Pokémon GO

Editor’s note: This entry will remain under the “Event” category until its official release in 2016.

Overview

Pokémon GO is an upcoming game for iOS and Android mobile devices which uses augmented reality technology to battle, train and trade virtual Pokémon in real-world locations. The game is currently being developed by Nintendo and Niantic, Inc for release in 2016.

Background

Precursor

On April 1st, 2014, Google Maps released an update that included Pokémon-capturing abilities using Google Maps. In an official blog post,^[8] Google Project Manager Tatsuo Nomura announced the app’s Pokémon features for both iOS and Android systems. Google Maps also posted an announcement video which received over 17 million views as of September 16, 2015.

The following day, the blog post was updated to reveal the announcement was part of Google’s 2014 April Fool’s activities and revealed the feature would only last for a few more days.

Release Announcements

On September 9th, 2015, the The Official Pokémon Channel YouTube channel released a trailer for Pokémon GO, featuring live-action footage of young people interacting with augmented reality Pokémon characters with their mobile devices (shown below). Within one week, the video gained over 13.6 million views.

The game is set to be released in 2016 along with the Pokémon Go Plus, a wearable device that connects to a smart phone using Bluetooth and sends notifications when a virtual Pokémon is nearby.

Developer Background

The game is currently being developed by Nintendo in partnership with Niantic, Incorporated. Niantic, Inc. was previously a Google subsidiary founded by John Hanke, a Google executive who was also founder of Google Maps.^[9] Niantic had established previous virtual reality gaming success with their mobile game Ingress while still a Google subsidiary.

Notable Developments

Online Reaction

The same day, several posts about the announcement trailer reached the front page of Reddit, including submissions on the /r/pokemon,^[1] /r/android^[2] and /r/gaming^[3] subreddits. On September 10th, a 4chan user replied to a thread about the game joking about threatening kids with violence to obtain their rare Pokémon (shown below). That day, a screenshot of the reply was posted in the /r/pokemon^[6] subreddit, where it received upwards of 5,400 votes (96% upvoted) in the first six days.

On September 14th, Tumblr user delacroix911^[5] posted a web comic in which a Pokémon Go player battles Pope Francis at the Vatican in Italy for the Pokémon Arceus (shown below). That day, Redditor Doomherald3000 reposted the comic on the /r/pokemon^[4] subreddit. Within 48 hours, the Tumblr post gathered more than 42,600 notes and the Reddit post received over 5,100 votes (94% upvoted).