Why is Pokemon GO so popular?

It combines a nostalgic feel with a childhood dream. If you were to go back 10 to 20 years and tell your younger self that in the future, you could go around catching live Pokemon on your phone, your head would explode.

Then, because the current young adults were the people playing it back then, there are a lot of people downloading and interacting with the game. Because it's young adults driving the game, not young children, more people are open to the idea, because other people the same age as them are playing it.

Then you have the bandwagon effect, which is caused by the above point.

So basically, nostalgia + young adults = CRAZE!​
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I agree with Fabio. Millennials were kids when Pokemon first started back when it was a big craze. From what I've observed(and from also being one myself), millennials are also pretty obsessed with nostalgia. They all miss the good old times when everyone loved Pokemon and there wasn't a care in the world, so when they heard that this game was coming, they got excited and all downloaded it. It's also cause the game is more accessible than any other Pokemon game. More people have a smartphone then a 3DS or any other of Nintendo's handheld consoles. One of the reasons why Pokemon declined in popularity is because not many people wanted to buy a new console to get a new Pokemon game. With Pokemon Go, you don't need to do that, you just have to download it on your phone and play. That's also explains why so many people from older generations are playing too. Besides the bandwagon effect of course.
 
Treecko said:
I agree with Fabio. Millennials were kids when Pokemon first started back when it was a big craze. From what I've observed(and from also being one myself), millennials are also pretty obsessed with nostalgia. They all miss the good old times when everyone loved Pokemon and there wasn't a care in the world, so when they heard that this game was coming, they got excited and all downloaded it. It's also cause the game is more accessible than any other Pokemon game. More people have a smartphone then a 3DS or any other of Nintendo's handheld consoles. One of the reasons why Pokemon declined in popularity is because not many people wanted to buy a new console to get a new Pokemon game. With Pokemon Go, you don't need to do that, you just have to download it on your phone and play. That's also explains why so many people from older generations are playing too. Besides the bandwagon effect of course.
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Meanwhile, veteran Pokémon fans are ticked about Pokémon GO, because it's pandering towards people who only played the first games and stopped playing when the fad died down. Do you think Pokémon GO's popularity will stay afloat by the time they add non-Kanto Pokémon, which got these people turned away from the mainline games in the first place?
 
I don't understand why, as I think that constant mobile data and battery drain makes it unplayable. It's a good thing a game that requires actual movement is popular, as it's better than flappy bird and candy crush as it is active and not just stupidly addictive.
 
The game combines exploration with a sense of progress. You get to find new places and see what hides in them, while at the same time giving them something to work for, like looking for certain Pokemon, or leveling those they already have. The option to conquer spots (or gyms) also adds a team aspect to it, because even if you don't have many people of your team around, you still help them by beating and holding those gyms.

And , of course, the fact that it's Pokemon also helps it a lot.
 
Treecko's post sums up what I was going to say. Pokemon GO only having 1st Gen Pokemon proves it's pandering heavily to those who grew up during PokeMania who followed the fad and ended up quitting the franchise after that fad ended.

Also, as another post mentioned mobile gaming is increasing in popularity and there are more people who play games on their phone rather than a 3DS or other handheld console. It is essentially more accessible than any other Pokemon game on the market, and it being part of the huge mobile gaming scene allowed for Nintendo to make tons of money and the Pokemon franchise was able to reach levels of popularity not seen since the PokeMania era.
 
It's free, Pokemon is a huge franchise and millions of people own a smartphone. Not only that but the coverage has been so worldwide and widespread that many people are aware of it and probably are keen to try it out.
 
Pinkie-Dawn said:
Do you think Pokémon GO's popularity will stay afloat by the time they add non-Kanto Pokémon, which got these people turned away from the mainline games in the first place?
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Pokemon was still pretty popular during the Johto era, so I think when they add gen 2, it will still attract a lot of people.However once they add gen 3 and gen 4, then it will probably die down massively like the games did. Then really only the hardcore fans will be the only ones still playing it. I really hope it's not like that, but I'm pretty sure it will be like that cause that's what it was before.
Though I also see the fad lasting for like a month or two and then fade out slowly. Mobile games really only stay popular for a short time. Usually like a few month to a year. Just look at Angry Birds, Flappy Bird , Candy Crush, Miitomo etc.( Remember when everyone used Miitomo for two weeks? lmao)
 
Treecko said:
Pokemon was still pretty popular during the Johto era, so I think when they add gen 2, it will still attract a lot of people.However once they add gen 3 and gen 4, then it will probably die down massively like the games did. Then really only the hardcore fans will be the only ones still playing it. I really hope it's not like that, but I'm pretty sure it will be like that cause that's what it was before.
Though I also see the fad lasting for like a month or two and then fade out slowly. Mobile games really only stay popular for a short time. Usually like a few month to a year. Just look at Angry Birds, Flappy Bird , Candy Crush, Miitomo etc.( Remember when everyone used Miitomo for two weeks? lmao)
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I doubt it.

Would you be surprised if the Pokémon GO fad lasts for more than the usual few months?
 
I think it's just a phase for the one who aren'T fan. They want to try it, Pokemon "is cool again", and that's it. But I give them a month before they stop playing.

Then. the fan will continue to play.
 
At least two - five people are seen discussing the game at my classes and workplace throughout the week, haha. It's nice to see others talk about Pokemon for a change.
 
One simple reason I think is it's just easy to do it 99% of the time. You don't have to look at the screen nonstop, and everyone who has a smartphone can play. If Go was on 3DS, I would be way, way less popular. Even if every person who owned a 3DS and would even try it, not many people want to walk around everywhere with a 3DS out in the open for either embarrassment or theft worries. :S
 
I'm just gonna leave this here. I find it quite odd, that a seeming-less frustration is arising in the long term players. I hope you can see that by your dedication to this particular franchise has created the means to create Pokemon GO. They technically created the game for you all.

However, me being a new player coming from watching the show as a kid and quite honestly enjoyed it watching it during my youth. Unfortunately, I was not heavily involved with the games but I am quite astonished that the vets are kinda frustrated over the whole debacle. I could be reading to far into this but as a new player its quite interesting to see the encouragement or hope that the game dies off.

Further, I heard of this game coming to reality months ago because I played a game called Ingress, which technically mapped the whole Pokemon Go reality (well that and field trip). This new news got me pumped up cause I thought my kids and family would enjoy this game much more than Ingress (which it has). And I'm thankful for that, we are able to do much more things together out and about besides the common things families do.

I guess I'm kind of shocked, I find it great to pull up to a park on a walk and see 50+ people having a great time catching Pokemon at the park, smiling, laughing, cheering, high-fiving, walking, etc. with people they may have never seen nor ever met before.

I've enjoyed the game tremendously and hope that maybe your backlash or frustration doesn't kill the fun for others but hope you guys could be vets that can teach us new comers the game on a deeper scale - hence my reasoning of even joining this forum.

iOption
 
Hmm, I get what you're saying iOption. I feel we could be doing a little more encouraging of this new game than downplaying the hype that it's generated. I don't think the majority of us mean to come off as elitist or anything of the sort - we're just not used to the fandom getting this much attention.

That being said, and while I sincerely hope the hype never dies down, I'm certain it will. That's just how fads work, and even moreso in our modern day when new things are literally in the hands of the public every day - if not quicker. I think GO has been a great experience so far and a wonderful summer memory, but its superstardom won't last forever.
 
I am a Die Hard pokemon fan that has been playing pokemon (more or less) loyally since I was seven years old. Been with it through good times and bad times. Been accepted by some peer groups and made fun of by a few others.
Knowing that I have loved pokemon from the very beginning, I think that the impact that Pokemon GO has had all across the world is absolutely fantastic! I love the hype, the obsession, the ludicrously large number of people constantly playing it, the fact that I can't go any where without bumping into multiple people who are also playing it.
This is everything I've always wanted Pokemon to be. At the core of pokemon, ignoring what platform or style the games are made for, the overall concept and implementation of pokemon games has always been fantastic, fun, and whimsical. Knowing that Pokemon still has that overall effect on the general populace all across the planet and has been able to ingeniously implement it into everybody's general lifestyle with a price tag labeled FREE, has made me fall in love with pokemon all over again!
People who would otherwise never meet each other or never be involved with each others lives outside of normal "Hi, nice day isn't it?" interactions are now bonding and finding each other over our most beloved gaming franchise.
Guys! Pokemon GO is bringing the world together through Pokemon! What's not to love about that? When I play any kind of pokemon game, I'm not trying to be part of some stupid exclusive club where only original pokemon fans hang out. I'm enjoying a game that I love and I would do anything to get other people to join playing what I love in hopes that the creators of the game will increase their popularity and revenue for the purpose of further progressing the game I enjoy and making it cleaner, better, and more accessible to more people.

The better Pokemon GO does, the more money it makes, the more popularity it gains, all these factors heavily contribute the game's growth and ability to become even better than what it is now. To say you hope the game decreases in popularity is completely counter productive to the success and improvement of this game and if it heavily decreases in popularity, sure you guys will get your silly little die hard pokemon fan club, but in the process you are promoting the failure of this game's overall success and growth.
I want Pokemon GO to be everything it can potentially be, and in order for that to happen I can't be bitter about the game being "The new popular game to play", plus being a snobby hipster is not really my style.

I hope you guys will realize how wonderful all this popularity and publicity is for this game and I hope you will be real "die hard fans" and eventually accept this newly acquired pokemon fandom with open arms.
 
I love that people are into Pokemon again, and I really do appreciate the novel way to play - it gets people out and about even if they are still staring at a screen! But, I just personally find the app to be buggy to the point of frustration for me (I don't have the patience) and when it has worked, I personally just didn't find it that enjoyable. As a die hard fan I appreciate what it is doing for the franchise and love it, but I just personally will stick to re-playing some of the old games (currently playing Black). I'm not going to judge what other people enjoy, it is a fad and will die down but just because I'm not into it doesn't mean other people can't be.

The one thing that has annoyed me though is my friends who've told me "you're too old for pokemon" have gotten very shirty when I've said "well nah I find Go a bit crap", but they're very much the type to get sucked into anything that anyone else does. If I'm going to tolerate people who like it when I don't, people should also tolerate my opinion that I don't much care for the game myself. Live and let live I say, neither way harms anybody.
 
I like it because it gives me a reason to go and exercise other then I "need" to. I'm the type that needs incentive to get things done so going to a gym or walking for no reason other then to walk was a waste of time to me. Now I can become a pokemon master and show off my mad curvball skills all while walking with friends who now do the same thing.
 
It´s something new to play a game on the run, never seen before. And also Pokemon is very popular since years. And everyone waited for something new from the pokemon company.
 
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