I started my day yesterday by seeing this tweet above ^^^ - funny enough, I originally thought the layoff was because of Pokemon Go servers shutting down or something. But, it's actually the opposite...
Lot of words going on in that Wario tweet so here's the quick summary:
Niantic expenses and headcount grew too much during COVID
Revenue did not match their expected goals given their new expenses
They're closing their LA office and stopping production on NBA All-World and Marvel: World of Heroes
The TOP Priority is to keep Pokemon Go healthy to grow as a forever game
So initially, I was under the impression that this blog was going to an RIPIP piece to the absolute GOAT that is Pokemon Go...thankfully it's not - however I still wanna touch on that golden era of the Pokemon Go launch and how it can try to become a "forever" game.
PREVIOUS BLOG
The Most Successful Launch...Ever
Outside of the Grimace Shake (btw - Happy Birthday Grimace) - is it fair to say that the launch of Pokemon Go was the most successful launch in history? I mean people were so addicted to Pokemon Go, that it became a hazard for people to play. They would blindly walk across streets without looking for oncoming traffic.
I mean hell, I'd do ANYTHING to get that Dragonite...
Antdude92 couldn't be more spot on! This was felt globally - Pokemon Go united people in such a way that it truly felt like something special in the air. Is that what a utopia feels like?
I'll never forget - when the game launched, I was walking EVERYWHERE with my siblings and friends. We would just hangout and walk for miles, trying to catch any pokemon we could, while hatching our eggs.
Where Does Pokemon Go Go From Here?
If Niantic really wants PG to become a "forever" game, how do they possibly get there?
I fell off the Pokemon Go bandwagon a long time ago - I know the game is still massive regardless of how long it's been out. Hell, every now and then I'm tempted to re-download the game and get right back into the action. Maybe it's time to rejoin again...
In that massive monologue of a company email, CEO John Hanke shared how he and the team believes in the future of augmented reality. AR will allow their games to become more immersive and they also believe the augmented reality headsets will become wildly popular. AKA get ready to break out that $3500 for the Apple Pro Vision!
But on a real note - take a look at this demonstration for what Skyrim in VR/AR could look like. I mean, this is INSANE !!!
So, here's a very quick example of how Pokemon Go can appear one day:
So take how clean the Skyrim demo was and now envision the Pokemon being added into the VR/AR world...I get chills thinking about it because it was always a dream as a kid to be in the Pokemon Universe. It feels like every day, week, month, etc., we keep getting closer and closer to that goal.
I'd expect the first versions of these games to suck or cause motion sickness - so I'm always focused on the final product. I can't even imagine how cool it must feel to be immersed into these worlds. Who knows how far out we are from this as well - 1 year? 3 years? 10 years?
My guess is somewhere right in the 3-4 year range. Right after the price of these headsets decrease, while the quality improves drastically.
So ultimately, I believe the future has never been brighter for Niantic/Pokemon Go. My initial thoughts couldn't have been further off from what I believe now. John Hanke knows how much of a winner he has in PG and he also recognizes that he has to continue to adapt, improve and evolve Pokemon Go if it's truly going to be that "forever" game.
If you see me at your local Pokemon Go gym, please fight nicely - I'm a noob.
I miss the heyday of pokemon go. We would go down to a park and there would be a hundred people in a 50 metre radius because there was a lapris. Back when times were