beginning.

I hope that's enough. And did they specify when they would be adding new Pokemon?