It's quite clear that Pokémon GO has been one of the most widespread and revolutionary concepts with which Nintendo has ever been associated, albeit the app is very much the work of developer Niantic. Sure, the Nintendo Wii, DS, Game Boy and original NES are also of great mention, but the mainstream buzz over the last month has been exceptional.
With that said, however, it's also sensible to take a realistic approach and realise nothing of this magnitude is likely to last a long time. Not to be negative, but worldwide phenomenons such as Pokémon GO eventually have their cool-down periods due to the mass spike of people playing it dropping away with time - unfortunately, hype trains do come to a halt sooner or later. Sure, there will still be those core fans that come by the thousands (perhaps by the millions) who'll stick with the app come sun, rain, sleet or snow, but it's fair to assume that a great deal of the new audience Pokémon GO has grasped are likely to drop in abundance. Just like global phenomenons such as the "ice bucket challenge", "Harlem Shake" and even "planking", Pokémon GO will be a phase/fad to many.
We've already mentioned what we can expect for the future of Pokémon GO, but will that be enough for the majority? For this writer, and perhaps many of you reading, yes. But these new mechanics and additions to the app could be meaningless to most. This writer has often heard remarks along the lines of "I'll probably stop playing when the new generations come in", or "this is starting to get a little mundane" from peers around him. It could be argued that a large proportion of this demographic who are engaging with the app are either new to the series as a whole, only familiar with Generation I due to growing up with it, solely interested in its mechanic, or perhaps a combination of the aforementioned.
With that said, the novelty of the mechanic and catching this first batch of critters is likely to wear off. To make matters worse, Nintendo (and by extension Niantic) may have shot themselves in the foot by delaying the release of Pokémon GO's accompanying gadget, the Pokémon GO Plus. The boat may have well and truly sailed come September, which definitely is a missed opportunity for everyone involved in the app. Alternatively, however, it could be a blessing as it may rekindle interest in the app.
It's all speculation at this point, and even though you may think you will / won't be playing the app come later this year and beyond, certain factors may play their part and surprise you. For now though, we'll ask you – can you see yourself still playing Pokémon GO for the remainder of this year?
Only time will tell, but this writer for one thanks this app for making commutes to/from work and walks to the local shops so enjoyable!
Comments (92)
Bring in those generations every 6 months or so to keep the game fresh. And that should make people still play and more to come.
I hope they start by adding Gen 6 pokemon next. Just because I want a Hawlucha so bad. Just give me Hawlucha!
I'm not really sure. I mean right now I'm not really playing it much since I have a lot of issues logging on and with the servers.
Maybe at that point I'll actually be able to play it reliably.
I feel it has more staying power than Miitomo. I think I stopped playing that two weeks after.
Since I'm playing it somewhat little (I've downloaded it on the first day, and I'm only level 9), I probably won't burn out on it, especially if they make it better with every update.
Slow news day? Picked can't call at this point, because who knows what will happen by year's end. Nintendo might even release another game by then and divert our attention to that....
I'm just kidding, Nintendo release a game in 2016. That'd be silly.
Isn't Nintendo revealing something around September? I've heard vague rumours around here of a new console, though there's not been much coverage of it A potential boost in brand focus at the same time via Pokemon Go! might work out quite well.
Or maybe they have no plan at all and the July date was given out because Miyamoto presumptuously declared it at E3?
Might wanna fix the tag, it says "News" instead of "Poll".
As for the game itself, I haven't played GO since my phone wasn't compatible with it in the first place.
Yeah I mean I got it only 2 days after release and I'm only level 8. I don't play it every day myself, but if they keep updating with a relatively steady flow of Pokemon generations, there's no reason I could see why the game couldn't hold peoples' attention for well over a year.
Better rural mobile internet would help a lot. The devs can't do much about that, though.
There is still a lot left that will be added. I will still be playing. In fact, it will be so much better to play when it cools off. It's hot and humid where I live.
Not sure yet.
I wasn't very interested at first. Then I downloaded it and I was a bit excited. Now I'm already losing interest. I'll just keep playing Pokémon Shuffle.
Nope. Buy the time the major updates hit the temp is usually below zero for most of the winter plus it's hard to get around in the snow being in a wheelchair.
The options in this poll don't really reflect how I would vote at least. I'm not bored of it yet but I know for sure that I'll be done before the end of the year. That's how these apps go.
Loved it for a while, but I have far better games to spend my time on.
Yeah probably. I mostly play it on my walk too and from work, or if I go out shopping with the Mrs. I'm not finding myself going out just to look for Pokemon, so I'm not finding myself getting bored of the app. As long as they keep adding new features, and most importantly new Pokemon, I'll keep playing.
There should be an option "I have no idea since it wasn't released in my country yet" hehe
There needs to be a "I want the app, but can't get it" option.
Glad to see 1 in 5 still haven't played Pokemon Go. Didn't expect that on a Nintendo site.
Unless the battle system improves after collecting all the pokemon that's end game.
Releasing the next gens will obviously keep people interested.
@Dizzard : Exactly my problem! have not been able to log in for the last 4 days or so . . . very frustrating for something that is supposed to be a fun little diversion.
I'll keep playing until I reach max level and have a solid line up of powerful beasties as well as trying to catch them all or when they turn the servers off. Hopefully the former and without ever spending a penny on it.
I haven't played it enough to say for sure, but if Pokémon Moon and Dragon Quest VII (and/or VIII) are still eating my time up over on the ole 3DS then probably not
I still check on with Miitomo regularly, so I'm sure I'll also be enjoying Pokemon Go for a long time.
These days, I don't usually go for a walk just to play Pokemon Go, but I'll have a look on it if I happen to be walking somewhere.
It all depends on how updates and improvements they make, but probably (gotta use my data on something ).
If they don't release the new gen 7 'mon in Go early November they will have seriously missed a marketing opportunity there.
I probably will, although once the fad dies down, much of the fun of this game will be gone. Now it's fun because many people play it. It's a shared experience.
I personally will continue to play it if they add new features such as multiplayer battles, trading and more Pokémon to collect.
But if Niantic wants to keep large groups of people engaged for a few more months, there's something else they need to do: communicate with the fans. The way Niantic has been handling the communication about the various bugs and early server issues we've seen this past month is a PR disaster. If they don't take serious note and communicate more quickly, people will stop playing out of frustration. At least let us know you are aware of any issues with the app. It took until de SDCC until John Hanke acknowledged they were aware of the footprint bug. Have they never heard of communicating through Twitter? It's ridiculous.
It's just like a Pokemon RPG without all the fun RPG elements...
My Xbox-loving friend, better known as "Bizarro me" due to a complete reversal in gaming tastes, told me today that Pokémon Go would be a "passing fad", of course... but this time around, I kind of agree - as of now, as cool as it is to have an app that turns players into real-life Pokémon trainers, we can't overlook the fact that even Red and Blue have more content and more options (not to mention more actual Pokémon). As of now, GO is kind of bare-bones when it comes to content. Generations need to be added ASAP, in order to give players reasons to explore while also giving them more varieties of Pokémon around their whereabouts.
As for me, I'm hyped for Sun and Moon. Mildly hyped (the only Pokémon games that needed to come out with a certain urgency were the Johto remakes), but hyped nonetheless.
Since I already reached level 20, I'm going to play it slowly and steady from now on. It's Pokemon and also one of the two apps on my tablet that I actually invested some time in them, so I won't leave it that easy.
Never been into Pokemon. Gotta download n see what all the fuss is about
It depends on how often the updates come.
If they add Gen 2, definitely.
I haven't even gotten the app and don't ever plan to. Sun and Moon will be what I'm playing at the year's end.
Reading the headline, if we couldn't even maintain a political revolution, what hope is there of a mobile game bot petering out? #USA
will I be playing at the end of the year? absolutely. I love the game and I have a portable charger and enough data in my plan. Am I playing now? nope cuz my phone is broken.
Honestly, I'm a huge Pokémon fan, and been since it was released in the 90's. However, I played this for a week, and quickly got bored of it. I don't know if it was the glitches or the interface or just the fact I live in a hick town and only ever found bugs and birds. Everyone on Facebook surpassed me by miles just because they live in a city. Nothing is within walking distance of me and I'm not inclined to drive around town just to play Pokémon everyday. :9 I'm definitely done with the game.
576 Pokemon caught across 70+ kilometers of walking .... I see no end in sight for me. Love this game!
I am not sure if I will play Pokémon Go that much by the end of the year, but it will likely be a game that I will play now and then when I feel for it. If good headset AR support are added then maybe a bit more than I would otherwise.
I guess if Pokémon Go are connected to Pokémon Sun and Moon as in providing some benefits for both of them, or at least Pokémon Go providing benefits to Pokémon Sun and Moon, I think I will likely be playing Pokémon Go still :+).
Never played it. Probably not going to.
I intentionally own a Windows phone to stop me from being distracted with such time wasting games.
It also stops me from the distractions of the internet and texting in built up areas.
I not sure. Depends on the future.
i haven't gotten it. I don't really see the point since i live in the country and rarely go out since I don't drive. there really is no point in me downloading this. I don't even have a smartphone. Maybe I'll get into later this year.
It's a fun game, but admittedly I don't play it that much. I guess I got burned out from the beta, and plus, my health hasn't been very good recently, so I cant go out and walk a lot, but I'm sure I'd be playing this a lot more otherwise.
Without substantial updates, I'm willing to bet I'll give up around fall
So many people played this game non-stop for the first few days and then said they got bored of it. I never got addicted to it, I just use it every now and then when I go out and I'm still very much engaged in it. It's not something I "play", it's something I "use", if that makes sense. If you treat it like a true videogame instead of an application, you'll lose interest in it very fast.
I am bored of it already. There is nothing good in my area besides the 10 or so that are extremely common - weedle, pidgey, rattatta and the like. Nothing special. I think the app is a cool idea but just not for me.
I don't play the game, but that's because I don't live in a town or a city, I live out in the middle of nowhere around abunch of farmers with empty fields and nothing around , so this game is pretty useless to me
It's not even officially out in my country.
I don't know if I'll be playing it at the end of 2016, because it could be released in 2017 here.
I played a few times but just one night i really got into it. But it was more because of my friends. After that i never played it anymore. Its not really pokemon to me. I also dont like the mechanic by leveling up. Catching pokemon just for candy to then throw them away later kinda makes them too disposable for me.
It would be much nicer if you could just search for wild pokemon and battle them for XP. Battling other real life players will also give XP. The higher the other trainers level, the more wild pokemon you have to battle for XP so it will still encourage players to go outside and search for pokemon to gain them XP's and also choose to capture them ofcourse.
I want to but...not in my country yet.
Gen 1! Gen 1! Gen 1!
@XCWarrior Douchey comment day?
On topic, honestly, I'm already bored of it. The main games are so much better. I was walking all over the local park the other day looking for a dratini when it struck me, I already have a perfectly bred competitive Dragonite in OR. So what's the point for me I guess.
I haven't been able to get into it, myself. Funny considering the countless hours I put in Pokémon Y, and every generation before it. I'm not keen on walking while I play (motion sickness) and my phone's battery simply isn't up to the demand.
That said, I'm happy people are enjoying it and gives me a promising feeling Sun & Moon will be a holiday hit on 3DS. ^_^
..shakes magic 8 ball.. Signs point to yes, you're still using a magic 8 ball after all.
I think the mainstream will be done with it in a few weeks, but you're still going to get a decent crowd that keep playing for months. Adding newer generations won't really help keep the mass audience because for most people, it's that original 151 that they remember.
I have a feeling Niantic/The Pokémon Company are overestimating this app's longevity... What with how long they're taking to roll out their precious updates, by the time they finally do come out, the majority might have lost interest...
The game is pretty hollow anyway. I only really play it to talk about those experiences with my colleagues who are actually excited about it. But for me, Go is just a step down from the main series games. I can bet that I probably won't give Go a second look once Sun and Moon come out. Well, I mean if my colleagues still continue with it - I might stick with it. But honestly I haven't actually enjoyed playing it at all the entire time I've had it.Its one of those things where you don't want to play it but you feel obligated to.
I've deleted it already, it's the same as every mobile game I've played. Fun for a few days then you realise you've done everything the game will ever off except changing the number next to your character.
I fell out of it. It doesn't really work well with my lifestyle.
I'll stop playing it when it gets cold outside, regardless of updates and stuff like that. The entire appeal of Pokemon Go is the social experience, not the game itself. When other people stop playing, I will too.
The amount of people writing this game off just because it's on mobile is sad.
@moomoo Wait a minute...
"The entire appeal of Pokemon Go is the social experience, not the game itself."
That's it! I thought the game was a "poor man's pokemon game", but now this explains why I didn't like this game at all.
@KTT
You make a very, very good point. I was being hasty as usual.
Also, a second line of remakes? I wouldn't mind exploring a new, revamped-again Johto, but I think the remakes are (to quote Brian Griffin) a one-shot deal. Just as FireRed and LeafGreen did before, the purpose behind HeartGold and SoulSilver is to make older Pokémon available once again, but now I think there's no problem what with every generation being fully backwards compatible. I think that by now remakes are there for the sake of remakes, in order to give each pair of versions a new incarnation. But that's it. We won't see a fully-polygonal Kanto as we won't see the same done with Johto, either. But who knows, Nintendo is unpredictable!
Right now the game really lacks features, and it has a lot of problems.
Niantic hasn't really made any updates so far, the only gameplay update they've made is creating the 3 step glitch. I am honestly surprised it hasn't been fixed yet, and it only lends to my belief that Niantic was completely unprepared to deal with the game being so popular and lack the experience and/or manpower to deal with it.
Niantic so far has only proposed what they want to do, and have made no concrete promises on what will actually happen and no release dates for anything.
If Niantic fails to deliver updates regularly to keep the game interesting (because right now it's pretty basic), people will get bored and the the player base will start to drop.
I've said this multiple times already, but the main issue I have with Pokemon GO is the Pokemon feel very disposable (the mechanics in fact encourage it), they don't feel like friends and partners you are raising, since the candy restriction prevents you from raising any Pokemon you haven't caught a lot of, which forces you to just deal with whatever you commonly come across.
Not my kind of thing, unfortunately.
...Well seeing how I'm out of Pokeballs and there are no Stops in sight where I live...
With fighting and proper evolution mechanics, It could be the greatest smartphone game ever, but it wont because Pokemon Company is probably keeping a lot of features exclusive to the main game series.
Yeah, 18% of the people who voted on a poll on this web site, never played Pokémon go...
I'll never get fed up of pokemon go because I only play it when I go outside... Which is like 2 times a month... I have no life.
I hope so, I was getting worse and worse out of shape and fast as work has required more and more desk time in recent years.
Not that this has totally fixed it or anything, but it definitely put a step in the right direction of getting me off my rear.
Like I have hinted at many times, it really depends on the speed at which they churn out updates and new Pokemon. The tracker bug needs to be fixed by the end of this month, and we should at least get a release date for gen 2 by the end of the year for me to stay interested. Hopefully Sun/Moon will be good, and if it is it can easily take my attention away from GO.
I'll definitely still be playing since come October it will finally be cool enough to walk around outside. Right now we can pretty much just drive around or sit in the car with the AC on. I'm excited to go for bike rides and walks and look for pokemon. I'm actually going to play more in the winter months.
Not then, not now, not ever. I gave up on the Pokemon franchise around the time the Pokemon Company themselves gave up on fresh ideas and settled for complacency around Gen III. I appreciate its creating positive buzz for Nintendo but that's the extent of my plaudits.
I'm not sure I'll be playing by the end of August.
My family is just starting to get into it really. The server issues held us back for awhile so we're enjoying it. At least in some parts of the US September is likely to give a big boost to Pokemon GO play as school goes back in session. That hardware release could get some good "playground" buzz behind it.
My feeling is that it is only scratching the surface and plenty could be done to get a good percentage to stick with it for a long time to come. It will be interesting to see how my students in college are taking to it in September.
@Solid_Stannis You just made an argument for yourself to play Pokemon GO, though. :/
I doubt I'll be playing it for weeks or months. I only play it when in the car (no, I don't do it while driving!) as I find myself stupid walking around looking every few seconds on my phone like a Smombie (Smartphone + Zombie). The only thing Go did was get me back into AlphaSapphire lol
Those that are playing won't be in 2017. Those that discover it later in the year may be.
Simples.
I played for 2 days, and then I deleted the app. It was Poke'balls.
It will probably be a little slow down in winter when people not out so much.
It makes lunchtime walks faaaar more interesting. Hopefully a Johto update isn't too far off.
Windows Phone
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cries
Went up to lvl 6, then this crap stopped recording my steps and eggs would not hatch. Restarted, waited, for several days. Like 1/10 x it worked. I walk my dog 10-12km each day and it took me basically 3 days (30+ KM) to finally hatch an egg that needed 2km. The app is on, I even hold it in my hand, it would not count steps. So I delete in hopes it is stored in cloud (my info), of course it is not, re-install, all pokemons gone, so deleted this app. Too buggy, battery draining, and no cloud storage.
Nice balance of answers. I hope Pokemon Go is here for the long run. Its not my cup of tea, but its a nice pool for some hardcore fans and casuals to hang out in.
I would play it but it's not available on my phone; Motorola moto e 2nt gen.
How many people still play candy crush? Pokemon Go isn't going anywhere in a hurry.
Hey, no problem, comment section should be used for discussion after all.
Yeah, they had to make remakes of RGB. Technological cut between gen1-2 and 3 made old pokes unavailable. The easy fix was using an existing engine and already created plot and world to throw a remake and save some time and money.
I wouldn't mind revisitng Johto either, but that's unlikely to happen. HGSS is compatible with 6th gen, it's still fresh. (And how to solve the music problem? Revamping it again or leaving untouched?).
I think there is a possibility for DPP remakes (I dread that idea tho), maybe with some twist. With VC GSC, with ability to trade to gen 7(8?). If I was GF, I would wait for hardware (NX???) advancement to throw something better than gen 6/7. Like: it was clear that Hoenn remakes won't come during DS era but 3DS sounded more likely - and ORAS happened just as I thought.
I'm probably going to still be playing Pokemon Go by the end of 2016 (if I'm not snowed in) if for no other reason than the app is constantly updating and adding more features. I can already see my future self in about a month or three from now having totally forgotten about the app and suddenly a trade feature is added and I'm hooked again for two months. As long as Nintendo, Niantic, and the Pokemon Company keep updating and supporting the app, I will probably end up still playing it against my better judgement.
All depends on whether Niantic are clever with the game. That will decide whether me and everyone else hooked right now will still be playing by the end of this and early next year.
I'm not really sure, at this point. I may still play it, but not near as much. Especially with No Man's Sky coming in a little over a week. Between that and the dozens of other games on Wii U and 3DS I still need to finish, I don't have nearly enough time for mobile games.
For the sake of fans & Nintendo I hope that people are still playing in 6 months. However, I never even downloaded the game. I played Ingress for about 6 months about a year or two ago. At first I was totally engaged with how cool the idea was but after months of playing it I realized it really wasn't for me. It felt like work every time I tried to play it. I understand that Pokemon Go is different, but it's also way too familiar for me to give it a "Go".
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