Tinder And Twitter Have Been Overtaken By Pokemon Go, An Augmented Reality Game. Here Are A Few Factors That Contributed To Its Success.

Every app aspires to be a major hit and go viral, but in a market that is getting more and more saturated, it might be difficult to stand apart.

Nonetheless, Pokémon Go emerged out of nowhere to become an instant smash, with such a precipitous rise that it single-handedly eclipsed giants like Angry Birds, Candy Crush, and even Twitter and Tinder.

The augmented reality mobile phone game Pokémon Go, which enables players to catch all of the creatures as they move about, has become incredibly popular. Pokémon Go presently holds the title of “Top Grossing iPhone App” and set a new record for downloads in its first week on the Apple App Store. Isn’t that good for a free app?

But what draws so many millions of people to this game? Is it simply the Pokémon brand? Is this the result of Augmented Reality? Is it due to their innovative use of geolocated content?

Let’s take a closer look at the variables that contributed to its unprecedented success and what we can learn from them. However, first, a little history of the app has drawn millions of users worldwide.

WHO FOUNDED POKÉMON GO?

John Hanke, born in 1967, is a technology executive from the United States. Hanke is the CEO and founder of Niantic, Inc., a Google-owned software business that created Pokémon Go

Hanke was given resources in 2010 to staff an augmented reality game branch within Google, which was branded Niantic Labs.

Hanke oversaw Niantic’s separation from Google in late 2015, and the company raised $30 million from Google, Nintendo, and Pokémon. He remained CEO and led the company through the July 2016 release of Pokémon Go, which produced over $4.2 billion in revenue.

HOW DOES POKÉMON GO WORK?

Developed by Niantic, Inc. for The Pokémon Company, Pokémon Go is a free-to-play mobile game. Even though Nintendo owns a third of Niantic and The Pokémon Company, it is not a direct Nintendo app.

As a part of the 20th anniversary of the Pokémon brand, which encompasses numerous videogames, anime shows, films, trading cards, and more, it was launched in phases throughout numerous regions in July 2016.

The gameplay of Pokémon Go is deceptively straightforward: by using the GPS and camera of a smartphone, users may find the well-known critters known as Pokémon around actual geographic regions and catch them inside the program.

Pokémon Go is credited with popularising augmented reality, or AR, technology because of its ability to portray in-game creatures in real-world surroundings, although not by any means the first app to exploit the technology.

Another unique aspect of the game is the usage of actual historical sites as either “PokéStops” or “gyms,” where players can battle other players’ Pokémon to claim the territory for one of three in-game teams.

The following are the reasons why Pokémon Go is so well-liked by the general public.

A NOVEL, UNCONVENTIONAL IDEA THAT SOUNDS PLAUSIBLE

And although previously said, Pokémon Go incorporates some new and technologically advanced aspects, most notably augmented reality and geolocation. That said, it’s not just the technology that makes it stand out; it’s the way this mix makes perfect sense and works with the app’s natural flow.

It’s unique enough to use augmented reality to interact with virtual objects in the real world and geolocation to help the app know where you are in the world, but it’s just amazing and wonderfully easy to use those two concepts to create a game that plays on a sense of wonder and discovery.

The elements simply make sense for the game, resulting in a really delightful experience rather than a gimmick.

IT EVOKES NOSTALGIA

Numerous marketing initiatives largely rely on nostalgia because it is such a potent motivator. Pokémon is no exception; as previously stated, it is the 20th anniversary of the game’s initial release in Japan.

For a wide audience, it was an important part of their childhood, so seeing it today brings back all those intense, long-lasting memories and feelings, making them even more vulnerable to the app.

THE APPLICATION OF APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

We don’t mean the unique features we’ve already explored in depth. Instead, we’re discussing the technology that powers the app. As previously said, Pokémon has had a videogame series for over two decades, but the majority of them were limited to the flagship Nintendo handheld gaming platforms.

This time, though, Pokémon expanded to a much more widely available and well-practiced platform in the minds of consumers: cell phones. Nowadays, nearly everyone owns a smartphone and is familiar with its use.

Due to its widespread use, this app might potentially reach millions of individuals across all demographics, as opposed to the relatively narrower target market of a Nintendo system.

More specifically, everyone understands how to use a GPS and how to capture images with a camera phone; so, the app’s basic capabilities are already second nature to users.

While this isn’t something that every app can profit from, it does assist to have processes that are intuitive or comparable enough to tactics that the average user is already familiar with.

USERS MIGHT STROLL AND GET SOME VITAMIN D

Anyone who grew up playing video games in front of the TV has heard their parents yell, “Go play outside!” Pokémon GO forces you to do just that. Unlike almost all smartphone games, Pokémon GO must be played somewhere; you can’t play it while sitting on your behind.

The game entails catching pocket monsters (Pokémon) in certain locations with your phone. You must also visit ‘Poké stops,’ which are check-in places at landmarks, to gather materials such as the ‘Poké balls,’ which are required to capture those species.

A tracker displays Pokémon at nearby stations, and the weather at your location decides which types are available, tempting you to rush out and catch them.

One significant advantage of playing Pokémon GO is that it exposes you to sunshine, which is essential for the production of vitamin D: skin cells use energy from the Sun to convert cholesterol into one of several fatty compounds known collectively as ‘vitamin D.’

A STRONG SOCIAL COMPONENT

Another factor driving Pokémon Go’s success, as well as the success of many other apps and platforms, is how social it is. The game itself offers several reasons to interact with others: it lacks in-depth tutorials, forcing players to seek out one another for answers and assistance.

It encourages comparing collections to gauge your success in comparison to that of others, and it also contains elements that enable you to work together to obtain a greater number of Pokémon collectively than you would alone.

It also has a competitive streak, with the addition of gyms and the division of users into teams, which adds another peculiarity to the game that allows you to take satisfaction.

AN INGENIOUS MONETIZATION PLAN

Pokémon Go is currently the highest-grossing app on the Apple Store, as I have reported. In-app purchases let users purchase virtual products, much like in the majority of free games. Already, the two millennials had spent $25.

A “Lure” Module, which draws a Pokémon to a PokéStop for 30 minutes, is one of the most ingenious virtual items available in Pokémon Go.

A pizza shop in New York claims that by simply investing $10 in lure modules, their weekend sales increased by 75%. Therefore, if you purchase Lure Modules in quantity, the cost per Lure Module works out to $1.70, which is a respectable ROI.

What’s even more intriguing is that there will be a national sponsorship program that will allow businesses like McDonald’s and Jamba Juice to open their own Poke Stops.

THE LESSONS

The phenomenal success of Pokémon Go teaches the following lessons to other developers and those who are considering creating something extraordinary.

—Think beyond the box, but most importantly, make sure everything fits together. Don’t add creative new elements to your concept just for the sake of it; instead, ensure that the possibility for creativity and innovation is built in from the start.

— be certain to choose the appropriate platform for your idea and your target audience. Maybe a responsive website would be a better fit for it? Perhaps the best way to use it is through an app. The best option might be a mix of the two. For the optimal user experience, keep the notion straightforward and easy to understand. Build on the user’s past experience and expertise.

— thoroughly understand and comprehend your target demographic. If you advertise your app to the wrong audience, it won’t succeed; if you promote it perfectly to the correct audience, it could take off like wildfire. To ensure you have the appropriate mindset from the beginning, be sure to extensively concentrate on app promotion even before you begin production.

— Don’t undervalue the social component; it’s essential. Even if you’re developing business-to-business software, the user’s interaction with the developer community, other users, and even other users make all the difference. To increase the usefulness and longevity of your app, be sure to think about and employ social tools.

Finally, remember we are creating the first project that unites man and AI. To empower man, we are also designing an advanced watch that can preserve your health. If you want to know more, check out the news