Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go
Developer(s)	Niantic
Publisher(s)	Niantic
Composer(s)	Junichi Masuda
Series	Pokémon
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	iOS, Android
Release	AU: July 6, 2016 US: July 6, 2016
Genre(s)	Augmented reality[1]
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Pokémon Go is a free-to-play location-based augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic. It was initially released in July 2016 for iOS and Android devices, starting with the United States and Australasia, with Asian and European releases to follow.

The game allows players to capture, battle, and train virtual Pokémon who appear throughout the real world. It makes use of GPS and the camera of compatible devices. Although the game is free-to-play, it supports in-app purchases of additional gameplay items. An optional companion Bluetooth wearable device, the Pokémon Go Plus, is planned for future release and will alert users when a Pokémon is nearby.

The game received a mixed critical reception. However, it was the most downloaded smartphone app in the United States in its first three days of release and was a boon to publisher Nintendo's stock value.

After logging into the app for the first time, the player creates their avatar. The player can choose the avatar's style, hair, skin, and eye color, and can choose from a limited number of outfits.^[2] After the avatar is created, it is displayed at the player's current location along with a map of the player's immediate surroundings. Features on the map may include a number of PokéStops and Pokémon gyms. These are typically located at popular meeting places, such as memorials, places of worship, parks, and tourist attractions.^{[3][unreliable source?]}

As players travel the real world, the avatar moves along the game's map. Different Pokémon live in different areas of the world; for example, water-type Pokémon are generally found near water.^[4] When a player encounters a Pokémon, they may view it in either augmented reality mode or with a pre-rendered background. AR mode uses the camera and gyroscope on the player's mobile device to display an image of a Pokémon as though it were in the real world.^[5] Players can also take pictures, using an in-game camera, of the Pokémon that they encounter both with and without the AR mode activated.^[4]

Unlike other installments in the Pokémon series, players in Pokémon Go do not battle wild Pokémon to capture them. Rather, the game relies on a unique capture system where the player must throw a Poké Ball with the right force and at the right time to make a successful catch. After capturing a wild Pokémon, the player is awarded two types of in-game currencies: candies and stardust. The candies awarded by a successful catch depends on what evolutionary chain a Pokémon belongs to. A player can use stardust and candies to raise a Pokémon's "combat power" (CP). However, only candies are needed to evolve a Pokémon. Each Pokémon evolution tree has its own type of candy which can only be used to evolve or level up. The player can also transfer the Pokémon back to the Pokémon professor to earn one more candy and create room for more Pokémon.^[6]

All Pokémon are displayed with a combat power. A Pokémon's combat power is a rough measure of how powerful that pokemon is in battle. Not all Pokémon of the same species will have the same CP. Generally as a player levels up they will catch Pokémon with higher CP.^[7]

Players earn experience points for various in-game activities. Players rise in level as they earn experience points. At level five, the player is able to battle at a Pokémon gym and join one of three teams (red, blue or yellow) which act as larger factions within the Pokémon Go world. If a player enters a Pokémon gym that is controlled by a player that is not part of their team, they can challenge the leader to lower the gym's "prestige". Once the prestige of a gym is lowered to zero then the player will take control of the gym and is able to deposit one Pokémon to defend it. Similarly, a team can upgrade the prestige of a gym under their control by battling the gym leader.^[4]

Although the game is free-to-play, it supports in-app purchases of Pokéballs and other items.^[8]

The idea for the game was conceived in 2013 by Satoru Iwata of Nintendo and Tsunekazu Ishihara of The Pokémon Company as an April Fools' Day collaboration with Google called Pokémon Challenge,^[9] with Tatsuo Nomura of Google Maps, who then became a senior project manager at Niantic, at the center of the project.^[10][11] In 2015, Ishihara dedicated his speech at the game's announcement on September 10 to Iwata, who had died two months earlier.^[12] The decision to create the Go Plus rather than create a smart watch app was to increase uptake among players for whom a smart watch is prohibitively expensive.^[13]

On March 4, 2016, Niantic announced a Japan-exclusive beta test would begin later that month, allowing players to assist in refining the game before its full release. The beta test was later expanded to other countries.^[14] On April 7, it was announced that the beta would expand to Australia and New Zealand.^[15] Then, on May 16, the signups for the field test were opened to the United States.^[16][17] The test came to an end on June 30.^[18]

The Pokémon Go Plus is a Bluetooth low energy wearable device that allows the player to walk without looking at their smart device.^[19] The Go Plus was designed to allow a more "heads-up" experience than Ingress, a similar augmented reality Niantic game.^{[citation needed]} When the player is near a Pokémon or Pokéstop, the Plus vibrates.^[19] The player can then press the button to capture the Pokémon. The player cannot check what they have caught until it is connected to a mobile device or a tablet.^[20] It is set for release sometime in July 2016.^[21] The design is a combination of a Pokéball and the shape of the Google Maps pin.^[19] The Plus, which had a pre-order cost of $34.99,^[22] was being listed on eBay for over $100 after Amazon, GameStop and the official Pokémon store sold out.^[23]

The game was released in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand on July 6, 2016.^{[24][25][26][27]} Due to server strain from high demand upon release, Niantic CEO John Hanke stated that the release in most other regions was "paused until [Niantic was] comfortable" fixing the issues.^[28][29]

Upon 24 hours after its release, Pokémon Go topped the American App Store's "Top Grossing" and "Free" charts.^[30][31] In fact, the game has become the fastest game to top the App Store and the Google Play, beating Clash Royale.^[32] As of July 11, 2016, Pokémon Go has an estimated 7.5 million downloads in the United States.^[33] It was installed on more than 5% of Android devices in the US, according to SimilarWeb.^[34] In the week following the game's release, Australian servers had problems in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane due to the game's popularity.^[35]

Investors were buoyed by the response to the initial release of Pokémon Go on July 7, 2016, with Nintendo's share price rising by an initial 10%^[36] and by July 11, 2016, shares had risen to as high as 25%.^[37] Despite Nintendo only owning a 33% stake in the Pokémon franchise and will receive only 30% of the Pokémon Go sales revenue, the post-release share price rise amounted to increase in value of approximately $14.5 billion.^[38] The Financial Times believed that investors were speculating not on Pokémon Go as such, but on future Nintendo app releases being as successful as the company moves into the mobile app market—an area it has historically been reluctant to enter in the belief it would damage its portable console sales.^[39] Nintendo plans to release four more smartphone app games by March 2017, and investors remarked that Pokémon Go showed Nintendo still has some of the "most valuable character intellectual property in the world" with franchises such as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid.^[40] On July 11, 2016, the United Marines tweeted an image of the game.^[41][42]

As of July 12, the average daily usage of the app exceeded Snapchat, Tinder, Instagram, and Facebook.^[43]

Pokémon Go received mixed reviews, having an aggregate score of 66 out of 100 on Metacritic. Pocket Gamer awarded it a score of 9 out of 10, saying "Despite its problems, Pokémon GO is an immensely enjoyable experience".^[45] Terri Schwartz of IGN praised its effectiveness in promoting exercise.^[46] Meanwhile, Matt Peckham of Time Magazine criticized the game for the game's frequent crashes and for its shallow gameplay.^[47]

Pokémon Go generated safety concerns mostly due to distraction during play and the ability for individuals to be lured to a certain real-life area by in-game rewards. On launch day, the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services reminded players to "look up, away from your phone and both ways before crossing the street".^[48] Furthermore, the app has led players to congregate near strangers' homes, as in the case when a Pokémon Gym was placed near a church converted to a house.^[49] Other incidents include minor fall injuries and armed robberies.^[50][51][52] Players outside of populated, urban areas criticized the lack of PokéStops and gyms in their local area.^[53]

Some early iOS installs of Pokémon Go required users to provide the app with full access to their Google accounts, thereby allowing the app to "access players' Gmail-based email, Google Drive based files, photos and videos stored in Google Photos, and any other content within their Google accounts".^[54][55][56] The Pokémon Company and Niantic responded to the concerns, recognizing that the iOS app, at the time, "...erroneously requests full access permission for the user's Google account..." ^[57][58] A subsequent iOS app update reduced the scope of access.^[59]

• Official website