Craze is Pokemon gone
Ingenious phone game that took the world by storm has hit the skids
THE Broadwater Parkland was packed at night, Evandale Lake was a constant hive of activity and you could not walk down Cavill Ave without bumping into someone glued to their phone.
Now, less than two months later, the Pokemon Go craze has almost disappeared from our streets.
The sporadic player lingers but there is nothing like the 100-strong crowds that flocked to the Broadwater at night.
Small businesses that popped up to drive players around to pursue the game are disappearing in the wake of its popularity.
Max O’Neill of Burleigh Waters cashed in on the Pokeconomy, offering to drive players to hot spots around the Coast in exchange for a small fee.
The full-time worker did the job on the side, but in four hours made $200 at the game’s peak.
“I just get one request a week now,” he said. “At the start I probably had four or five a week.”
Mr O’Neill said he knew the game’s popularity would not last but was eager to cash in while he could.
The trend initially inspired people to join together for Pokemon walks and meetups but in recent weeks those offers have petered out.
Griffith University technology expert David Tuftley said tech companies were always looking for the next big thing.
“It’s really a bandwagon effect,” he said. “It just takes off and then after a while it drops off the mainstream.”
Dr Tuftley said people would still be playing the game, but just not in the initial huge numbers.
This was why technology companies were constantly releasing new versions of hardware or games in order to keep in the public consciousness.
Bond University marketing expert Adjunct Professor Stephen Holden said the Pokemon Go explosion and then subsequent disappearance was not unusual.
“It’s fashion – it’s human nature,” he said.
Prof Holden said trends had been coming and going for decades, but technology was changing the speed.
“Social media makes it so we can look on what’s trending and what is popular and take part instantly,” he said.
He said companies, particularly those in technology, were desperate to find an idea that would capture the imagination of the public en masse.
“If you knew what it was that makes something go viral, you would be rich,” he said.
“Everyone is trying to chase that.”
Prof Holden said some trends came and went very quickly and were never heard of again.
These included the Gangnam Style dance, hair crimp- ing and Big Brother contestant Sara Marie’s bum dance.
But others, like the Harry Potter phenomenon, could make a comeback.
The book franchise is undergoing a resurgence with a new spin-off movie due in November, a book of short stories set at Hogwarts published and the stage play taking off in London.
“To get a trend back you have to refresh it and books and movies are a good way of doing that,” Prof Holden said.