Why Pokémon Go is NOT a game
The Pokémon craze has taken over the world for the past two weeks. For the yet uninitiated, it is a ‘game’ developed by Niantic Labs, a Google spinout, funded by Google and Nintendo- the Pokémon company.
That the game is a HUGE success is not a debate any more. Among the 35 countries the game has been launched (Europe, North America and Australia) the game has reached top grossing and top download ranks in not just the game category, but the overall store itself — both Android and iTunes stores(competing against other crazy hits like snapchat or games like Clash Royale).
Its’ daily active users(DAU) are more than Twitter and last I checked, it was on way to cross facebook in terms of DAU. It is already bigger in DAU in the US compared to other big games like Clash Royale or Candy Crush. Thanks to Pokémon Go, Nintendo is back with a bang in the mobile gaming market, where it had not seen much of a success till now, with $7.5 billion being added to its market value, pushing its share price over the roof.
So what is this ‘game’ all about? It is about catching the Pokémon characters, growing them, making them fight , all of that in an Augmented reality environment. So players can’t just sit in their couch and fight another Pokémon catcher based on some algorithm running at the server, but have to physically walk to a Pokestop to get multiple assets that help level up their Pokémon, or a Pokegym to fight opponents to help their star Pokémon win.
Pokémon Go is therefore a pioneering game, one that has established that Augmented reality is a domain with immense potential, taking forward initial work in this field done by games like Ingress(another Augmented reality marvel from Niantic labs)
All said and done, is Pokémon Go therefore a wonderful(to the superlative degree) mobile game?
NO, Pokémon Go is NOT a game, it is actually a lot more than that.
It is a wonderfully “Gamified Digital advertising platform” that can help Brick and Mortar businesses effectively target a market segment that is hooked to the digital world. Niantic has given clear signs of leveraging this potential of Pokémon Go, and it is not very long before you find a branded Pokestop or Pokegym peeking out of your phone.
Pokémon go is a platform for “Hyper-local advertising but at a global scale”. A model very few advertisers have mastered as of now, and which if successful( as it should be given the initial response it has received) has the potential to change the world of digital advertising.
Pokémon Go can effectively make Hyper-local advertising economical for the Developing nations, which have huge markets, but where lack of digital infrastructure has made hyper local advertising difficult.
Let us analyze how this can work in the digital domain. Say a restaurant in Bangalore,India wants to advertise its amazing new culinary dishes. Any hyper-local advertising network they use will probably analyze the location of the store, and show the ads to any user within say a 2 km radius of the location. It might further optimize the audience based on their food preference(based on what they search on net), their convenient time(when they generally check social networks) and so on. BUT, what if an advertising platform brings these users directly to the restaurants’ doorstep, at a particular time of the day the advertiser wants them to come, and that too without the customers realizing that they are there directed by an advertisement ? This is what Pokémon Go has the capability to do.
Multiple organizations have now reported sales going up multi fold because a Pokestop has popped up just near their store. Some organizations(like Mercedes Benz) have also started to strategically use Pokémon go to drive user footfall. A small beach town in South Korea has recently reported increasing tourist traffic being one among a few places in South Korea where Pokémon Go can be played (the Korean govt. having blocked google maps and hence Pokémon Go due to security concerns). Even cases have been reported of people crossing the international border to another country to try and catch a few rare Pokémons.
Pokémon Go is a case of extremes. It tends to Hyperlocal advertising, but on a Global scale. Think of it as just another viral game, but it has a wonderfully camouflaged advertising platform lurking beneath. It is a digital product, but its USP is that it makes couch potatoes move out of their homes and into the real world.
Multiple challenges remain, most important being able to leverage this additional footfall into incremental revenue. It will be really interesting to see how Niantic Labs. leverages the potential and ensures that the game maintains its supremacy once the initial brouhaha dies down.
Just remember, next time you chase your favourite Pokemon character on the streets, do keep an eye out where you end up to. Maybe, you will end up spending a few extra bucks at a store you never intended to visit.. :)
