It was a summer of gaming hits and the biggest hit by far was Pokémon GO. The game went gangbusters on mobile devices everywhere, and the hype around Niantic’s new mobile take on an age-old favorite reached epic proportions. At its height towards the end of July, Pokémon GO had 45 million daily active users: the game had gone from viral hit to a true cultural phenomenon. But detractors say that the hype is over, as in its one and a half month lifetime it has also managed to lose 12 million of those users, as the excitement began to cool.
However, context is important here: 33 million daily users is nothing to scoff at. Pokémon GO continues to be the 犀利士
-top-grossing-app-google-play-store.html”>highest-grossing game in the Google Play store and to date is the biggest US mobile game ever, topping giants like Candy Crush Saga. But more importantly, Pokémon GO’s users are fervently loyal and highly engaged. Pikachu and friends see more engagement than Facebook and in terms of daily users, Pokémon GO even beats Twitter. And for iOS users, Pokémon GO beats Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram with a whopping 33 minutes spent playing the game every day.
A part of our lives
Given how much Pokémon GO has embedded itself into the daily lives of mobile casual gamers, we wanted to ask our users if and how it has changed their daily life. We surveyed 2500 Softonic.com users who are also Pokémon GO players, and the results were very revealing. The game is, in fact, changing our daily habits both for the worse and for the better.
On the negative side, 15% of players say that they are so addicted to the game they are getting less sleep than before they started playing. These gamers may be sleepier, but they are also becoming more adventurous. 36% of gamers say that have visited places they otherwise would have not visited if Pokémon GO had not guided them there.
Another positive aspect: 36% of users say that they have become more physically active thanks to Pokémon GO. All that walking for incubating eggs and chasing after Charmander is actually paying off on the health side. Who would have thought?
And apparently that’s not all that’s changing: 27% of the users we asked admit that they actually take a different route to work just to encounter Pokéstops. In terms of prioritization, for Pokémon GO users playing the game and going where it takes you usurps things like getting to work on time.
When will the hype die down?
In spite of all this Pokelove, even hardcore players like our users are skeptical that the hype will last for long. 51% of Softonic.com users say that the hype will be dead come 2017 and a very skeptical 13% say it’s already dead and buried.
And even some local officials are looking to bury it sooner rather than later. Town officials in a French locality wanted to ban the game due to the disruption it was causing this summer and, more recently, the Des Moines city council is looking for a way to “opt out” of Pokémon GO, citing problems with littering, disturbances and illegal activities associated with the game.
However, I think that rumors of Pokémon GO’s death are greatly exaggerated. Given that the game is still pending launch in a few key markets, there remains huge potential to continue to attract and lock in highly engaged users. And if Niantic responds to some of Pokémon GO players’ most desired requests — such as adding a social layer to the game — they may be able to lure (lure!) back some of those lost users.
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What are your thoughts on the Poképhenomenon? Drop a comment here or hit me up on Twitter at @sarpajian. If I’m not busy battling the Exeggutor that has taken over the Pokémon Gym here at our office, I’ll reply!