What started as Google’s annual April Fool’s joke has turned out to be far from a joke. Pokémon Go is a free-to-play, location-based augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic and published by The Pokémon Company as part of the Pokémon franchise.
Since its launch earlier this month, it’s already been installed on more Android smartphones than Tinder. It’s even managed to surpass Twitter’s number of daily active users. Mobile users also are spending more time playing Pokémon Go than they are spending time in Facebook, helping it become the biggest mobile game ever in the U.S. Believe it or not, thousands of people even met in Millennium Park to play Pokémon Go. The craze is real, and businesses are scrambling to figure out how they can get in on the action.
Pokémon Go is the biggest U.S. mobile game ever
Peak daily active users (millions)
Estimates for US smartphone users
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Brands are jumping on the Pokémon Go bandwagon
The global Pokémon phenomenon has dominated the news this month. But besides a few tweets, Niantic and Nintendo leaned heavily on the powerful Pokémon brand to organically create the buzz around this new game.
In order to create a sustainable model, businesses will need to find true value from the game and its advertising platforms. Ads will come in the form of “sponsored locations” that allow businesses to drive foot traffic on a pay-per-visit basis. McDonald’s is moving forward with a sponsorship to launch in one Asian country. As part of the sponsorship, every McDonald’s restaurant in this country will either be a PokéStop or a gym. McDonald’s locations are often within walking distance and have wi-fi, which makes this partnership a great fit.
Other businesses that aren’t currently on the Pokémon Go map are getting in on the action using the Lure Model, like L’inizio Pizza Bar in New York, which says its use of a $10 lure increased business by 30 percent. Businesses are also using sponsored social posts to attract customers to their locations.
In my opinion, Pokémon Go’s gameplay is too simple and doesn’t hold much long-term appeal. After a while, this soon becomes routine and unexciting, and you’ll fall into a pattern of tapping and swiping aimlessly before long, without it being fun.
But there’s certainly something to say about the benefits this game has provided for the augmented reality (AR) industry. Until now, consumers have dabbled in AR with apps such as Snapchat, which allow users to use a variety of filters to change the appearance of their ‘selfies’. While Pokémon’s buzz may not last forever, you better bet that this has paved the way for the ideation of other similar styled games. Pokémon Go has fully captured the public’s attention and is pointing to what’s possible, and it has popularized the emerging technology of augmented reality by making it fun.
The possibilities of overlaying location-based digital images on the real world show much promise. Architects and realtors could walk clients through a site, showing differing versions of a completed building. Farmers and equipment dealers may be able to look at the underside of a tractor they have never worked upon, have each part digitally labeled and see how to fix a problem. If you’re traveling out of the country, you can use your phone to translate text to make your trip easier and more enjoyable.
There are a lot of opinions circulating about the game of the month. But the popular app has forced gamers to get off the couch and into the outdoors, and it’s hard to complain about that. Just be safe out there—catching a new Pokémon probably isn’t worth crashing into a police car.