First interactive 360 youtube ASMR, and now this?! You won't believe this technology until you see it!

I had to make a title that fit with the fact that I am actually linking to 9gag.

http://9gag.com/tv/p/ayWMO7/discover-pok%C3%A9mon-in-the-real-world-with-pok%C3%A9mon-go?ref=fbl9

If this is as elaborate as they make it seem, it's a pretty cool concept. Granted the battles won't actually be as grandiose of course, but if the Pokémon are available at fitting places (i.e. not finding Magmar while on a boat or Goldeen in the desert), I think this looks cool.

huh, i have no idea how they'll actually execute this.

also, they only showed gen I Pokémon in the trailer (at least I didn't notice any others). Think that's to pander to adult fans who have since fallen out of touch with Pokémon (the ones most likely to buy this app probably)? or will they just limit it to the first gen?

Also, it showed a number of balls available to use, so I smell some fuckin' microtransaction bullshit

can't wait to go to the grocery store and catch a charizard while it rampages through the produce section

why would it be rampaging

maybe it just wants some nice pasta or tuna melt

I'm kind of surprised at how much public attention and hype this is getting, but that might just be my skepticism showing.

On a side note, does anyone know: what was the public perception of the pokewalkers that came with HG/SS? I remember it being such a pain to move Pokémon onto it and off of it and I never did much of anything with it.
This seems like a pretty natural extension of that, but I just can't see this living up to the hype.

From what I've seen, the reception to the Pokéwalker was mostly positive. Nothing earth-shattering, but people seemed to like it.


For this, most of the hype seems to be from normies who dropped the series after R/B/Y, or maybe G/S/C. Since all we've seen is Gen I Pokémon, they're instantly on-board for their nostalgia trip.
I personally would have done a full Gen I re-remake before this, because the normies aren't going to buy a 3DS for a full game when they can just play this motherfucker. They're missing out on a lot of money there, I'd say.

Interesting idea.

However, my guess is that normies that gave up back in 2000ish probably aren't going to opt for a 3ds just for a Pokémon game. It definitely has a more childlike image. True adults have xbones of course (i guess).

Plus, the remakes have consistently sold less than new games. I mean, even black and white sold better than HG/SS somehow.

The most interesting thing about this is it requires you to move around outside, which is previously unheard of to my knowledge. Handhelds and phone games are mostly things you do while sitting down and not doing anything else. I think if this is executed well, it can be a gateway to a wider acceptance of video games as a whole, with some sort of exercise and outdoors activity being a central part of the experience. When that is said, this is a Pokémon game, consisting only of gen I Pokémon to our knowledge, which makes it very much a nostalgic game; if you weren't a part of the Pokémon hype in the late 90s/early 2000s, I don't think you will pick this up unless it really catches on.

For this to actually work out, I think it needs a hell of a great marketing campaign, and a really clever and engaging gameplay. I am really interested to see how it will work out, and I think it's a cool concept tbh

I suppose with emulation being a thing, it's a slightly tougher sell.
However, OR/AS still sold over 10 million, and are sitting comfortably in third place for all 3DS games. I'd imagine another R/G/B remake would sell more than that.


I suppose I'm just trying to find a way for a Gen I re-remake to exist, though. Actually obtainable Mega Pidgeot and Mega Beedrill, possible Megas for Golem, Machamp, Butterfree, Raichu, etc., and of course the one true waifu in 3D; there's a lot I want that a Gen I re-remake would have if they didn't fuck it up.

Spoiler:

not excited for normie smartphone extravanganza though

Continuing the investigation...

Today it was announced that Pokémon and Google are investing millions of dollars in the company Niantic to make Pokémon Go.
Luckily, this isn't Niantic's first rodeo. They also have a game called Ingress which, as far as I can tell, is the same thing as Pokémon Go but with a different theme.

Here is a quote from Ingress' Wikipedia page on their business model:

"Ingress is supported by advertising. Companies can pay for their locations to be used as portals in the game, thus making their stores a pilgrimage site for Ingress players,[31] which may translate into real-world sales.[32]

Another form of advertising is sponsorship of in-game equipment. Players can virtually acquire various tools and weapons to use in the game, including capsules to hold other equipment and link amp[lifier]s to improve a portal's linking capacity. Sponsored versions of these include the "SoftBank Ultra Link" and the "MUFG Capsule", both of which are categorized as very rare and perform significantly better than nonsponsored versions.[33][34][35]"

I hope they heavily rely on this model. I would rather walk into a McDonalds to get pokeballs than have to pay real money.

granted, right at the bottom of Pokémon Go's wiki page is this:
"The game is free to play although it supports in app purchases.[3]"

what the h*ck

free to play!
pay to win!

I am dreading that as well. "Oh, congratulations, your Poliwag evolved into Poliwhirl! And for only $3.99 you can evolve it to Poliwrath by buying this Water Stone! Or you can keep the Poliwhirl for free, but that shit ain't gon' win you anythin'."