A look back over the first year of Pokémon GO’s life.
A year ago today, a new app sensation swept the globe. Pokémon GO, while not the first of its kind, certainly set the bar for games like it in the future. A location based game that utilizes augmented reality, there is quite a bit to like about Pokémon GO beyond the nostalgia.
Despite not being the first ever Pokémon mobile game, Pokémon GO has certainly set the standard for the games to follow. It does very well in increasing social and physical activity among players. During its peak of popularity, Pokémon GO had hundreds of people crowding around parks, working together to take down gyms and claim their prizes. When it first released it was a very simple concept that had people all over the world from all sort of demographics coming together to play Pokémon.
Pokémon GO can be played both competitively and in a relaxed setting no matter who you are. It has the simple concept of walking around to acquire items and Pokémon to add to your team. The game is great way for those who just want to collect Pokémon, hatch eggs, and all around just have a relaxing time.
If you are a person with a more competitive streak, there’s a spot on Team Valor, Team Mystic, or Team Instinct. While many important locations around the world have been made into Pokéstops allowing players to acquire items, every once in a while a player may come across a gym.
While initially gyms could hold up to ten Pokémon ranked from lowest to highest CP all from the same team and allotted Pokécoins that could be used for bag upgrades, lucky eggs, and other items. A recent update to this game has altered this mechanic. Now instead, gyms hold six Pokémon and like Pokéstops they too can distribute items, specifically raid tickets.
Using a raid ticket, you and several other players can engage in a raid battle that, if won allows you a chance to catch the raid boss and obtain special items such as TMs or berries.
Motivation is also now a mechanic. Instead of a Pokémon being knocked out of a gym automatically if it is at the bottom of the totem pole, motivation allows Pokémon to remain in gyms for a longer duration of time to make up for the loss of four gym slots. In addition, motivation can actually be restored by players through berries, making taking down a gym a much more difficult task than before.
Of course a core mechanic that must be discussed for Pokémon GO is catching Pokémon. While initially only the first 151 Pokémon, excluding Mew, Mewtwo, Ditto, Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno, were available, since then many others have been added to the game. Initially all there was to catch a Pokémon was using either a Pokéball, Great Ball, or Ultra Ball depending on your level and its strength, as well as a Razz Berry if the Pokémon is known for fleeing fairly quickly. Depending on the size of the circle, what Pokémon it was, and how the ball was thrown, you might receive EXP bonuses.
Since then Pokémon GO has updated its mechanics. For example, on November 22, people started to notice that the Pidgey and Rattata they were catching, didn’t look quite right. The introduction of Ditto was one of the first major game mechanic changes that drew people back into playing Pokémon GO.
Other than some festivals, minor bug fixes, and other miscellaneous changes, this was the first true new item to be added to Pokémon GO. Shortly thereafter, the limited time Santa Hat Pikachu was added for the duration of the Christmas event. And then, on February 16, the big update that everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. Johto Pokémon were introduced, bringing in new evolution mechanics such as candies and items needed to evolve. It also introduced two new berries, the Nanab and Pinap berries, as well as gender differences in applicable Pokémon. In addition, Pokéstop and Catching Pokémon streaks were added allowing easier to obtain evolution items, and encouraging players to play more often. Birthday Pikachu were also introduced around Pokémon’s official birthday for a limited time, and shiny Magikarp were introduced as well. So while the Legendaries are still impossible to locate without spoofing or hacking, the game has definitely improved and got a lot going for it since it first released.
Of course, we can’t talk about Pokémon GO without bringing up some of the criticisms. Along with all the good it brought, Pokémon GO brought a lot of dangers including kidnappings, luring robberies, and driving accidents due to players not paying attention to their surroundings.
In addition, servers have been always been slow and glitchy, discouraging players who do not want to wait forever for the game to load. However, one of the biggest criticisms is region locked Pokémon. While it was shown in the trailer that trading would be made possible in the future, for right now this capability does not exist, prompting the question as to why region locked Pokémon exist. As shown above, Tauros, Mr. Mime, Kangeskhan, Farfetch’d, Heracross, and Corsola are all region locked. Many suspect it is to reflect either the Pokémon’s natural origins or to encourage trading in the future. And while there are rumors it is possible to catch these Pokémon outside their regions, it is extremely rare.
All in all Pokémon GO is a great game. Sure it has its flaws but so does every game and it is something that I will always enjoy throughout my years at college. I look forward to updates in the future and with the most recent addition of raid battles, I’m ready to get back to college to show some of my fellow classmates who’s boss.
