Pokémon Go (stylized Pokémon GO) is a free-to-play location-based, augmented reality
game developed and published by Niantic for iOS and Android devices. It was initially
released in selected countries in July 2016. In the game, players use a mobile device's
GPS capability to locate, capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, called Pokémon, who
appear on the screen as if they were in the same real-world location as the player. The
game supports in-app purchases for additional in-game items.
Pokémon Go was released to mixed reviews but enormous popularity. Reviewers praised
the game's concept and the incentive to be more active in the real world, while criticizing
technical issues apparent at launch. Despite such reviews, it quickly became an overnight
global phenomenon and one of the most used mobile apps, reportedly having been
downloaded by more than 75 million people worldwide. It was credited with popularizing
location-based and augmented reality gaming, as well as for promoting physical activity.
However, it has also attracted controversy for contributing to accidents and becoming a
public nuisance at some locations.
Gameplay screenshots of Pokémon Go
Players must physically travel to explore the game's map and visit PokéStops (the smaller
circular (purple, visited) or cube (blue) icons, depending on proximity) and gyms (the one
large tower shown).
Encountering a Doduo using the augmented reality mode; the Poké Ball must be
"thrown" to capture it by tapping on the ball and flicking it up towards the Pokémon.
After establishing a game account, the player creates an avatar by selecting a hair, skin,
and eye color; style; and outfit.[1][2] Once created, the avatar is displayed at the on a map
using the player's current geographical location. Features on the map include PokéStops
and Pokémon gyms. PokéStops provide players with items, such as eggs, Poké Balls, and
potions and can be equipped with items called lures, which attract wild Pokémon.[3][4]
Gyms serve as battle locations for team-based king of the hill matches.[5] These are
typically located at places of interest.[6] These locations are re-purposed portals from
Ingress, Niantic's previous augmented reality game.[7]
As players move within their real world surroundings, their avatar moves within the
game's map. Different Pokémon species reside in different areas of the world; for
example, water-type Pokémon are generally found near water.[8] When a player
encounters a Pokémon, they may view it either in augmented reality (AR) mode or with a
live rendered, generic background.[9] 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.[10] Players can take screen shots of the Pokémon they encounter either with or
without the AR mode activated.[11]
Unlike other installments in the Pokémon series, players in Pokémon Go do not battle
wild Pokémon to capture them. During an encounter with a wild Pokémon, the player
may throw a Poké Ball at it by flicking it from the bottom of the screen up toward the
Pokémon. If the Pokémon is successfully caught, it will come under the ownership of the
player. Factors in the success rate of capture include the right force, the right time and the
type of Poké Ball used. 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.[12] The
ultimate goal of the game is to complete the entries in the Pokédex, a comprehensive
Pokémon encyclopedia, by capturing and evolving to obtain the original 151 Pokémon.
[note 2][13]
All Pokémon are displayed with a combat power. A Pokémon's combat power is a rough
measure of how powerful that Pokémon 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.[14]
Players in Anchorage, Alaska, congregating by a PokéStop in a local park
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 for Team Valor, which uses Moltres as their mascot; blue for
Team Mystic, which uses Articuno as their mascot; or yellow for Team Instinct, which
uses Zapdos as their mascot), which act as larger factions within the Pokémon Go world.
If players enter 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, 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. Each time a gym's level is raised, another player from
the same team can deposit one of their Pokémon.[15]
Although the game is free to play, it supports in-app purchases of Poké Balls and other
items.[16] By July 14, the game's support page included the ability to submit requests for
new PokéStops and gyms, but an automated email response explains that new
submissions are currently not being accepted.[17]
Development
The Pokémon Go Plus
The concept for the game was conceived in 2014 by Satoru Iwata of Nintendo and
Tsunekazu Ishihara of The Pokémon Company as an April Fools' Day collaboration with
Google, called Pokémon Challenge.[18] Ishihara was a fan of developer Niantic's previous
transreality game, Ingress, and saw the game's concept as a perfect match for the
Pokémon series.[19] Niantic used the crowdsourced[20] data from Ingress to populate the
locations for PokéStops and gyms within Pokémon Go.[21] In 2015, Ishihara dedicated his
speech at the game's announcement on September 10 to Iwata, who died two months
earlier.[22] The game's soundtrack was written by longtime Pokémon series composer,
Junichi Masuda, who also assisted with some of the game's design.[23] Among the game's
visual designers was Dennis Hwang, who previously worked at Google and created the
logo of Gmail.[24]
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.[25] On April 7, it was announced that the beta
would expand to Australia and New Zealand.[26] Then, on May 16, the signups for the
field test were opened to the United States.[27][28] The test came to an end on June 30.[29]
On July 24 at Comic Con 2016, John Hanke—founder of Niantic—revealed the
appearances of the three team leaders: Candela (Team Valor), Blanche (Team Mystic),
and Spark (Team Instinct).[30][31] Hanke conveyed that approximately 10% of the ideas for
the game were implemented. Future updates, including the much-anticipated addition of
trading, more Pokémon,[32] implementation of Pokémon Centers at PokéStops, a patch for
the "three step glitch", and easier training, were also confirmed.[33] He also stated that
Niantic would be continuing support for the game for "years to come".[32]
Pokémon Go Plus
The Pokémon Go Plus is a Bluetooth low energy wearable device, developed by
Nintendo, that allows players to perform certain actions in the game without looking at
their smart device.[34] When a player is near a Pokémon or PokéStop, the Plus vibrates.[34]
The player can then press the button to capture the Pokémon or receive items from the
PokéStop; the player cannot check what they have received until the next time they sign
in to the app on their mobile device.[19] The design consists of a Poké Ball and the shape
of the Google Maps pin.[34] The decision to create the device rather than create a smart
watch app was to increase uptake among players for whom a smart watch is prohibitively
expensive.[35] It is set for release in September 2016.[36][37]
Release
Regional availability
Release date by country or region:[show]
The game was released in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States on July 6, 2016.
[38][39][40][41]
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.[42][43] The rollout resumed on July 13 with a release in Germany,[44] in the
United Kingdom on July 14,[45] and in Italy, Spain and Portugal on July 15.[46] July 16 saw
the game released in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland.[47] It was released in Canada on July 17.[48] The game
was made available in Puerto Rico on July 19.[49][50] The Japanese launch was initially
reported to be on July 20;[51] however, the game was delayed after a sponsorship deal with
McDonald's was leaked,[52][53] instead releasing on July 22.[54] Although the game was
proposed to be released in France on July 15, it was postponed until July 24 out of respect
and due to safety concerns following a terrorist attack in Nice on July 14.[55] Hong Kong
saw its own release on July 25.[56] According to True Corporation, the game is planned for
launch in Thailand in September.[57]
Indonesia was the first Asian country to have the game playable, despite not being
officially released in that region.[58] In South Korea, the game has not been released yet
and major restrictions on the use of online mapping data exist. However, due to a glitch, a
small area around Sokcho in the northeastern part of the country was considered a part of
Niantic's North Korea mapping region, making the game fully playable in that area.[59][60]
Numerous people have taken advantage of the gap to play the game. Bus tickets from the
capital city of Seoul sold out and people living within Sokcho shared information on free
Wi-Fi areas to tourists.[61] Players also discovered a gym in Panmunjom, along the Korean
Demilitarized Zone; however, Niantic later removed it from the game.[62] Following the
release of Pokémon Go in Japan, parts of Busan also became playable as parts of the city
are considered part of Japan's mapping area due to the proximity of Tsushima Island.[63]
In mainland China, Google services are banned by the Great Firewall. Players of
Pokémon Go in China bought Australian App Store IDs and used a GPS spoofing app to
use Google services and because there are no Pokémon to catch in China. Many Chinese
people downloaded a clone app called City Spirit Go, which was released shortly after
Pokémon Go's beta test in Japan.[64]
Commercial response
Nintendo
A graph of Nintendo's stock value in July 2016 depicting the surge in investment
following Pokémon Go's release on July 7 and subsequent slump on July 25.
Investors were buoyed by the response to the initial release of Pokémon Go on July 7,
with Nintendo's share price rising by an initial 10%[65] and by July 14 shares rose to as
high as 50%.[66] Despite Nintendo only owning a 32% stake in the Pokémon franchise, an
undisclosed stake in Niantic,[67] and prospectively receiving only 30% of the Pokémon Go
sales revenue,[68] Nintendo's market value increased by US$9 billion within five days of
release of Pokémon Go.[69] The trend continued for more than a week after the game's
release and by July 19, the stock value of Nintendo more than doubled as compared to
pre-release. Turnover sales reached a record-breaking ¥703.6 billion (US$6.6 billion);
and trading of the stock accounted for a quarter of all trades on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange's main board.[70] 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 more into the mobile app market—an area they were historically
reluctant to enter in the belief it would damage its portable console sales.[71] 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.[72]
By July 22, Nintendo gained ¥1.8 trillion (US$17.6 billion) in market capitalization since
the game's launch.[73] However, following clarification from Nintendo that the company
did not produce Pokémon Go nor have tangible financial gains from it, its stock fell by
18%—equating to a ¥708 billion (US$6.7 billion) loss in market value—on July 25.[73][74]
This was the largest single-day decline for Nintendo since 1990 and the maximum one-
day exchange of finances allowed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The company has an
approximate 13% "effective economic stake" in the app according to Macquarie
Securities.[73]
Other companies
The surge in stocks extended beyond just Nintendo, with First Baking Co., Tomy, TV
Tokyo, and Bank of Kyoto all seeing significant to near-record gains.[75] Similarly, Zagg,
which owns a company that manufactures battery cases, saw a 25% rise in its stock in
relation to Pokémon Go.[76]
Technical issues
The login screen for the game
At launch, the game suffered from frequent server outages due to extreme usage.[77]
Frequent crashes and authentication errors plagued the game's release and persisted for
several days. For the first two days after launch, players were unable to access the game
through their Pokémon Trainer Club accounts; only Gmail-based accounts were able to
gain access to the game.[78] Servers again suffered frequent outages in Australia on July
11; players blamed people in the United Kingdom for bypassing local servers and using
Australian ones to play the game before its official release.[79] On July 16, a few hours
after the release in many European countries, the game's servers temporarily went down.
[80]
The outage was claimed by a hacking group called "PoodleCorp", who said they used
a DDoS attack to take them down.[81] The official Pokémon Go Twitter page noticed the
outage and the problem was fixed later that day.[80][82] The next day, the servers went
down again as the game was launched in Canada.[83] John Hanke issued an apology for
the server issues at Comic Con 2016, stating "we weren't provisioned for what
happened".[33]
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".[84][85][86] 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 ..."[87][88] However, Adam
Reeve—the person who initially made claims of the security issues in a Tumblr post—
later backtracked on his claim and was not "100 percent sure" it was valid.[89][90] Dan
Guido, CEO of the security company Trail of Bits, analyzed the app's programming and
discovered that although the game did request full account access, this did not enable
third-party usage as initially conveyed. Guido found that this did enable Niantic to access
people's email addresses and phone numbers unintentionally.[89] A subsequent iOS app
update reduced the scope of access.[91] Niantic also issued a statement assuring users that
no information was collected nor was any information beyond what was necessary to use
the app accessed.[90]
Reception
Critical response
Reception
Aggregate score
Aggregator Score
Metacritic 68/100[95]
Review scores
Publication Score
Destructoid 3.5/10[6]
GameSpot 7/10[8]
IGN 7.0/10[92]
Polygon 7.5/10[94]
[93]
The Guardian
[5]
Time
Edit on wikidata
Pokémon Go was released to mixed reviews according to aggregator review website
Metacritic.[95] Upon release, critics called the experience enjoyable, but noted the game's
technical issues.[8][92][96]
Critics praised various aspects of Pokémon Go. Oscar Dayus (Pocket Gamer) said that
the game was an immensely enjoyable experience and continued with how "the very
personal nature of catching Pokémon in your own neighborhood made me smile more
than any game has for years".[96] Jeremy Parish (US Gamer) compared the game and its
social aspects to a massively multiplayer online game.[97] Reviewers also praised the
game enabling the promotion of physical exercise. Terri Schwartz (IGN) said it was
"secretly the best exercise app out there" and that it changed her daily walking routine.[98]
Patrick Allen (Lifehacker) wrote an article with tips about how to work out using
Pokémon Go.[99] Julia Belluz (Vox) said it could be the "greatest unintentional health fad
ever" and wrote that one of the results of the game that the developers may not have
realized was that "it seems to be getting people moving".[100]
Philip Kollar and Allegra Frank (Polygon) both agreed that "Pokémon Go is an exciting
social experience" though they said they were not sure how long the game would last,
and depending on how frequently Niantic updates it, it could either last for coming years
or end up as "a brush fire craze that the whole gaming world is talking about for a few
weeks and then is forgotten".[94]
Other critics expressed more negative opinions of the game, with many citing frequent
crashes and other technical issues, along with shallow gameplay.[5] Kallie Plagge (IGN)
said that despite the game lacking in polish and depth, the overall experience made up for
it.[92] Matt Peckham (Time) criticized the game for its frequent crashes.[5] Mike Cosimano
(Destructoid) also took issue with the game, saying the original idea showed promise, but
was improperly executed.[6] Kat Brewster (The Guardian) wrote that although she thought
Pokémon Go was not a good game, it was "a great experience".[93] The server problems
also received negative press. Miguel Concepcion (GameSpot) said despite him enjoying
the game's strong social appeal and visual design, the game's "initial iteration is a buggy
mess on all levels", with one of the reasons being the constant server problems.[8] Another
glitch that appeared a few days after launch was the "three-step glitch", reviewers also
gave this bug negative press. Patricia Hernandez (Kotaku) said, "the three step glitch adds
to what has been a terrible launch for Pokémon Go".[101] Paul Tassi (Forbes) said that due
to this bug it's "anyone's best guess where Pokémon are 99% of the time" and that it
"renders almost all traditional methods of tracking pointless".[102]
Downloads and revenue
Pokémon Go rapidly topped the American iOS App Store's "Top Grossing" and "Free"
charts.[103][104] The game has become the fastest game to top the App Store and Google
Play, beating Clash Royale,[105] and in its first week became the most downloaded app on
the App Store of all time.[106] Within two days of release, it was installed on more than 5%
of Android devices in the United States, according to SimilarWeb,[107] According to
SensorTower, the game was downloaded more than 10 million times within a week of
release, becoming the fastest such app to do so,[108] and reached 15 million global
downloads by July 13.[109] According to SurveyMonkey the game became the most active
mobile game in the United States ever with 21 million active users on July 12, eclipsing
Candy Crush Saga's peak of 20 million.[110] By July 15, approximately 1.3 million people
were playing the game in the Netherlands, despite the app not being officially released in
the country.[111] On the day of release in Japan, more than 10 million people downloaded
the game,[112] including 1.3 million in the first three hours.[113] By July 26, SensorTower
estimated the game to have been downloaded 75 million times worldwide.[114]
Through in-game purchases, the game generated more than US$75 million in revenue by
July 26.[114] From iOS users alone, the game generated approximately US$1.6 million in
daily revenue.[115] The average daily usage of the app on Android devices in July 2016
exceeded Snapchat, Tinder, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.[116] Fascinated by these
downloads, several app developers are focusing on developing similar augmented reality
apps using available AR SDKs.[117]
Community and cultural impact
A sign in the Bloomington Visitor Center at Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
welcoming Pokémon Go players and encouraging them to play safely
The game has been referred to as a "social media phenomenon" which has brought people
together from all walks of life.[118][119] Numerous media outlets referred to the surge in
popularity as "Pokémon Go Mania" or simply "Pokémania".[120][121]
The massive popularity of the game resulted in several unusual positive effects. For
example, the game enabled players to help catch criminals and to report crimes in
progress,[122][123][124][125] and has even aided law enforcement's community relations,[126]
albeit with caveats.[127] Businesses have benefited from the nearby presence of PokéStops
(or their being PokéStops themselves) with the concomitant influx of people,[128][129][130]
and the intense exploration of communities has brought local history to the forefront.[131]
Some establishments considered purchasing lures in the game to attract additional players
to PokéStops on their property.[132] Within a week of its release, a secondary market
emerged for the game, both for the resell of high-level accounts on Craigslist and
PlayerUp, and for the sale of expert advice on Thumbtack.[133][134] Wireless provider T-
Mobile US started an offer for free data for a year for Pokémon Go sessions,[135][136] and
Yelp added a filter that only shows businesses which have a PokéStop nearby.[137][138]
National parks across the United States saw an influx of visitors due to the game, with
"hundreds or thousands" of people visiting the National Mall and Memorial Parks in
Washington, D.C. on the weekend following Pokémon Go's release in the country.[139]
Small museums with PokéStops placed at exhibits also reported increased attendance,
such as the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas, and the Morikami Museum and
Japanese Gardens in Boca Raton, Florida.[132] Charity organizations also sought
engagement from players, with animal shelters offering dog walks to people who want to
hatch eggs.[140]
Players gathering around a "gym" in a park in Brest, France
Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, stated that he hoped the app was released in
Brazil before the start of the 2016 Summer Olympics in the city,[141] and United States
presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump mentioned the app during their
2016 election campaigns.[142][143] In late July 2016, during a public address, the President
of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella compared a political issue about the date of an
incoming referendum as preposterous as the hunt for the Pokémon.[144]
Shortly after the game's release, Bellator mixed martial artist Michael Page celebrated a
knockout of his match opponent, Evangelista Santos by putting on a red Ash Ketchum-
like hat and rolling a prop Poké Ball in Santos's direction.[145] On July 25, Dwayne
Johnson released a promo video featuring MatPat and Ali-A with himself as a tough, rare
Pokémon.[146]
The game was credited for popularizing augmented reality,[147] and was praised by
genderfluid groups for letting the players choose a "style" instead of "gender".[1]
The "Pokémon Theme" from the animated series saw a 630% increase in listeners on
music streaming platform Spotify during the month of the game's release.[148] Meanwhile,
streaming services such as Hulu have experienced an increased viewership of the
Pokémon series and films.[149] A Twitch channel, Twitch Plays Pokémon Go, was created
that mimics the crowd-played Twitch Plays Pokémon channel, allowing viewers to direct
a virtual avatar in the game using an iPhone programmed to spoof its location.[150]
Criticism and incidents
A variable-message sign in Fontainebleau, Florida, warning drivers to not play Pokémon
Go while driving
The app was criticized for using locations such as cemeteries and memorials as sites to
catch Pokémon,[151] including the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum,[152] the United
States Holocaust Memorial Museum,[153] the National September 11 Memorial &
Museum,[154] and Arlington National Cemetery.[155] The game sparked complaints from
Dutch company ProRail, who said that players entered their railway tracks,[156] and fire
stations told players to not impede their staff by congregating outside.[157] The game's
distribution of PokéStops and gyms (derived from the portals of Ingress, Niantic's science
fiction-themed augmented reality game) has been noted to be sparser in many minority
neighborhoods in a reflection of American demographics.[158] Residents of the Sydney
suburb of Rhodes became fed up with large numbers of players gathering in their area,[159]
and threw waterbombs at visiting players.[160]
Multiple police departments in various countries have issued warnings, some tongue-in-
cheek, regarding inattentive driving, trespassing, and being targeted by criminals due to
being unaware of one's surroundings.[161][162] People have suffered various injuries from
accidents related to the game,[163][164][165][166] and Bosnian players have been warned to stay
out of minefields left over from the 1990s Bosnian War.[167] On July 20, 2016, it was
reported that a 18-year-old boy in Chiquimula, Guatemala was shot and killed while
playing the game in the late evening hours.[168] This was the first reported death in
connection with the app. The boy's 17-year-old cousin, who was accompanying the
victim, was shot in the foot. Police speculated that the shooters used the game's GPS
capability to find the two.[169] In Japan, the first accident occurred within hours of the
game's release.[170]
Al Azhar in Cairo, Egypt, described the game as “harmful mania,"[171] and a defense and
national security committee parliamentarian regarded it an espionage tool. A Cossack
leader declared that it "smacks of Satanism," Kuwait banned the game from government
sites, Indonesian officials deemed it a national security threat, and in Israel the IDF
banned the game from Army bases out of security considerations.[172] In Saudi Arabia the
General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars declared, in light of a 2001 fatwa
banning the Pokémon card game as a form of gambling, that the electronic app required a
new ruling.[173]
Pokémon Go has also been criticized for game accessibility issues by players with
physical disabilities. The game is more difficult for those who are not able to move
around, requiring players to walk around and have manual dexterity to experience the
game. The AbleGamers Foundation sent a list of proposed modifications to Niantic for
inclusion.[174][175][176]
Unofficial third-party apps
Multiple unofficial, third-party apps were created to correspond with Pokémon Go.
Notable apps include: "Poké Radar" and "Helper for Pokémon Go", where players can
crowdsource much of the Pokémon that can be found in the game at a particular time.[177]
[178]
At its peak of popularity, "Poké Radar" hit #2 on the Apple App Store, behind
Pokémon Go itself.[179][180][181] Another app, GoChat, which allows players to leave
messages for other players at specific locations, accrued more than 1 million downloads
in five days and reached the top 10 in the Apple App Store.[182] However, the app is not
monetized to avoid possible copyright issues with The Pokémon Company and is proving
too costly to maintain.[183] According to RiskIQ, at least 215 fake versions of the game
were available by July 17, 2016. Several of these fake apps contained malicious
programming and viruses.[184]