AR captures the tech world
Pokemon Go app’s viral success marked the dawn of new tech era
Notice anything different about this summer? How about: There are fewer monster-catchers around.
Last year’s viral craze, Pokemon Go, is no longer flooding parks and main streets with smartphonetoting users trying to catch the virtual monsters that overlay onto real-world streets, lawns and benches.
That doesn’t mean the hit game and its moneymaking engine have gone away. The game has 65 million monthly active users, according to game developer Niantic Labs. That’s a drop from its peak of 100 million in August, based on Apptopia estimates. But it’s still high enough to stomp on the fan base of giants such as Candy Crush Saga (61 million) and Clash Royale (8.5 million). It has generated $1.2 billion (U.S.) in revenue, the research firm says, and given part-owner Nintendo a needed boost to its brand.
It’s also generated a surge of interest in augmented reality (AR), with tech giants including Apple and Facebook announcing plans to invest in the medium earlier this year. Most smartphone users who aren’t chasing Pokemon around the mall may not have used AR. They may soon.
“It put validity to this notion augmented reality could be successful on a smartphone,” Gartner analyst Brian Blau said.
But to some surprise, Pokemon Go ended up being that mythical tech unicorn — a hugely popular game that others just couldn’t replicate. Flouting expectations, it didn’t result in copycat experiences following the launch of a viral mobile game, such as the flock of apps launched in the wake of mobile gaming phenomenon Flappy Bird’s ascent in 2014.
John Hanke, CEO of Niantic Labs, attributes this to the complex map data the game requires to discover Pokemon, combined with millions of users searching at once.
“It’s more like a World of Warcraft than a Flappy Bird,” said Hanke, referring to the massive multiplayer game that requires an infrastructure to support it.
Developers have been slow to introduce AR games off the heels of Pokemon Go’s popularity, but it’s a matter of time before more experiences hit app stores, said P.J. McNealy, founder and CEO of Digital World Research.
“It’s a huge eye-opener,” he said. “AR hasn’t had a killer app before this.”
The success of Pokemon Gois partly why bigger names are stepping forward with plans for AR. Last month, during its annual developers’ conference, Apple introduced ARKit, allowing developers of apps for iPhones and iPads to create AR experiences. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg touted big plans for AR during its developers’ conference in April, claiming the company will make the smartphone camera “the first augmented-reality platform.”
Pokemon Go blends a real-world GPS map with an augmented-reality experience where players view the Pokemon through their smartphone cameras and capture them by swip- ing a Poke Ball in their direction.
At its peak, Pokemon Go was last summer’s viral phenomenon. Hanke said the studio’s goal was 50 million downloads in six months. According to research firm Sensor Tower, Pokemon Go hit the milestone in 19 days.
The ability to view the creatures in the real world through your camera contributed to its viral nature, as users spread images of Pokemon in odd places all over social media. Even Justin Bieber was spotted playing.
It also got smartphone owners moving, a boon to small businesses who thrive on foot traffic. The game required players to walk in search of Pokemon and the rarer hatch able eggs discovered at stops that net even more creatures.
“It was novel for a lot of people not to be going to a movie or a bar or a restaurant — sort of the normal things that you do — but to have this other excuse to just get out and take a walk,” Hanke said.
After spending most of July and August 2016 atop the mobile download charts, interest in Pokemon Go faded. Since then, downloads spike with big updates. In February, Pokemon Go introduced 80 more creatures to capture. The game peaked at No. 16 overall on Apple’s App Store that month, climbing from as low as No. 249, according to data from analytics firm App Annie.
Niantic continues to push updates to maintain its base. It just launched a major update to Gyms, locations similar to Poke stops where players congregate to battle with their trained Pokemon. It also added Raids, opportunities for groups of players to work together to take down a more challenging Pokemon creature.
Other new features are being explored, too, Hanke says, including updates to how Pokemon fight and player vs. player battles. Now that Pokemon Go opened smartphone owners’ eyes to AR, Hanke says we’ll see more experiences for smartphones.
“I totally expect that competition to arrive. We’ve heard from other companies in the industry about projects that they’re working on, so we’ll ultimately see that,” he said.