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Games

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/r/Games is for informative and interesting gaming content and discussions. Please look over our rules and FAQ before posting. If you're looking for "lighter" gaming-related entertainment, try /r/gaming!
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[–]Jepacor 1467 points1468 points1469 points  (473 children)
Pokemon Sun, Moon, X and Alpha Sapphire are all part of the top 10 selling games on Amazon right now.
Pokemon GO seems to make A LOT of people interested in Pokemon again. If it lasts til November and they make a 3DS bundle with Sun/Moon it could immensely boost the 3DS sales.
[–]Not_a_Zaku 740 points741 points742 points  (205 children)
This was the point, using mobile games to get people interested in Nintendo's more traditional offerings.
EDIT: Because people keep saying I'm mistaken in Nintendo's plan with their mobile games:
"Mr. Iwata says Nintendo will 'actively' use smart devices to 'make connections with customers.' That is, they'll use smart devices as a catalyst to encourage customers to use its Nintendo platforms. Short answer, he's not going to release Nintendo's titles on other platforms."
[–]darkstar3333 449 points450 points451 points  (72 children)
also merch, don't discount the important/relevance of good merch.
Nintendo could basically create a Plush/Beanie/Pop series of the entire Pokemon line and people would buy them up like crazy.
Microsoft didnt buy Minecraft for the game, they purchased them for the merch prospects. My son is 2 years old, he knows what Minecraft is despite never playing it.
[+][deleted]  (17 children)
[removed]
    [–]notevenmylastaccount 85 points86 points87 points  (2 children)
    People underestimate merch.
    Merchandise is the reason Star Wars became as big as it was. Hell, Lucas took a pay cut to direct the first film. Reportedly his fee for directing was $500k and he dropped it to $100k if he was given the sole merchandising rights.
    Dude made more money off selling 5th teir background characters in plastic boxes than he ever did at the boxoffice.
    [–]duckwantbread 19 points20 points21 points  (0 children)
    Yep, before TFA came out Star Wars had only made $11.1 billion in sales from films, VHS, DVDs and video games (not sure why that last one got lumped into the figure) whilst merchandise had taken $32 billion in sales, and I'd bet the merchandise was cheaper to make as well. Source
    [–]RSquared 15 points16 points17 points  (0 children)
    Mel Brooks asked Lucas for permission to film Spaceballs. The only stipulation Lucas had was that Brooks not make merch.
    ...Which inspired him to write the Yogurt scene with the flamethrower.
    [–]Mourningblade 21 points22 points23 points  (7 children)
    The trouble with those items is the risk: you pay up front to produce them and you could end up with a ton that don't sell. If you have a hot item that sells out without discount, you can make a lot of cash.
    [–]goodnight_hamlet 35 points36 points37 points  (2 children)
    Zero risk if you license the IP out to other manufacturers and let them produce/carry the inventory.
    [–]veeeSix 13 points14 points15 points  (2 children)
    And people thought Disney buying Star Wars and Marvel was expensive. Best deal ever for the mouse in the house.
    [–]who128 7 points8 points9 points  (1 child)
    4 billion for Star Wars was the god damn deal of the century.
    [–]lud1120 24 points25 points26 points  (7 children)
    The main thing that created George Lucas' fortune, by owning the rights to the toys and merchandise or Star Wars. Billions of dollars relatively quickly.
    [–]lolwutpear 33 points34 points35 points  (4 children)
    Moichandising! Where the real money from the movie is made!
    [–]blitzbom 23 points24 points25 points  (2 children)
    Pokemon the Flamethrower! Kids love this one
    [–]maijts 5 points6 points7 points  (0 children)
    funny thing is spaceballs never got to sell merchandise due to an agreement with george lucas.
    [–]iamdylanshaffer 69 points70 points71 points  (6 children)
    Microsoft also bought Minecraft because it was a wise business move. I'm assuming they also did this with LinkedIn, but essentially Microsoft bought Minecraft with debt. They're a AAA borrower, and any loaner knows they have the capital to pay on the loan, so their interest rates are going to be criminally low. So they bought Minecraft with debt, because it saves them massive amounts on taxes. My father, who is a consultant at Microsoft, argued that Microsoft saved almost as much money on taxes due to purchasing Minecraft as they spent on the acquisition. There's a lot that goes into these massive business deals that the general public isn't aware of. We see these big numbers and think "why would Microsoft pay that much?!", when the reality is, Microsoft probably only truly net spent about 1/4th of the price tag you saw on the Minecraft acquisition due to tax saving measures.
    [–]WackyXaky 8 points9 points10 points  (2 children)
    I think what happens is they buy it with debt, then pay it off with the untaxed money in places like Ireland. I'm not an accountant, though, so I'm likely getting it somewhat wrong.
    [–]Blood-and-Black-Lace 32 points33 points34 points  (16 children)
    Nintendo should get started on more Pokémon amiibo.
    [–]DeeDoubs 4 points5 points6 points  (4 children)
    Nintendo could basically create a Plush/Beanie/Pop series of the entire Pokemon line and people would buy them up like crazy.
    Ugh, that's like over five-hundred hats/plushies/...sodas? that have to be manufactured, a large number of which will only sell to the rare fan who absolutely has to have every single one.
    They should probably stick to the original 151 and popular entries in the later series for that reason.
    [–]venkiro 165 points166 points167 points  (69 children)
    At this point they are pulling in folks that had 0 interest in pokemon. Without even talking about it I came home to my wife playing it who has never played a pokemon game or watched an episode or shown any interest in it at all. I was a bit surprised to say the least and had to temper my excitement so as not to push her away from it. The whole time showing my feigned disinterest I was shedding a happy tear on the inside.
    [–]waterboysh 84 points85 points86 points  (64 children)
    Same here! I came home and my wife goes, "Guess what I found today? A Squirtle!" We event went on a walk yesterday evening and caught a bunch of Pokemon. It was fun and good exercise.
    [–]Xelnasspeedy 182 points183 points184 points  (62 children)
    This game may save the human race is what I'm seeing
    [–]sinsinkun 164 points165 points166 points  (61 children)
    For about a week, until people realize you can do exactly 0 things with your pokemon collection, then everybody moves on to the next mobile craze... Or maybe they add battles and nintendo rises above google's net worth. We'll see.
    [–]ThatParanoidPenguin 49 points50 points51 points  (21 children)
    There's not really gonna be a next mobile craze for a while. It's been a damn long time since I've seen this many people care about a mobile game.
    [–]Cormath 65 points66 points67 points  (18 children)
    I've never seen anything like this, personally. There is a large, moderately upscale area near me that has lots of bars/restaurants/movie theaters/other stores near me and has a bunch of pokestops. I swung by last night and had to have seen at least 300 people walking around hitting the stops and catching pokemon. Everything from single people up to groups of like 20 all just walking/driving from stop to stop and catching pokemon on the way.
    I never even left one corner of this area. I saw, maybe 15% of it. I assume all the rest of it was equally packed with roving hordes of 20-somethings like myself.
    Walking through the local park I've seen probably 20+ in a small park doing the same. Hell, even in my apartment complex I've seen people drive in, park, catch a couple of pokemon, and drive off. It is fucking insane out there.
    [–]MrTastix 22 points23 points24 points  (6 children)
    The difference between Pokemon GO and something like Angry Birds or Candy Crush isn't the popularity, it's how you play them.
    Pokemon GO isn't anymore popular than any of the other big games we've seen for mobile, it's just that it requires you to walk outside. You have to go outside to find different Pokemon, whereas Angry Bird doesn't. You can sit and home and play it whenever.
    Pokemon GO is the current "big craze" of the mobile market but it will die out eventually once people get bored. How quick depends on a lot of things, not the least of which includes Niantic's ability to create new features, and that's assuming they plan to. They might not if it's just one big marketing scheme for Nintendo.
    [–]Cormath 9 points10 points11 points  (0 children)
    It is definitely more visible, but anecdotally, in my group of friends, this is by far the most popular mobile game ever. No one in my circle really played angry birds at all. A few played clash of clans, a few play clash Royale, but basically ever person I know between 20 and 30 is playing Pokémon go.
    [–]_depression 7 points8 points9 points  (3 children)
    But a huge part of what will keep people playing Pokemon Go is the way its played. One of the fantastic side effects of physically moving around searching for and catching Pokemon (aside from the increased amount of exercise) is an enhanced sense of accomplishment. People feel better from having physically done a thing, and generally the more physical the activity the greater the sense of accomplishment.
    Pokemon Go is also inherently a social game, even if it's not necessarily marketed as such, because it not only pushes people to go outside but also rallies people around specific areas - PokeStops and Gyms. Even if you're not playing "with" other people it's very clear when you walk up to a pair of lured PokeStops and you see anywhere from a handful to 50+ people all looking intently at their phones and swiping up occasionally. And because Pokemon spawns are universal (in the sense that if a Pokemon spawns in one player's game, it'll be there for everyone after a few seconds) you'll hear people exclaiming either to themselves or to friends about a Pokemon, its power, whether they've caught it or not, etc. It's a connection between you and a stranger, even if you don't talk to each other, knowing how each of you experienced the same encounter.
    Of course, I still agree that the game's lifespan is severely hampered by the lack of certain features (like PvP and trading), but I think that even if Niantic never adds those the game will still far outlast the hot stages of Angry Birds and other phenomenon games.
    [–]ArtoriasBIG 5 points6 points7 points  (5 children)
    I wonder if businesses near pokestops are seeing any significant bump in profits.
    [–]Murderdoll197666 10 points11 points12 points  (2 children)
    Not sure about the bump in profits but there's quite a few who had put out sandwich boards and chalk boards with pokemon characters drawn in chalk on them with some kind of inviting message about trying the beers or sandwiches and everything else they were selling inside.
    [–]snerp 4 points5 points6 points  (1 child)
    The same stuff is going on in Bellevue. I bought some groceries the other day and saw tons of people literally running around with their phones out trying to catch pokemon.
    Similarly, my girlfriend and I moved into our place about a year ago, there's a park basically across the street, but we never went their until we noticed it has a statue that gives free pokeballs.
    [–]Xelnasspeedy 44 points45 points46 points  (26 children)
    Mobile game users don't expect or really want deep combat look at brave exizus and record keeper from square both are not only simple they are mid numbing just because combat exists doesn't mean it's deep. You have the gym wars and that's how much people want when they get a mobile game
    [–]sinsinkun 39 points40 points41 points  (18 children)
    Not exactly deep, just something to do with your pokemon other than look at them in your collection. They already have move sets, after all. Just let people be able to have battles against other people.
    It doesn't detract from the current game, it doesn't make the game any more arduous for people who just want to collect pokemon, it's just something for those of us who care to have some fun with. There's a spectrum here, from the extreme casual who don't want fights at all, and the extreme hardcore that will travel to different countries to build his ultimate team meta. Adding a battle system allows the game to appeal to both.
    the depth of the system is not important, it can be as simple as who has the bigger numbers, the point is that it incentivises improving your collection of pokemon. It gives reason to have different types, to go out and seek more pokemon than what you already have.
    It adds to the design philosophy of the game (going outside and walking around), adds to the social aspect of the game (having battles with strangers, creating a social environment), and adds to the longevity of the game (incentivizes improving your team, instead of remaining stagnant with the same 5 or 6 pokemon around your neighborhood).
    [–]EDGE515 29 points30 points31 points  (4 children)
    Hell, I've said before I'd be happy if they even let us just take pictures and selfies with our pokemon after we've caught them.. If snapchat's AR features are any indication, that alone would would keep people entertained for hours.
    [–]MrProdigious 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
    If I could take pictures with my flareon I'd be so happy.
    [–]detroitmatt 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
    Something like Pokemon-amie from XY would be plenty.
    [–]Xciv 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
    But then video game developers see the money and make an actual fun augmented reality game with tons of gameplay.
    This ends obesity in First World countries.
    Depressed nerds leave their homes to interact with one another at hot spots.
    Augmented reality hotspots attract commerce and shops/restaurants open up around popular sites.
    The economy booms.
    The world is saved.
    [–]LiterallyKesha 22 points23 points24 points  (17 children)
    I hope this doesn't lead Nintendo on dropping focus on things that aren't mobile seeing all the potential profits here. Shovelware has plagued other series where companies hop on for a quick buck.
    [–]beefsack 103 points104 points105 points  (10 children)
    You could argue Pokemon Go is shovelware to a certain extent.
    They took Ingress, ripped out most of the functionality, and plastered Pokemon all over it. The game is incredibly shallow in it's current state.
    [–]jargoon 29 points30 points31 points  (6 children)
    Ingress was pretty shallow too and people are still playing it
    [–]Rosselman 2 points3 points4 points  (5 children)
    It received tons of feature updates. It has tons of features PGO lacks. Like chat.
    [–]ehManiacal 11 points12 points13 points  (0 children)
    As a long time Ingress player, the lack of an in-game chat is a good thing. We've been trying to get Niantic to ban a toxic troll in our area for over TWO YEARS.
    [–]WebtheWorldwide 18 points19 points20 points  (0 children)
    But as it basically is a new interface for a basic Ingress it has a good Potential to become something great and worthwhile
    [–]King-Achelexus 132 points133 points134 points  (153 children)
    I was actually wondering if Pokemon Go's entire purpose was to boost the Sun/Moon sales in the end of the year.
    [–]Frolossus 201 points202 points203 points  (150 children)
    it was. devs explicitly stated it
    [–]ForestKing 125 points126 points127 points  (145 children)
    While it may bring back some old fans, Nintendo needs to realize the power of having access to every mobile device in the world. I'm not going to buy a 3DS just to play Pokemon. I wud buy Pokemon for my phone. I just can't justify $200 for a device inferior to the one I already have in my hand.
    [–]Frolossus 259 points260 points261 points  (91 children)
    the thing is, just because you won't, doesn't mean that most other people also won't. pokemon is still the biggest unit pusher for nintendo handhelds. additionally the 2ds exists at ~$70
    [–]yentlequible 26 points27 points28 points  (7 children)
    Pokemon GO has got me so addicted to pokemon again, that I'm already considering picking up a 3DS to play the games I've missed over the years. Their plan is working.
    [–]ThePowerfulSquirrel 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
    Yep me too. Last game I played was Pokemon Emarald on my GBA sp but I'm really considering picking up a 3ds and a newer pokemon game just because Pokemon GO got me interested in Pokemon again.
    And the thing is, I'm not even playing go, just hearing everyone talk about it around me got me interested enough to consider buying their products.
    Edit: Annnd I caved. rip wallet. http://i.imgur.com/fbOVYHU.png nvm, realized eating and paying rent is more important
    [–]Abnormal_Armadillo 13 points14 points15 points  (13 children)
    Shit, I didn't realise they were that cheap. That would probably be the same price as a 3ds screen repair. (I gained one after one of my nieces goobered up hers and got a new one, both screens are scratched up pretty bad.)
    [–]__RocketMan__ 56 points57 points58 points  (23 children)
    That said, gaming on a 3DS is much better though. Comparing the two is truly like comparing apples vs oranges. For example I can't make a call or text from a 3DS, but it's not designed for that. Just like buttons on a 3DS are much better for control and games I buy for it work, I don't have to see if the game works with my OS or device version.
    [–]Omega357 6 points7 points8 points  (3 children)
    I would love a Nintendo phone. One with buttons to play games but can also make phone calls/get phone apps.
    [–]th30be 17 points18 points19 points  (8 children)
    Yeah, lets ignore the device that is made to play games and doesn't drain the battery of the device you probably need to do other things other than catch digital creatures. That is terrible logic.
    [–]philosoblanka[🍰] 71 points72 points73 points  (63 children)
    I haven't played Pokemon since the DS games and GO has gotten me thinking about getting a 3DS to play the newest ones. GO is ok, but it's honestly not a great "video game" and I'd much rather just play a "real" Pokemon game.
    [–]tayben 50 points51 points52 points  (28 children)
    Definitely play X or Y, I hadn't played since I was a kid and these got me in to Pokemon again. They're fantastic!
    [–]ThePirateTennisBeast 9 points10 points11 points  (18 children)
    What about black or white? Those any good
    [–]AverageAnon3 18 points19 points20 points  (3 children)
    Personally I don't think Black/White are a good idea for people to get back into the games. They don't have any previous gen Pokemon until you've beaten the main story. The sequel's do and are much better games, but they carry on the story so starting with them might not be a good idea either. I think X/Y are the best for returning players.
    [–]cslayer23 21 points22 points23 points  (4 children)
    black and white 2 was amazing
    [–]Bossman1086 20 points21 points22 points  (3 children)
    They are. But X and Y kinda shook up the Pokemon formula a bit. They're the first real Pokemon games to take advantage of the extra power the 3DS has over the original DS. IMO, X and Y are better games.
    [–]redditaccountisgo 8 points9 points10 points  (1 child)
    Huh? X and Y were pretty typical. Black and White definitely shook up the formula more than X and Y.
    [–]Iamdarb 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
    Black and White were amazing, had a great story and plenty of interesting new Pokemon. Plus, it was the first game to be based off of a foreign territory(Unova: NYC/state), rather than Japanese territories(Kanto(Kanto), Johto(Kansai), Hoenn(Kyushu), and Sinnoh(Hokkaido).
    [–]Crabhand 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
    Black/White and the sequel are fantastic, some of my favorite entries in the series. X/Y are also very fun, and a good jumping back in point, but the story is a little more shallow. Black/White explores a lot of the same areas, but has a more mature tone and a greater variety of interesting characters.
    [–]Hellicus 11 points12 points13 points  (15 children)
    A 3DS makes tons of sense for you then. You have XY, ORAS, and the original Red/Blue/Yellow available, plus Sun/Moon by the end of the year. Not even mentioning the rest of 3DS' strong catalog. Enjoy!
    [–]scotbud123 5 points6 points7 points  (5 children)
    If you ever played RSE you owe it to yourself to try Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire out, they're amazing re-makes but they gave it a nice new spin too.
    As someone who LOVED Sapphire, it was my first Pokemon game, when I played ORAS I lost it......it was so well done and they definitely had old fans in mind.
    [–]RekenBall 7 points8 points9 points  (15 children)
    Yeah I just bought Omega Ruby. The original was the last Pokemon game I played and I loved it. Then as I got older I got away from Pokemon and have not played any since then.
    [–]TSPhoenix 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
    I honestly didn't even think about the fact that people would just preorder on a whim due to GO.
    I had reservations about if the hype could last until November, but if people can just order online it doesn't even have to.
    [–]PapaPetro 275 points276 points277 points  (25 children)
    This is great for the budding augmented reality gaming industry. While Pokemon Go lacks some initial depth and polish, its mass interest will attract further AR investment and development.
    Looking forward to seeing what's coming down the pike.
    [–]Toysoldier34 44 points45 points46 points  (12 children)
    Though a lot of people play with the AR turned off, or only do it briefly to take a picture.
    [–]Glass_Leg 65 points66 points67 points  (4 children)
    The whole experience is AR though. Finding Pokémon around town and taking gyms at real locations is a pretty AR concept.
    [–]Kopoka 19 points20 points21 points  (0 children)
    AR doesn't only refer to the use of the camera, the act of having to physically walk around the real world to get pokemon/stops/gyms are also. You are Augmenting (adding virtual aspects) Reality (phyical map/gps of our world)
    [–]Shippoyasha 5 points6 points7 points  (0 children)
    That's what's interesting about this. AR gaming really needed a major hit to really give players a taste of what is possible. While this game is a tad shallow, it doesn't mean it won't have sequels and other games attempt it now. Also the mainline games could implement this feature if the next Nintendo handheld has a GPS tracker built in.
    [–]Jbluna 36 points37 points38 points  (5 children)
    Christ, people here expecting AAA developed full price games on mobile yet once devs like Squeenix Sega or whoever do and have the audacity to price it higher than $1 then it becomes "fuck that shit I'll keep emulating - 1 star".
    [–]noob_dragon 6 points7 points8 points  (3 children)
    But every Squeenix game released on android is pretty much just a 10 year old port. I don't even know what Sega puts out on phones.
    [–]Esham 4 points5 points6 points  (1 child)
    pretty much
    They aren't though......they remake the games and release them.
    [–]hepcecob 915 points916 points917 points  (351 children)
    What's unfortunate for the gaming industry, is that the most simple games make the most money. Hence why publishers are going into simple cellphone games and pachinko machines.
    [–]LoveTheTeabags 166 points167 points168 points  (54 children)
    There will always be enough people to buy "hardcore" games. If EA, Ubisoft etc. go the casual route (and we can see that already) other developers will see that empty spot in the hardcore gamer market and jump right into it.
    Battlefield is not what it used to be, hence why Squad or Arma are so popular.
    [–]literal_reply_guy 200 points201 points202 points  (49 children)
    Just fucking LOL at people genuinely worried that games like The Witcher 3 or Metal Gear Solid are somehow just going to die out and stop being produced because of things like Pokemon GO and Flappy Bird.
    [–]aYearOfPrompts 281 points282 points283 points  (16 children)
    Metal Gear may not have been your best example to use.
    [–]TheBoozehammer 21 points22 points23 points  (3 children)
    He said games like MGS, I think his point was that even if one game series ends, others like it will continue.
    [–]dSpect 13 points14 points15 points  (2 children)
    The thirst for revenge Konami planted will infest the system. No one can stop it now. Sahelanthropus will unleash that thirst unto the future.
    [–]Heyitskristin918 20 points21 points22 points  (8 children)
    Metal gear did die out because those games though. Konami didn't see profit in those endeavors when cheaper stuff was easier and more fruitful.
    [–]G00bernaculum 16 points17 points18 points  (12 children)
    But those quality games could become fewer and farther apart because of these kinds of games. They're easier and cheaper to make and have a higher ROI. Its like the whole DLC and paid premiums, they blew up like gangbusters once people realized they made money
    [–]literal_reply_guy 20 points21 points22 points  (9 children)
    But those quality games could become fewer and farther apart because of these kinds of games
    I just don't see that "could" as ever being a reality. I think a % of game developers will always want to make the games they have been making, and that's a large part of why they're in the industry. I genuinely haven't noticed a difference between the amount of quality game experiences eight years ago and now.
    [–]Damuel 5 points6 points7 points  (7 children)
    The problem isn't what the game devs want to make. It's that they need publisher support to make said games. Like it or not, not every single game can be funded via kickstarter alone.
    Why would a publisher want to invest more into a game that will possibly be nice profit, when you can invest way less for a game that will earn massive profit?
    [–]paintlegz 11 points12 points13 points  (1 child)
    There are actually more AAA titles being released these days than compared to 5-10 years ago. Just because there is an enormous influx of cellphone games doesn't mean developers are switching over, just that the ratio of actual video games to cheap games is wider than in the past.
    [–]Big_Wizard 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
    Bethesda has even combined the idea already by using a cellphone game to market their triple AAA franchise, and increasing the success of the IP as a whole.
    [–]ShimmyZmizz 7 points8 points9 points  (3 children)
    Unfortunately, it seems like a lot of shareholders actually believe this. They've been begging Nintendo to make mobile games for years, and even though Pokemon Sun and Moon will make more money in the long run than Pokemon Go, they'll still wonder why they don't just ditch the home and handheld console markets and go all mobile like Konami.
    [–]g1i1ch 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
    Unfortunately Pokemon Go could eventually make more money in the long run with less resources. I've been hearing that they're probably making around a mil a day. But counterpoint I think Pokemon is unique in that it works as a mobile game very well because of its graphics and mechanics. Not all games would transition well to mobile. No way you could get a mobile version of Zelda that could supplant the console version.
    [–]nothis 240 points241 points242 points  (147 children)
    That's why I fear Nintendo going into mobile games. From a "business standpoint", as reddit loves to point out, it would soon make zero sense for them to continue making their own hardware and, say, something like Zelda BotW. Mobile games print money, if you have the hype/marketing budget to get the word out (which Nintendo does). Sell a few virtual Pokeballs for $4.99 a piece, and you're covered. Production cost? Near-zero, in comparison.
    It killed Konami as a AAA game developer. It might kill Nintendo.
    [–]joustah 28 points29 points30 points  (10 children)
    I hope that Nintendo might have learned from the Wii that trusting a certain corner of the market is unreliable. If they can spread themselves and still produce quality across the board I would have no problem with that.
    [–]Coldara 194 points195 points196 points  (59 children)
    Different scenarios. Nintendo was always about having their strong IPs, and they will not fill up the mobile market with mobile games for every single of their games.
    Pokemon is simply the thing they have that appeals to the most casual of crowds, maybe even more than mario. If they would flood the market with Zelda, Mario and Metroid mobile games they just shoot themselves in the foot.
    It's kinda like Blizzard: strong IPs, liking one game "reels you in" (i.e. if you play starcraft you might check out hots which might get you to check out overwatch) but they don't compete (RTS, Hero brawler, MMORPG, Shooter, Cardgame). Pokemon Go will be Nintendo's WoW. A constant source of income which they hopefully will use on other projects
    PokemonGo is a phenomenon: you won't recreate this with a Zelda AR game. How to even make a zelda AR game that captures the spirit of the game. In the meantime, you can't live off making a single Pachinko machine, gotta focus on them and create lot of different ones.
    [–]Thyrotoxic 59 points60 points61 points  (26 children)
    It's pretty basic mobile game. People aren't going to play it for a huge amount of time in 6 months let alone spend boatloads of cash on a regular basis.
    [–]Ospov 139 points140 points141 points  (12 children)
    Then when people start dropping off they'll say "Hey, we just released all the Pokémon from Gen 2 out in the wild. Go get 'em!" and everybody will come back.
    [–]spexau 30 points31 points32 points  (1 child)
    Exactly! There's already achievements for catching Kanto Pokemon. This won't be a quick cash grab.
    [–]Figgots 26 points27 points28 points  (0 children)
    It'll be a long drawn out cash grab c;
    [–]THECapedCaper 5 points6 points7 points  (1 child)
    People also have pointed out that Pokemon GO has significantly less features than Ingress. I'm more than willing to bet that Niantic will use some of the features from Ingress into Pokemon GO over time. For now, it's all about the hype and introducing so many people to the concept of going outside and managing gyms/poke stops.
    [–]Coldara 7 points8 points9 points  (1 child)
    That might also happen. A reason more why nintendo won't go full mobile
    [–]ColonelVirus 14 points15 points16 points  (4 children)
    I dunno... I'm 28 years old, and I already have nostalgic friends who all have it and have spent over £100 already on the app purchases...
    I'm waiting for the official UK release, but yea... won't be spending money on it that's for sure. More interested in Nostalgia, plus I travel a lot.
    [–]Thyrotoxic 16 points17 points18 points  (2 children)
    Oh I'm sure people have and will spend cash on it, I can just see the novelty wearing off and it not being a regular moneymaker for Nintendo like Wow for Blizzard.
    [–]ColonelVirus 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
    Oh sorry, didn't realise you meant it as a cash cow :D
    I guess it depends what they do with it long term, if they start introducing leveling and team battles etc. TBH I have zero knowledge about the game at the moment.
    [–]Ospov 8 points9 points10 points  (12 children)
    I agree with the strong IPs part. If Pokémon hadn't existed before Pokémon Go launched, people wouldn't be nearly as excited about it as they are now.
    [–]Suddenly_Something 9 points10 points11 points  (11 children)
    It's largely based on nostalgia. I see more 25-30 year olds playing the game than anyone else.
    [–]DramaticTension 28 points29 points30 points  (11 children)
    You're nuts if you think people would stick around if pokéballs were actually this expensive. They're free and VERY plentiful in the actual game as long as you walk down a midsized town.
    [–]bmin11 21 points22 points23 points  (6 children)
    They could always add great balls and ultra balls and make it near impossible to catch it with a plain pokéball. Similar stuff happened at Pokemon Shuffle.
    [–]prefinished 30 points31 points32 points  (1 child)
    Great and Ultra balls do exist in the game already. There's even files for a Master ball, though no one knows how to get it.
    [–]Zakino 5 points6 points7 points  (0 children)
    If its like the field test you will get them when you are a high enough level from pokestops
    [–]Phallis_McNasty 6 points7 points8 points  (3 children)
    There are great balls and ultra balls, but you gotta get to level 15 or 20 to get them.
    [–]literal_reply_guy 8 points9 points10 points  (1 child)
    ..and you can't buy them even if you wanted to, even when they're unlocked for you as a user (appropriate level).
    [–]PirateRevolution 13 points14 points15 points  (7 children)
    I don't think Nintendo will follow Konami's example. For Nintendo gaming is their core business. Thus it would need to be a sustainable business venture for the many years to come. Right now the core gaming business is doing really well and is an established business that will likely not go away. However the smartphone business is still really young and it's hard to predict how it'll be like a decade in the future. So a core gaming company like Nintendo wouldn't risk putting too much of their company into that venture. However Konami can risk that because their gaming business is a small fraction of their entire business. So with the gaming side of the business they can deviate from the core gaming market and be riskier by putting their money in what is more vastly more lucrative market in the short term.
    [–]TSPhoenix 14 points15 points16 points  (6 children)
    I don't think so either, at least I hope not, but Miyamoto did say something kinda worrying at the investor meeting last week.
    Miyamoto: Video content is a really interesting area for us. Going forward, it is extremely important for Nintendo to move beyond the limits of game systems and make good use of its character resources in order for Nintendo not to be forgotten. Nintendo has a variety of characters. That one company has all the rights to so many characters is something that is recognized as unprecedented. To avoid any misunderstandings, we have never said that we will produce a movie. We have talked about our expansion into video and other areas, but we are not saying anything official about the details. What I can say is that video is one of the business areas where Nintendo is making good use of its IP.
    This focus on characters unfortunately reminds me of what SEGA did with Sonic, where brand recognition was more important to them than being known for quality.
    Nintendo just announced they're opening a themed cafe, they are doing theme parks, they're getting into video content. None of these things are inherently bad, but if these things work out to be far more profitable than games development, I can see why people might worry.
    There is a certainly an argument to be made that this move isn't a proactive one, but rather a defensive one being made because their IPs are losing relevance in the gaming space.
    But if that were the direction they were headed in why even make the NX console? I don't think there is too much to worry about for the time being.
    [–]beldaran1224 7 points8 points9 points  (12 children)
    Nintendo has always been interested in staying power. They've held onto the model of making different consoles, holding onto well-loved IPs, etc. It's not that they don't know Microsoft makes tons with the Xbox. It's not that they don't know that Candy Crush makes tons of money either. They deliberately choose a different path.
    They are a very successful company and have succeeded by making high quality games and consoles for a long time. They still want to be in that game in 20 years.
    [–]CantaloupeCamper 13 points14 points15 points  (0 children)
    It's a fun game man, there's room for lots of games.
    [–]PenPaperShotgun 9 points10 points11 points  (2 children)
    is that the most simple games make the most money.
    Simple doesnt equate to bad.
    [–]headphones1 77 points78 points79 points  (23 children)
    You're starting to sound like the old people at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who hate action movies and comedies.
    [–]Vok250 67 points68 points69 points  (4 children)
    My knee-jerk reaction was to argue with you, but then I started actually researching instead of simply assuming my emotional response was fact. Turns out my initial thoughts were unsubstantiated.
    I thought to myself "what is the worst lowest-common-denominator pandering action movie I've seen?" Transformers 2. The budget was 200 million and that dribble somehow made 800+ million at the box office. OK, but what else came out in 2009? Look up "top rated movies 2009" and Google will serve up a list of great movies including UP, Avatar, District 9, and Coraline. The thing is, just because terrible content can be successful, that doesn't mean that quality content can't also be successful. It's the same for gaming. Mobile gaming is at an all time peak of profitability, yet last year we still saw games like Witcher 3, Undertale, Rocket League, Ori, Phantom Pain, and Life is Strange.
    Just like movies, the markets aren't mutually exclusive. Nintendo has no reason to stop making good Pokemon games as long as they stay profitable. Part of the strength of Pokemon Go is that it rides on the success of the main Pokemon series. The two go hand in hand.
    [–]hcr321 18 points19 points20 points  (3 children)
    I agree with you fully, I'm getting tired of people saying that traditional video games are dead because one mobile game got really popular.
    [–]The_Drowning_Flute 8 points9 points10 points  (0 children)
    Going purely into mobile gaming is far from a financial slam dunk. Pokémon Go relies heavily on a ridiculously successful IP (like most Hollywood sequels) to drive downloads, so this move was relatively safe for Nintendo.
    Traditional games are still a ridiculously large market and Nintendo is a market leader. There's no reason for them to abandon something they stand for just for the sake of it.
    [–]990076 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
    Your argument sounds like every simple games can earn a huge sum of money. Yes, the profit margin is huge when the cost is low, but the competition in smartphone app market is insane, and much more fierce than in console markets as apps are relatively easier to make. At the end of the day, it is still the idea and the gameplay itself attracts customers.
    [–]RobPlaysThatGame 12 points13 points14 points  (13 children)
    is that the most simple games make the most money
    Well then, sounds like that says something about people's general taste in games. Simple and accessible is more popular among general audiences.
    Nothing wrong with Nintendo appealing to that truth. Hell, they've been doing it since the Wii, so it's not like it'd be a hard 180 for them.
    [–]LordAltay- 71 points72 points73 points  (0 children)
    This is inaccurate. It jumped 25% in Japanese trading, but U.S. investors are bidding the company way higher. Over 45% within minutes of open, but has since cooled to 35% or so. https://mmos.com/news/nintendo-stock-surges-40-today-thanks-pokemon-go
    [–]RenegadeBanana 345 points346 points347 points  (113 children)
    I find this odd because nothing about Pokemon Go seems to be built on a sustainable monetization model. I can't see the game lasting in the public consciousness longer than 3 months at most. Am I missing something, or is this the result of speculators running wild yet again?
    [–]Ewoedo 123 points124 points125 points  (8 children)
    Don't forget that it's a lot of Brand recognition for them
    [–]VulcansGM 164 points165 points166 points  (6 children)
    100%. Pokemon is all over the place right now. It is on the news, everyone on social media is talking about Pokemon - even people that normally wouldn't be. Fuck, even my 55 year old father with no knowledge of Pokemon downloaded the app.
    Even if this game isn't a lasting hit that draws in players for eternity, and even if the downloads and active players drops off a cliff in the coming weeks, it brought Pokemon into the forefront of entertainment in a way it hasn't been in a very long time.
    [–]BlutigeBaumwolle 26 points27 points28 points  (3 children)
    I saw a 40-something woman getting off the bus with Pokemon GO running on her phone today.
    [–]d3rtus 14 points15 points16 points  (1 child)
    That's not totally unusual given Pokemon Red hit the US and Australia in 1998. She would have been early 20s when pokemon became a thing. I was playing it when I was 16.
    [–]Activehannes 10 points11 points12 points  (0 children)
    i have heard the Pokemon Game Sales for the 3DS already went up
    [–]DotGaming 305 points306 points307 points  (31 children)
    It's not about that, it's not even about monetizing this app itself, there is no way that the app itself added so much value, I don't get why people here don't understand that. The stock rose because:
    1. Nintendo showed they can transition into smarthpone based gaming without issues
    2. There is a clear demand for nintendo based mobile applications
    3. Added publicity
    4. The nature of the growing mobile gaming market
    [–]Vok250 61 points62 points63 points  (0 children)
    Added publicity
    I haven't seen this much Nintendo news since the early Wii days.
    [–]Limepirate 110 points111 points112 points  (3 children)
    They also just proved they have a massive following of 20-30 year olds, eager to play their products aimed at them. It'd be a smart move to buy into Nintendo.
    [–]Goodlake 49 points50 points51 points  (8 children)
    a sustainable monetization model.
    Virtual item shop is pretty endless in terms of what they could sell to people. Between pokeballs, antidotes, XP boosts and the like, there's a fairly unlimited set of high-margin digital content they can sell. I only played for about an hour this weekend before getting bored, but it's easy to see how they can monetize with IAPs.
    [–]who128 59 points60 points61 points  (3 children)
    Clothing would be huge. Especially if you made clothing stores pokestops that second as clothing stores for your avatar. That's advertising I wouldn't think is invasive, completely optional money sink, and Nintendo makes money selling that privilege to stores.
    [–]Laschoni 13 points14 points15 points  (0 children)
    Air Jordans and a Jumpman headband at participating Foot Lockers.
    [–]ClearandSweet 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
    Yeah potions alone would carry the game.
    But I'd also like to add, /u/RenegadeBanana, that there are 721 Pokemon and only 146 in the game right now, with even more coming in November.
    [–]DoctorWaluigiTime 49 points50 points51 points  (1 child)
    I think "go outside and be able to see pokemon in the real world and be able to catch them" is something a lot of people have been wanting to do. No idea how long it'll last, but in a small town where I was out Go-ing yesterday there were folks all over the place, of nearly all ages (no elderly folk) playing the game: Teens, young adults, a mom+dad taking their kid around, each parent with a phone.
    [–]DramaticTension 22 points23 points24 points  (3 children)
    I think the best part of the game is the super fair cash shop. I have probably more disposable income than 90% of players do, so I feel great setting out lures at a popular pokéstop, and it costs next to nothing. You could get an entire afternoon's worth of people hanging out at a stop for about five bucks.
    [–]TSPhoenix 10 points11 points12 points  (0 children)
    Part of their goal was to get a huge install base and get people talking about the Pokemon so having a fair cash shop is farm more important to GO than it is for apps that are basically designed to catch whales and don't really care how many people download them as long as it's enough to get them onto that coveted top 10 list.
    [–]Lejkahh 15 points16 points17 points  (0 children)
    They can update the game every few months inserting a pack of Pokémon from the collection of over, what, 700? It's gonna hold up for a looong while. In the middle of these newer generation updates, they can also come with some overhauls / major patches introducing new systems which surely will send people out on the streets again.
    [–]King-Achelexus 12 points13 points14 points  (9 children)
    As of now, the game isn't exactly the kind of game that you'd play for a long period of time, maybe if they add a proper battle system and more ways to interact with other players, it won't be the kind of game that gets boring fast.
    [–]ForestKing 28 points29 points30 points  (8 children)
    The secret to Go is that you have to Go. If you go walking in a place with lots of pokestops you will find tons of shit and Pokemon to deal with. Right now my legs are sore and I'm only being forced back home by my phone's dead battery
    [–]Abnormal_Armadillo 13 points14 points15 points  (7 children)
    Really sucks for areas that weren't covered by ingress, my entire town only has 1 pokestop (which is weirdly our post office, the closest gym seems to be 5 miles away. All the pokemon seem to be less than 100 CP and i've been hearing tales from people in another area (15 min drive) getting 400 CP stuff, but I really don't want to be walking around alone with my phone out.
    [–]Deviathan 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
    If they spread major features out along with frequent releases of new generations of pokemon, it may honestly keep people coming back like larger online game patches do.
    [–]Deadbeatcop 169 points170 points171 points  (57 children)
    People keep telling me a proper battle system will eventually be added. If that's true, I may never be home again. The idea of being able to go to a park and challenge people there would be too great!
    [–]Isord 222 points223 points224 points  (50 children)
    I've heard literally the exact opposite, that Nintendo has very explicitly said they will never add normal battling to the game. Pokemon GO is not supposed to replace the DS games.
    [–]TheHaydenator 27 points28 points29 points  (1 child)
    It would never replace them because it doesn't have as much content. It would only be limited to wild pokemon and people probably.
    [–]kiwisdontbounce 106 points107 points108 points  (25 children)
    If it remains as is, it won't last very long.
    [–]Isord 102 points103 points104 points  (22 children)
    They are adding trading supposedly. I'd think they'd also gradually roll out newer gen pokemon and have soecial events and such. This game should have plenty of staying power.
    [–]kiwisdontbounce 26 points27 points28 points  (11 children)
    I hope you're right. I enjoy the game while I'm wandering around town taking care of errands. Just feels like it's not too deep of a game at this point. But it sure is raking in the money.
    [–]Isord 32 points33 points34 points  (7 children)
    The thing is it's because it's not deep that so many people can get into it. It's something you do in addition to whatever else you are doing (even if it's just walking around town.) If it required more thinking and work then I don't think it would be nearly as popular. I think they are also trying to make the game as cooperative as possible. Even with the 3 teams you are rarely "competing." The nature of gyms means everyone knows they fill back and forth a lot, and it also removes you from each other by a step so you are never really directly engaged against someone, just against a gym their team occupies. In the mean time people are still hanging out around Pokestops with lures helping each other catch Pokemon.
    [–]shark_byt3 23 points24 points25 points  (4 children)
    And then you got the people who stack a gym to lvl 10 and have a 1000+ cp aerodactyl T_T
    [–]SEND_HAPPY_SELFIES 12 points13 points14 points  (1 child)
    When are they going to add more content though?
    Trends move quick, it it takes them 3-4 months to add another simple feature then people might already have gotten bored and moved on by then.
    As it stands PokemonGo currently feels like the most basic of early access games that is hitting #1 downloaded app purely because it's got the Pokemon brand attached to it.
    [–]Isord 6 points7 points8 points  (0 children)
    Who knows. Niantic are already old hands with this and Ingress has had tons of staying power. With the Pokemon name attached I'm sure they will have no problem with this.
    [–]Jiecut 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
    Yeah they're definitely planning on adding big social events.
    [–]TSPhoenix 30 points31 points32 points  (2 children)
    They're adding trading, but the choice to omit battling was intentional.
    [–]marksizzle 10 points11 points12 points  (1 child)
    upvoted because this is the correct answer. When the game actually runs smoothly there is some strategy to the battling since you have two different moves and you can actually dodge attacks. While its not the in depth battling of the normal games, it was never meant to be. It supposed to be simple with a little strategic depth.
    [–]RatSnakeRabbitSnake 191 points192 points193 points  (87 children)
    I think we should take this opportunity to recognize just how wrong the consensus on boards like this can be. People are loving this game, and it's doing great things for Nintendo. Remember how Nintendo games on mobile was a terrible idea?
    [–]DoctorWaluigiTime 67 points68 points69 points  (8 children)
    Yeah, it's the Wii thing all over again. Something that has mass appeal people here don't necessarily think will take off because it's too gimmicky or isn't as in-depth as actual pokemon games or whatever.
    But "catch pokemon out in the real world" has been, like, tons of people's dreams since they started playing the game decades ago. And kids now too.
    [–]Thyrotoxic 24 points25 points26 points  (2 children)
    All my mates who don't play traditional games are playing. Hell some of the senior account managers were chatting about it on Friday. It's a massive success for Nintendo.
    "Gamers" as an identify is pretty meaningless now that everyone has a smartphone. Most people play games these days.
    [–]Itsweird 13 points14 points15 points  (1 child)
    I haven't played a pokemon game since the original red/blue, but my girlfriend and I spent Saturday walking around a park and the downtown bars catching pokemon. I stopped playing games on my phone a long time ago too. We ran into people all day doing the same thing. Saw a few people dressed up like fucking Ash Ketchum. The response online has shown it's nothing short of a cultural phenomenon, so it's no wonder their stock is shooting up. It's not likely every Nintendo phone game will make this impact, but it shows that Nintendo understands how to tap into the most lucrative growth market open to them.
    [–]Activehannes 145 points146 points147 points  (15 children)
    It's just /r/games. It really is. When Nintendo announced Smartphone games a year ago the stock went up. Everyone loves Pokemon GO. There are millions of people playing it. Even in countries outside America / New Zealand.
    The Game offers the best Pokemon experience yet. I haven't had so much fun playing Pokemon since Blue / Red. Me and my friends spend so much time outside playing Pokemon. You meet sooo many people! I cannot image how many people will play it when it finally launch in germany.
    [–]TSPhoenix 27 points28 points29 points  (0 children)
    People act in their own best interests. News at eleven.
    Stocks went up because people rightly assumed it would have broad appeal and make loads of money.
    People on gaming forums were far less enthusiastic because they generally hate mobile games and any time a company they like has success in the mobile space it is seen a potential threat to that company making "real games".
    [–]madmelonxtra 5 points6 points7 points  (0 children)
    Yeah, while people were wary. It always seemed to me that people were pumped for AR Pokemon. Just worried about if it would be what they said it would.
    [–]PalapaSlaps 15 points16 points17 points  (1 child)
    I agree with everything except it being the best experience yet. I like Go a lot, but as a fan I cannot in any state of mind agree with someone calling it the best Pokemon experience. I get it, opinions, but as much as I like it, it really is not that great and will need to be updated a lot to have longevity, I feel.
    [–]Pooost 10 points11 points12 points  (2 children)
    Yesterday I was walking to a few stops with my roommate and we met like 10 people there (the stops had that lure thing). In Germany, where you either have to use an Australian / American iTunes account or download the .apk from an outside source and run the risk of being banned.
    [–]Activehannes 4 points5 points6 points  (1 child)
    Most people have Android anyway. Just download and play. they cannot ban the entire pokemon go community.
    [–]Pooost 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
    Yeah, and even if you get banned, you can simply sign up again I think.
    [–]Walnut156 27 points28 points29 points  (10 children)
    Don't take reddit word on anything. It's unbelievable biased and full of hate unless it's like the witcher 3 or something
    [–]FishPhoenix 12 points13 points14 points  (10 children)
    I admit I was wrong. I was shitting on this game last week after getting bored after 5 minutes. Gave it another shot yesterday while I was out running errands and had a good time. Saw a lot of people playing it.
    Found out this morning my gym (actual gym, not pokemon gym) is a pokestop.
    [–]JohanGrimm 6 points7 points8 points  (4 children)
    Well saying Nintendo games on mobile was a terrible idea was a safe bet. The vast majority of mobile games don't have the success of things like Pokemon GO or Angry Birds.
    [–]howtojump 25 points26 points27 points  (7 children)
    Living in a rural area, it's like I'm not even playing the same game as everyone else. The closest PokeStop to my house is about 5 miles away, and it's just a park without that many Pokemon there. Across the street from there is a gym, which always has loads of activity because it's literally the only gym in a 20 mile radius, but that's about it.
    I really wish I could like this game, but if you don't live on campus or in a metropolitan area it seems like you're just shit out of luck.
    [–]Zoombini09 57 points58 points59 points  (5 children)
    Not to be a dick, but that's basically rural vs. urban living in a nutshell (in a pokeball?)
    [–]ulpisen 33 points34 points35 points  (14 children)
    I'm almost a bit annoyed that when people said "make a vr pokemon game and it'll basically print money" they seem to have been right
    [–]Razumen 34 points35 points36 points  (3 children)
    Well, great ideas are easy, it's the implementation that's hard.
    [–]BlackHawkGS 18 points19 points20 points  (0 children)
    Exactly. This game wouldn't be half as successful if Niantic hadn't set the groundwork for this with Ingress. Catching random pokemon is fun, but going to all the pokestops and gyms is what gets people talking and active. PGo has been a long time in the making.
    [–]BigSmashy 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
    Great ideas are not easy. Great ideas are SIMPLE. There is a world of difference.
    Although I do agree on the implementation bit.
    [–]Razumen 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
    I agree, but it depends on the idea. Some are really easy to come up with, like a Pokemon MMO as the obvious example, others like you said are simple, but are usually the result of a little cleverness. (these may actually be really easy to implement, just that no one thought of it that way before).
    [–]Walnut156 7 points8 points9 points  (1 child)
    It's pretty much exactly what I wanted. I love collection type games and having to actually make effort to get some of these pokemon make it even better I want to complete the pokedex.
    Though trading and battling would be a plus but it just came out so I'm gonna give them time
    [–]Coban3 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
    tbh i never cared about completing a pokedex in the gameboy/ds games, i almost did it once but got kind of bored. i liked training my 10 or so main pokemon and that was that.
    But now that I actually have to get up and go find them Im really excited to try and fill this whole pokedex finally
    [–]TMSG 2 points3 points4 points  (2 children)
    People have said that about a Pokemon MMO for years now and just a normal Pokemon Console game.
    [–]slimezooka 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
    except none of the console pokémon games have sold nearly as much as the handheld ones...
    its been done before and it wasnt successful
    [–]ulpisen -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
    well, pokémon colosseum is kind of that, but it suffers from nintendo's retarded naming problems
    [–]SquirtleSpaceProgram 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
    If this is a market test for a potential pokemon vr game, I will be soooo happy.
    [–]YAOMTC 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
    This isn't VR (virtual reality), it's AR (augmented reality). VR is having a headset on your face and having a fully simulated environment around you. AR is stuff like Hololens, Pokemon Go, and the 3DS's AR cards, which overlay computer graphics on real world scenes in near real time. They're kind of similar, in that they make use rotational tracking and are interesting uses of small displays, but they're otherwise quite different.
    [–]ulpisen 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
    yes, AR is the word I was looking for, I just couldn't remember the letters, english isn't my firlst language
    [–]YAOMTC 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
    No problem, it's very common for people to confuse the two, whether they're native English speakers or not.
    [–][deleted]  (1 child)
    [removed]
      [–]braaier 47 points48 points49 points  (50 children)
      I really don't get the game. I've caught a few pokemon, but catching them isn't really fun. And I've gone to a few pokestops and gotten supplies, but that's not really fun either. I'm not at level 5 but when I get there, will going to the gyms be fun? When does the fun start?
      [–]TheOutlier 23 points24 points25 points  (0 children)
      I think the fun is in seeing other folks out in the world playing the game and in discovering the locations of stops and gyms in familiar real world locations.
      [–]joesatmoes 110 points111 points112 points  (24 children)
      Honestly the most fun is when you're going off to different places with friends. It feels like an actual Pokemon journey (and it may sound like I'm overreacting, and I am, but it does kinda feel like that).
      Example: a group of friends and I rode our bikes to this park near our neighborhood, and got some really awesome Pokemon and got to some pokestops and we felt really accomplished. Could we just go to those places without the app? Sure. But Pokemon Go gives you a specific goal when you go to those places
      [–]Sukururu 15 points16 points17 points  (3 children)
      Also the fact that you go out on an adventure and meet other out doing the same thing. Most of my friends don't live nearby, but I just go out alone and meet new people, who I probably wouldn't have even talked to before becaus they were just another random person walking on the sidewalk.
      [–]eph3merous 6 points7 points8 points  (2 children)
      My gf gets embarrassed when she notices someone else playing and avidly avoids them to ensure thst we do not talk to them.... So infuriating lol
      [–]GentlemenDreamer 15 points16 points17 points  (1 child)
      Well if they arent Team Mystic theyre as good as dead to me anyway.
      [–]joesatmoes 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Username checks out cuz if you think Team Mystic is in any way superior to Instict you MUST be dreaming
      [–]mancubus314159 42 points43 points44 points  (2 children)
      Sounds similar to the attraction to Geocaching, to me.
      [–]sheepcat87 40 points41 points42 points  (0 children)
      the game is quite literally a digital geocache. That's how it's previous game it is based on, Ingress, played out as well when geocaching became a hit, it's what inspired it in the first place.
      [–]xSPYXEx 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
      Yes, that's how I explained it to my dad. He's always been more or less willfully ignorant about anything to do with Pokemon since I got Yellow.
      It took a while to explain exactly what Go was but "Imagine geocaching but competitive and with Pokemon." seemed to click for him.
      [–]ownage516 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Super fun with friends. We feel like kids again
      [–]thor1111 1 point2 points3 points  (5 children)
      Genuinely curious here. What awesome pokemon did you get? I can't tell from the Internet if awesome is "my cool raticate" or "my cool hydeigon", and if this game actually provides awesome pkmn that'd be cool, not just "it's awesome cause it's mine, I walked to get it" pokemon.
      [–]joesatmoes 0 points1 point2 points  (3 children)
      Well I was able to find and catch a couple of Dratinis (#humblebrag)
      [–]thor1111 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
      Congrats :) Is the game limited to just kanto then? I havent seen a single non kanto pokemon on all of reddit.
      [–]joesatmoes 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
      Ye I think they're gonna be sticking with just the first 151 for now. Perhaps they might add more later- personally I'd rather keep it to 1-3 regions max, cuz 600+ pokemon is a LOT to keep track of.
      [–]thor1111 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Makes sense. This app seems on the outside to be designed for people who don't actually play pokemon currently on a 3DS. Seems like it's target audience is people who don't know/remember real pokemon gaming, so keeping it to the classic 151 does make it easier, because they probably just played RBY as kids or watched the TV show, hence why tapping for combat seems to be accepted instead of wanting real battling. Doesn't help those like me that can name almost all 750 pkmn and find Kanto to be too basic because they are. Also everything I just said is pure speculation and opinion.
      [–]SonicFlash01 1 point2 points3 points  (2 children)
      If you like to bike/walk places and mobile data isn't an issue for you then the game is great. Otherwise it's pretty useless
      [–]joesatmoes 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
      Well yeah there's gonna be problems of course, but I mean this is still in beta I think. And because of hours huge this game there have been a lot of frustrating server problems. But when it works well, which at least for me has been most of my time with it, it is pretty fun.
      [–]SonicFlash01 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      None of what I mentioned is fixable out of beta; it still requires a lot of walking and constant mobile data use, and this is their second whole game; they are beyond design experimentation, they've settled down
      [–]braaier 0 points1 point2 points  (6 children)
      But how do you know where the pokemon are? If I wanted to catch a specific pokemon how do I know where to go? The game does show you what pokemon are nearby, but what if I wanted one that wasn't nearby? How do I know which way to go to find them?
      [–]joesatmoes 0 points1 point2 points  (5 children)
      Well, the type of Pokemon in an area is based on the area. Like, grass types in the forest, water types around/on a lake, rock types in the mountains, etc.
      [–]GamerKey 1 point2 points3 points  (2 children)
      Fire and Lightning types?
      Don't tell me I have to go to an active volcano, we don't really have those around central europe...
      [–]DragonEevee1 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
      Fire and lighting is random, anything that doesn't make in your area (bugs and grass in fields) can still occur but is random. Example, I got a Hosea in a local park, but it highly rare and the park is mostly grass and bug type (with some flying and normal).
      [–]cheald 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      I live in the desert. I have Growlithes, Ponyta, and Vulpixes for days.
      My water types, on the other hand, are limited to a Squirtle I hatched and a Vaporeon I evolved.
      [–]Karmaisthedevil 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
      I really don't think this is true. Maybe water pokemon near lakes and rivers, since they show up in the game, but everything else I feel like you get by going to popular areas.
      [–]joesatmoes 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Well I mean, there probably has to be some out in the random, cuz if they did that then youd need to go into a volcano/burning building for fire types...and maybe, like, the middle of a thunderstorm cloud for electric.
      But I think mountains are probably where youd find more rock types, and rivers/lakes have lots of water type, and forests have grass and bug.
      [–]that_random_Italian 52 points53 points54 points  (1 child)
      It's okay if the game isn't your type. It just may not be what you are looking for.
      [–]Bubbleset 5 points6 points7 points  (3 children)
      Right now the fun is mainly in walking around your neighborhood or park and seeing other people all out doing the same thing - big community feeling in the game. Especially if you happen upon a lure or a hotspot with a bunch of pokestops, you'll often find a dozen people hanging out.
      Otherwise it remains to be seen. The pokemon training aspect seems shallow and poorly explained and the battles are fairly wonky and don't really represent what the original games had in terms of strategy.
      [–]braaier 2 points3 points4 points  (2 children)
      So when I've seen people congregating playing the game, is it a decent assumption that someone has used a lure and that's why people are hanging out? I just walked over to a few pokestops near my work, collected some items and came back to work. I didn't see the point of people just standing around. I guess it makes sense if someone used a lure.
      [–]Bubbleset 2 points3 points4 points  (1 child)
      Yeah, usually I've seen medium-sized crowds at good hangout spots with lures. Makes for a good reason to sit in one place as opposed to just wandering. You can check on your app - the pokestop in question will have a purple sparkly effect around it if there's something active on it.
      [–]braaier 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Ohhhhh...I've seen those! Thanks. I feel like this game is more complicated than I originally thought. I didn't see much of this spelled out in the actual game.
      [–]sinsinkun 7 points8 points9 points  (1 child)
      The fun is really just going outside and taking a walk. It's gamifying the act of going outside, which is something to be applauded, but there's really nothing beyond that. Without any meaningful battle mechanics (even though the pokemon have move sets...), it's really just something to do while you take a walk, or rather, something to incentivize taking a walk.
      Unfortunately, after you've taken that walk, you quickly realize there's no point to your pokemon collection because there's no battles, so... There's no real pay off there, game wise. If you just need something to get you outside, and/or you just want to collect pokemon for the sake of collecting pokemon, then it's a good enough game for you. If you want something that's deeper than that, something that even slightly resembles an actual game, you should just turn back now.
      [–]noob_dragon 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      I actually find it kind of sick that people need an incentive like this to actually go outside. What happened to people going outside, getting exercise, and socializing for fun?
      Here's another huge problem with this game: it requires 4g, so the second you go into the backcountry this game will stop functioning. Pretty friggen stupid if you ask me. Whenever I take a walk I go hiking, so Pokemon Go is completely useless to me. Not to mention, if I'm hiking I wanna be looking at the damn scenery, not at my stupid phone.
      [–]Walnut156 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      To me at least the fun is getting up out of the ol basement with some friends and just walking around finding pokemon or taking over a gym or meeting new people. Pokemon go is not meant to be played like a normal game go is about being social and active and just really well going places.
      [–]noob_dragon 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      I don't have the game, but I don't think there is anything you are doing wrong. 99% of this game it seems is just catching pokemon. Chances are the game is too bare bones for you, which is a common criticism of the game.
      [–]suomyno 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
      There isn't much gameplay, to be honest. It's mostly walking around collecting things.
      Pretty sad that they were willing to attach the Pokemon brand to what is essentially a glorified Cow Clicker. If they don't overhaul the battle system and add PvP + player trading, this game will be dead within weeks.
      [–]braaier 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Sounds like that would be quite the update and from what I've heard they stopped the worldwide rollout because of server issues. It will likely take several months to get an update to include these additional features.
      [–]nastyjman 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      There's some nuance on throwing pokeballs. The pokemon will sometimes parry your pokeball if you time it wrong. Also, the shrinking circle also determines your bonus at the end of a catch. The smaller the circle, the better the bonus. However, you must land that pokeball within that shrinking circle.
      Another nuance is the difficulty of the pokemon. You can determine whether it's easy or not by the color of the shrinking circle. If it's green, then it's easy as pie. If it's red, you better be prepared to stand in the middle of the street flicking your finger on the surface of your phone.
      Personally, I find it fun with AR off. I only turn AR on when I want a cutesy picture.
      [–]TMSG 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      If walking around and hoping to find neat pokemon isn't fun to you, no it will not be fun.
      [–]lycar 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Its just a giant game of scavenger hunt. I find it dun seeing people everywhere playing.
      [–]SirTreeTreeington 0 points1 point2 points  (3 children)
      Gyms are the best part. Pick your team and defend your city against the evil Instinct
      [–]braaier 1 point2 points3 points  (2 children)
      Dude. I went to a gym today and I got one hit killed. How do I beat this bitch?
      [–]SirTreeTreeington 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
      Was it the same team as you? Were the Pokemon significantly higher cp? Try dodging.
      [–]braaier 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Yeah his CP was like 990. Mine was like 30. How do I get to 991?
      [–]assbutter9 -3 points-2 points-1 points  (4 children)
      It's not a game for you. You don't need to "get" it.
      [–]braaier 4 points5 points6 points  (3 children)
      why so defensive?
      [–]assbutter9 -4 points-3 points-2 points  (2 children)
      ? How was that defensive? But if tens of millions of people are loving the game don't you think the problem might be with you? You don't need to "get" every game released.
      [–]theweepingwarrior 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
      Maybe he's wondering if there are mechanics or something where the true fun lies that he's missing out on. That's kind of where I am too with Pokemon Go. It's not necessarily a knock on the game but if you see millions of people having fun with it and you're not then it's understandable to believe that maybe there's a chance you're playing it incorrectly and you'd like to fix that so you can join in on that fun.
      Like I'm still confused, and I'm with /u/braaier. The novelty fun of a fresh new Pokemon experience wore off after a few minutes. The act of catching Pokemon isn't fun, neither is walking to a Pokestop, nor even necessarily the way battles in this game work as opposed to others. It's kinda cute to see kids go to these places too, but that doesn't really improve the gameplay in any way.
      The game has done a very poor job at explaining different elements of the game--I've just been stumbling my way through--and I'm curious if there are aspects I'm missing out on that are fun? Like Charmander is my favorite Pokemon, but he's easily the weakest I've got right now and after travelling about 60+ miles in the past two days I haven't seen another so I can power him up. Will I be able to easily level him up and use him to battle like in the other games? And will the battling come more frequently?
      [–]noob_dragon 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      There might be tens of millions playing the game, but don't forget there are billions of people not playing the game. It's not his problem.
      [–]Aurora011 10 points11 points12 points  (0 children)
      This is like Star Wars all over again. They release the first trilogy in the 80s. The now adults have children who then get taken to go watch the prequels because their dad watched the original trilogy. And then more child fans are born, who then grow up to become adults and have children and then watch the new trilogy with them. This is happening with Pokemon, this is madness!
      [–]mastigia 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
      I really dig this game. And I had no prior interest in pokemon at all. But, what I am most excited about is not this game in particular, it is that the ice is broken on ARGs. The possibilities here are insane. I am sitting there in bed with my wife last night and I am like "you know people are gonna be running around in armored groups soon fighting dragons on the Strip(I live in Las Vegas)."
      Then I am like babe, we need to make ARG shit integrated into comfortable armor accessories. Like batteries, and flexible touch displays, and motion capture sensors. We like MMOs, this might not be your bag. And that is just one, maybe stupid, marketable idea that popped up because this silly pokemon game made the idea of this totally new kind of behavior socially acceptable.
      The repercussions of this are going to be staggering. And I don't think Nintendo is really going to take full advantage of what they started. They are a super conservative company.
      [–]sorathecrow 14 points15 points16 points  (4 children)
      I think if there was more to the game, like a proper battle system and some randomly generated trainer battles and/or shops or buildings to visit that weren't just landmarks you swipe for item drops, it would hold my attention longer. As it is, I spent about four hours playing it last weekend and feel like I'm about maxed out on any enjoyment I could get out of it.
      [–]WildlifeAnalysis 7 points8 points9 points  (2 children)
      I think what the game really needs is a way to interact directly with other players. I've seen tons of people playing the game outside, but I haven't actually gone up and talked to any of them because I wouldn't really know what I would say. (Although this is partially because I'm shy anyway.)
      [–]sickvisionz 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
      This is their grand resurgence. A lot of mobile games are the sort of really focused mechanically driven games that were super popular back when Nintendo dominated the scene.
      They were built for this. Glad to see them finally embracing it and seeing success.
      [–]RatSnakeRabbitSnake 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
      Can I just say that I'm very glad this post is still up? Sometimes links about the business side of things like stock prices get caught in rule 3. Good job mods.
      [–]redhawk9 14 points15 points16 points  (17 children)
      The funny thing about this is Nintendo isn't involved at all it is just Niantic and The Pokemon Company
      [–]Manadar24 36 points37 points38 points  (5 children)
      Yes but Nintendo is the only publicly traded owner of The Pokémon Company. The other two are private companies.
      The one other publicly traded company involved is Google, as Alphabet, partly funded Pokémon Go together with Nintendo. This is not reflected in their stock in a similar way. Alphabet is huge compared to the others and they will not benefit much from the long term Pokémon brand reinforcement.
      [–]SpartanAB117 2 points3 points4 points  (4 children)
      Alphabet funded Pokemon Go? ಠ_ಠ News to me!
      [–]ideadude 6 points7 points8 points  (1 child)
      The game started as an April fools joke by Google.
      [–]SpartanAB117 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
      I can't believe my eyes right now. How did I not know this?
      That is hilarious😂
      [–]cheald 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
      Niantic was a Google subsidiary, which was spun off prior to Google reorganizing under Alphabet.
      [–]garoorag 10 points11 points12 points  (0 children)
      Beyond TPC ownership, Pokémon Go's success is good for the Pokémon brand, which is good for Nintendo.
      [–]boxoffice1 19 points20 points21 points  (4 children)
      Look up who owns a third of TPC! They don't have a majority stake in GO but they stand to make a lot of money if it does well.
      [–]BuffaloRex 2 points3 points4 points  (3 children)
      Doesn't Nintendo own Game Freak too? So really they own like 2/3 of TPC
      [–]GalacticNexus 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      I don't think they own it in totality. GF made a Xbone/PS4/PC game recently.
      [–]SwampyBogbeard 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
      Not Game Freak, but they own an unknown minority share of Creatures Inc.
      So in total they own a secret percentage between 34% and 50% of TPC.
      [–]BuffaloRex 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Ah, very interesting. Thanks for the info! Such a complicated ownership structure.
      [–]RazorChiken 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
      They invested 15 million dollars in it, they're pretty involved.
      [–]phaily 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      to be fair, they have one third of a copyright line in the about page of the settings panel.
      [–]dewie68 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      I honestly never heard of Niantic until Go. I was unsure if this was the real Pokemon Go when I went to download it.
      [–]name_was_taken 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      As the others have noted, Nintendo will profit fairly directly from this. But they also did this knowing that it would boost the sales of the games they're releasing later this year. It's a good stock choice right now, and I wish I'd been thinking about it last week.
      [–]Pooh_Bear 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Nintendo is very much involved in this, even though they aren't the direct developer:
      • The Pokemon Company is 33% owned by Nintendo, with the other two owners being Game Freak and Creatures
      • Nintendo also owns an undisclosed share of Creatures
      • Nintendo directly owns the trademarks for the Pokemon logo and Pokemon characters
      • Nintendo, along with Google and The Pokemon Company, have invested $30 million ($20m direct, plus $10m with hitting milestones) in Niantic as a company directly.
      [–]Foxkill2342 2 points3 points4 points  (2 children)
      Has pokemon not been around all this time? How has a free app magically reignited a fad that has been around for 15+ years. I'm not being negative, just skeptical.
      [–]GeekAesthete 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
      I think presuming that Pokemon is the primary appeal is missing the point. Using a recognizable brand is important for secondary reasons, but the primary appeal is essentially a variation on geocaching.
      I've never gotten into Pokemon. Tried a couple of the games, but never really took to it. But I jog, I walk my dogs a lot, I like to get out of the house, and Pokemon Go provides a passive goal for those things -- rather than just walking my dogs around the block a few times, or jogging around the neighborhood, I can head here and there to grab some Pokemon, stock up at PokeStops, etc., and sometimes you meet other people along the way.
      It's just fun to go out into the world and find something. It's minor exploration. And if I'm planning to go walking anyway, why not play a game while I'm doing it?
      [–]ManateeofSteel 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
      It's free, anyone who isn't a gamer can get into it. Aka, those who have missed out on new pokemons since Crystal or Ruby/Sapphire. That's a lot of people, this is incredibly accessible. And it goes to show people like Nintendo's content, they just don't like their hardware
      [–]ttubehtnitahwtahw1 4 points5 points6 points  (1 child)
      Which is strange as there is nothing to it. Unless the add something to it to fast to make all the effort worth it, the nostalgia will die down and people will move on. Just look at Fallout Shelter, similar depth in gameplay, forgotten in about a month.
      [–]welestgw 6 points7 points8 points  (9 children)
      So how long until they add the pokemon snap mechanic to the game?
      [–]person594 21 points22 points23 points  (5 children)
      That's already in the game
      [–]welestgw 4 points5 points6 points  (4 children)
      The picture taking is, but none of the parts that surround that.
      [–]ReadsSmallTextWrong 10 points11 points12 points  (2 children)
      Yeah I should be able to print out my pictures at the nearest Blockbuster!
      [–]joesatmoes 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Well in a way, Pokemon Go is a combination of several things people have been craving for a while- it's basically the best way they could make something like a Pokemon MMO, and the closest thing to a Pokemon VR game. And combining the two has made it the closest thing to actually living in the Pokemon world. I mean, this is basically every nerd's biggest dream- maybe second getting a letter from a real life Hogwarts.
      [–]RatSnakeRabbitSnake 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
      The minimum buy for Nintendo on the Tokyo Stock Exchange is 100 shares. That's not to say people don't buy through intermediaries, but between that minimum share and how buying into them from abroad reauires knowledge above many small or new investors skill level, it's safe to say that this rise in value is largely do to serious investors putting in serious money.
      [–]ideadude 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
      I buy the PNTDOY.PK pink sheets/ADR through Etrade.
      It's a tough stock for foreigners to own. Lots of data is missing in regular analysis services. The investor reports are in Japanese and need to be translated. And all of the financials are in Yen and need to be converted. You also can't buy or sell options of the ADR. I called Etrade and they can't buy options for me on the Nikkei directly either.
      But if you can get through all that, it's been a good investment opportunity. They have a ton of mind share, lots of cash (about $10/share worth) and a real shot of making a bunch of money. Of course the stock is about 50% more expensive than it was a week ago.
      Edit: As an aside, I took a look at the stock before it rose from $8 to $60 on the Wii craze and decided it was too cumbersome to buy. Oops. When I got the chance to pick it up at $12 again around the Wii U announcement, I did my homework and bought some. It's been a few tough years with the Wii U selling poorly, but a good long term investment I think.
      [–]FabioRodriquez 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Looks like jumping to mobile was the move that they needed.
      I just can't wait until the Fire Emblem mobile game in the fall.
      Has there been any new information about it?
      [–]anhero23 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      I did so much fucking exercise yesterday to hatch my eggs. I love this game and what it's doing to us.
      [–]chary5325 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      I wonder if this will last, though. Miitomo was a hit for a week and then tapered off. Pokemon is a very special IP though, that can draw in people of all ages, but how long until it's dropped for the next new fad app?
      [–]DocMcNinja 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
      What does it mean for a company when this happens? Will they have more money at their disposal?
      What if the shares go down shortly, to same level they were before Pokémon GO? Will it be the same as if they never went up in the first place? Or is briefly being up and then back still better than staying at the same level all the time?
      [–]RatSnakeRabbitSnake 3 points4 points5 points  (0 children)
      This doesn't directly effect their finances. As a publicly traded company, this is increasing the value of thier owners investments and that's wonderful, since doing is the managements job. This can have a lot of indirect effects though. Happy investors can make for more leeway in how management proceeds, it can help the brand itself grow stronger, and it can make partnering with Nintendo more appealing. It can even make borrowing or raising money much easier. That may seem unimportant to Nintendo given their significant (albeit often exaggerated) reserves. I don't think that's true though. Moving to mobile is going to make getting cash easier, and it's going to be directly profitable. I think that means Nintendo will start spending. Those reserves will shrink as acquisitions and investments increase.
      [–]galuf86 1 point2 points3 points  (2 children)
      I don't know enough about it.... but is it a rip off of Ingress?
      [–]Karel_Kazuki 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Can't be a ripoff if the people who made Ingress made Pokemon Go as well right?
      [–]Twinkiman -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
      Yeah it is. Ingress also has more features as well.
      [–]poomcgoo8 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      25%?! Holy fuck, that's a lot. It's always depressing when I see shares I have considered buying recently spike so ridiculously. I really did not expect Pokemon GO to be that big.
      [–]OccupyGravelpit 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Old technology (geolocation games) with lateral thinking (wrap it up in the most recognizable collection IP on the planet) equals Nintendo makes money.
      Perfectly predictable.
      [–]DannySpud2 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      I gave up waiting today and downloaded the apk. Then I went outside to walk about my road for a bit. I spent over an hour walking around my town checking out what places had been made Pokéstops and Gyms and catching Pokémon. I would probably have been out longer but my battery ran out. I don't remember the last time I went outside solely to walk around, probably not in the last decade. I'm now looking forward to my walk to work tomorrow morning.
      [–]darkstar3333 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Well expect to see more Pokemon games on every mobile device.
      Shareholders are going to point to this and basically demand more. Nintendo will have to come up with an exceptionally good case not to make the move, otherwise they have a strong financial obligation to do it.
      [–]Framp_The_Champ 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
      I hope this mobile success leads to Nintendo creating a phone or a phone option as their next handled. I'd love to own a Gameboy again, but I don't want to carry two devices. An Android compatible phone with a Nintendo store world be an instant but for me.
      Even without Android compatibility, it'd be a strong consideration.
      [–]-ParticleMan- 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      It's almost like everyone has been right for decades about how they would make all of the money by just untethering their games from their niche consoles/hardware
      [–]Cjpinto47 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Now if they could use those million they are racking in to upgrade the crappy servers and put more poke stops outside of the major cities it would be great.
      [–]Raneados 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Pokemon Go has re-awakened a desire I had to play pokemon that I haven't felt since G1.
      Sad that pokemon Go doesn't 100% scratch the itch, because I think if it was more in tune to what people wanted in an MMO pokemon game, the world might fucking end through nobody going back to work.
      But now I'm considering picking up a DS and a few pokemon games. And wondering if I can spare the cash to do so JUST for pokemon D:
      [–]what_comes_after_q 3 points4 points5 points  (3 children)
      This is a gross over valuation. This would value the game at over 7 billion dollars. Let's say they get 50 million daily users. Let's say a whopping 10 percent spend a dollar a day on the game. 5 million in daily revenue. 7 billion dollars? That's 4 years of revenue (not EBITA). These numbers are unrealistically sunny as well, and assume a constant usage (hint, people get bored and stop playing).
      [–]Damaniel2 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
      Niantic/TPC have a license to print money now. I've been an on-and-off Ingress player for the past year, and as an example, there's a gym at my work (which is based on an Ingress portal location, of course). The ownership of that Ingress portal might change once every day or two, depending on which of the half dozen people in my area who play Ingress comes by and changes it. The gym located there changed ownership 3 times in less than 5 minutes this morning - I claimed it for my team, and it flipped less than 60 seconds later. I saw multiple people standing around in the vicinity of it the entire time I was walking by. And this is a portal sitting on (publicly accessible) company property! If they ever add direct trainer-to-trainer battles, then people might not ever play anything else again...
      [–]octnoir 2 points3 points4 points  (4 children)
      I'm curious how well GO is doing in the Japanese markets - there's a competitor there called Yokai Watch that has basically been beating Pokemon year by year, and I know Nintendo really wanted to secure their top position there again.
      EDIT: Commentators inform me that GO hasn't or isn't going to launch in Japanese markets.
      [–]cougarhart 12 points13 points14 points  (0 children)
      It's not out in Japan yet.
      [–]name_was_taken 4 points5 points6 points  (0 children)
      Does Yokai Watch have an AR game? I agree that they compete in their normal incarnations, but this is a side-game from a side company, and so far as I know, Yokai Watch hasn't come close to having that kind of support, despite how well it's been selling.
      [–]error521 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
      Go isn't out in Japan yet
      [–]IstheLieReallyaCake 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Yokai Watch is a fad. The games are incredibly boring.
      [–]ashesarise 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
      I don't see how people can accept the game after spending a few days playing it. It is so bad in so many areas. Even catching pokemon is a chore when the tracking just doesn't work. It feels like the gps is accurate within 50 ft and updates your position every 10 seconds. I have to restart the game every 2 mins for it to work at all. Since you can pay for XP, gyms have no reason to exist other than to stroke whale's egos.
      [–]Soulrak87 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Watch, Nintendo NX will have a normal controller, and a subscription online service like Xbox Live/PSN.
      Nintendo: "wow, were making more money than ever, people are loving it."
      [–]LunarEgo 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      You had better believe that the newest iterations of Nintendo handhelds are going to come with some kind of GPS functionality. That is, even if Nintendo doesn't just adopt mobile as its next handheld. Why risk making new hardware that has been known to fail (Wii-U/virtual boy) etc? They can just make cross-platform and push all of their efforts into making wide distributions of their best franchises.
      [–]Mike2640 0 points1 point2 points  (6 children)
      What's that? Nintendo putting their games on mobile turned out to be a very profitable venture? Who would've thought?
      EDIT: Sarcasm aside, I hope this makes Nintendo less gun-shy about mobile in the future. I'd love to see a Mario or Zelda title make the jump. Maybe even a Virtual console of some kind?
      [–]Esham 1 point2 points3 points  (2 children)
      The question is would you accept a Mario or Zelda that doesn't play at all like the existing games?
      I suspect the pokemon crowd is ok with this but i have my doubts that the general masses would accept a zelda/mario game that isn't actually a zelda/mario game.
      [–]Mike2640 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      If it's fun, sure. Why not? Nintendo is a very competent company. They've innovated on their formulas dozens of times. I'm sure they'd find a way to make a Zelda or Mario game for mobile that keeps to the spirit of the franchise. As different as Pokemon Go is from the core series, the foundation- explore, capture pokemon and battle them, still remains intact.
      [–]warriorman 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      If this gets them to make a real mobile pokemon game with real battling I'll be so in, even if it costs the same price as a normal pokemon game
      [–]Tsuku 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Everyone I know and their mothers are playing this, I havent seen non gamers and gamers alike jump on a game like this in awhile. So it's no wonder.
      [–]shark_byt3 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
      Dunno man. I'd also like to know.
      Basically gym is in center of campus, and the Pokémon club (instinct) stacked the shit out of it. As Valor I want to piss them off :/
      [–]NuIIatrum 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Yellows the best my fellow
      [–]SpiderParadox 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      You can whittle the gym down if you have a mediocre team, or you can get some friends and battle it together. Generally if you attack a gym in a group the gym will go down.
      [–]elitegenoside 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      I feel like it's not great in my direct area. I just can't seem to find much, but I don't want to give up because I also feel like I'm just off to a slow start and I might start to enjoy it after I get some momentum going.
      [–]notjawn 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      I'm wondering if this will make up for the general decline they've seen since the Wii U launch? I'd love a good Nintendo fever right about holiday season.
      [–]dqingqong 0 points1 point2 points  (4 children)
      Since I started playing Pokemon, I want to get back to playing it. Unfortunately, I only have Nintendo DS. What are the best pokemon games to Nintendo DS?
      [–]TopHatHipster 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
      Actually, all of them. HeartGold & SoulSilver are good remakes of the Gen 2 games, Diamond, Pearl and Platinum contain a new region (not everyone's a fan of that, but I loved it since it was my first generation), and the Ranger games (especially Shadows of Alimia and Guardian Signs) were very good spin-offs.
      [–]Kamen-Rider 2 points3 points4 points  (0 children)
      heart gold and soul silver are my personal favorite ones for ds
      [–]OrangeKefka 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      My friend at work, she doesn't care for games at all, never has. Today she's spending lunch looking for Pokémon. I feel like I'm living in bizarro-world.
      [–]Fizzol 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
      Silly question. How do I bring up the settings menu to change options?
      [–]mikekearn 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
      Tap the Pokéball on the bottom of your screen. Settings option should be top right.
      [–]ReimersHead 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
      As a Canadian (iPhone) is there any reason why I should not make an american account and grab the app early?
      [–]TehBamboozler 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Not really. The game isn't that good but I've had a bit of fun playing it with my friends in Canada. It only takes a few minutes to make a new account.
      [–]w0m 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Are there pokestops/gyms in your area yet? If not; you may only be able to buy balls/etc until they do the formal launch (I'm not far into it to know specifics)
      [–]Clbull 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
      It's too bad Niantic fucked up the launch of Pokemon Go so badly, that any gamers downloading the app legitimately in other regions once it eventually launches will find more experienced players who got the game illegitimately from APKs dominating gyms with high levelled critters.
      So much for that fucking level playing field on launch!
      [–]Esham 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      Mobile games and competition don't really mix. I don't think many people will care.
      [–]Sgt_peppers 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      I just want a decent combat system, WTF is taping the screen and moving to dodge. Give me a nice RPG combat system and pokemon Go would be great
      [–]FreshExpress 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Whoa whoa whoa. If you didn't have the conviction to look out for restocks then you shouldn't be complaining today.
      [–]TheSubtleSaiyan 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      I've been trying to make an account for days, but the site is doing some repairs before new accounts can be made!
      [–]whyhellomichael 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      I spent 4.99 on this game today. That is more than I have spent on Nintendo In the better part of a decade.
      [–]sony4life 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Interestingly the last time Nintendo shares jumped up this high (%) was when Famicom(NES) was released in '83 (for those who are old enough might remember what that console did for Nintendo, particularly in that time period). A LONG time seeing that kind of share growth. And the game is yet to be available outside US and Au/NZ, officially at least.
      Clearly Nintendo can just release their IP outside of their hardware, and they will just eat million dollar bills for breakfast.
      [–]FercPolo 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      You wanna see something really cool? Keep watching the stock. You'll see what "Buy the rumor, Sell the News" means.
      [–]wazzledoozle 0 points1 point2 points  (4 children)
      Nintendo should make their own android-based hardware, with a slide-out gamepad. Then release custom-tailored gamepads for flagship devices. They could dominate mobile gaming.
      Nintendo's history of making awful choices probably indicates they won't though.
      [–]RudegarWithFunnyHat 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      sony tried that without success though
      [–]Vurondotron 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
      That would be shooting their other foot, Sony has tried that and that failed.
      [–]wazzledoozle 0 points1 point2 points  (1 child)
      Sony is awful at execution though, and their IP doesn't move hardware like Nintendo does. They also gave up after one shitty, poorly marketed handset in 2011.
      All Nintendo has to do is make their next handheld android-based, then release their games on the android play store (and iOS) in addition to requiring their proprietary input peripherals. The Nintendo app could be a marketplace like steam, with virtual console titles in addition to new software. They're leaving a ton of money on the table by not seizing the emulation market with their huge back catalog.
      [–]Vurondotron 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Sony is awful at execution though, and their IP doesn't move hardware like Nintendo does.
      Yeah Sony killed themselves in my opinion when they treated the Vita like Garbage they didn't give it a chance. As for their IPs not moving consoles as Nintendo is because they fail to use them and some they sold-off to other companies. Even the CEO said himself that they don't give a damn about their IPs. That's why I haven't owned a Sony product in 17 years.
      [–]ThalmorInquisitor 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Meanwhile, on the UK App Store, a knockoff Pokémon Go app is at the top right now, because people never read who the manufacturer is, and the manufacturer is using Pokémon Go screenshots in his advertising.
      [–]filippo333 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      Pokémon Go is a terrible Pokémon game. The fact a gimmick (Augmented Reality) is the only way to play is the reason it's become so popular. That and the well known Pokémon name.
      [–]Argonanth 0 points1 point2 points  (7 children)
      But why do people like it...? As soon as I heard that the game didn't even have the standard Pokemon battle system I just lost all interest. I honestly can't see what is interesting about this game without a battle system. Maybe I just enjoyed Pokemon for different reasons than most people? The whole thing that made the games amazing to me was the straightforward but also complex RPG system that anyone could easily understand. Coming up with a team of cool looking Pokemon that could cover anything an opponent would throw at me was the whole point of the game. Pokemon Go has none of that.
      [–]LegElbow 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      It's crazy how massive the subreddit is. It has blown up over night became instantly one of the most active on reddit.
      Literally 25-30K active users.
      [–]choobster 0 points1 point2 points  (2 children)
      I love this Pokemon Go I was up walking at the park till midnight last night. Other people were there too!
      [–]name_was_taken 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
      It's been rather good at getting people to meet each other and talk. Plus, I'm getting more exercise from it, as I'm both walking and biking to places to get more items and pokemon.
      [–]choobster 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
      I just walked up to a pokestop near my workplace on lunch and met two trainers there.
      [–]bigblue988 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
      While it is great that its a big hit in the US store, how about CANADA or the rest of the fucking world. I mean it was trending on twitter yesterday it it seems like they don't even care.
      Yes you can get it from the US store but it wont update and you have to make a US app store account.
      I'm mad.
      [–]InertBaller -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
      Never mind the 1996 version having more features as well as the ability to catch different monsters without leaving your hometown or trespassing, just lap that gimmick right up.
      [–][deleted]  (14 children)
      [removed]
        [–]paintlegz -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
        Can I just have a chrome app that hides all PoGO related things until it's released in my country?
        [–]android151 -2 points-1 points0 points  (7 children)
        I'm really happy for Nintendo but something about the amount of people walking around looking at their phones getting overly excited bothers me.
        When I did the same thing while playing an actual Pokemon game as opposed to an app, people gave me weird looks.
        [–]BeyondTheOptionsMenu -7 points-6 points-5 points  (6 children)
        It's people that are immersing themselves in a fake reality and can't even keep it in their own homes now. Very disturbing to think about and really does not bode well considering wearable VR is coming up very soon. It makes you wonder just how much of reality people are willing to replace with digital simulacra.
        edit: the cowards can't step to my level of discourse so they instead seek to censor my opinions with downvotes.
        [–]ryty0591 5 points6 points7 points  (5 children)
        Ahh yes, people going out and socializing and exercising as opposed to just staying home. Very scary stuff!
        [–]BeyondTheOptionsMenu comment score below threshold-8 points-7 points-6 points  (4 children)
        So not only do you little kids downvote me to try to hide my criticism of your digital fantasies you also present strawman arguments of my position and hide behind sarcasm. Well...we'll see what happens to you when you try these tactics in real life. Hope you enjoy getting punched in the face.
        [–]ryty0591 3 points4 points5 points  (2 children)
        I actually cringed while reading that.
        [–]JiggaPlex 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
        Ahh I remember when I won this argument
        good times man
        [–]Tofa7 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
        Big man
        [–]chinchilla-khaleesi -2 points-1 points0 points  (0 children)
        A lot of really easily amused people..honestly I hesitate to even call it a game. I'm just salty though because I can't get on TCG online (an actual game that takes skill and strategy) because millions of assholes are walking around flicking their balls.
        [–]AlexTCGPro -2 points-1 points0 points  (0 children)
        r/Gamindustri? Darn Blanc
        [–]rmoviesok -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
        So it's time to short Nintendo?
        [–]wriley -1 points0 points1 point  (1 child)
        Like I have always said Nintendo needs to stop screwing around with hardware and start putting the amazing 1st party games on other platforms. Put a Mario game on iOS and the same thing will happen. Make an amazing Pokemon or Zelda for PS4 And they will make billions.
        [–]Tofa7 -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
        Please explain how a Mario game or any platforming title would be good on a touch screen device. Have you played Mario before? It requires precision.
        [–]Kubrick_Fan -1 points0 points1 point  (0 children)
        Isn't this one of the origin stories for Skynet?
        [–]RantKid -4 points-3 points-2 points  (1 child)
        Over a year ago I predicted/pointed out the effects of their mobile market announcement (ironically at that time, their stock was dropping)
        Check "Globalization" segment
        And mom said video games wouldn't do anything for me. Got me an A and a nice return! Lol.
        [–]Delsana -5 points-4 points-3 points  (7 children)
        What is the purpose of this Pokemon Go thing? I see no purpose to it.
        [–]ecpackers 4 points5 points6 points  (1 child)
        its great. not the game, the game is mediocre as fuck. BUT, ever since it came out, my kid wants to go on walks all the time with his mom, which she loves. so +1 !
        [–]Delsana 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
        It's pretty popular at /r/DogShowerThoughts too, all our hoomans seem take us for more walks.
        [–]lime517 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
        Catching them all.
        [–]Esham -1 points0 points1 point  (3 children)
        What is the purpose of any video game?
        [–]Delsana -2 points-1 points0 points  (2 children)
        Except there's no real game function here.
        [–]Esham comment score below threshold-6 points-5 points-4 points  (1 child)
        Says who?
        People buy games and enjoy games where you walk on a path and the story is spewed to you. The game will play itself.
        Its still a game and people enjoy it.
        The purpose of games is to have fun. Not look at how it functions.
        Also Pokemon Go is very social overall. You have to go outside and do things and meeting other people doing the same thing is part of the appeal. The pokemon aspect and actually BEING a trainer is another part of the appeal.
        its probably why a lot of people on /r/games are confused about it as this subreddit is PC centric and probably not into the outside or social aspects of this game.
        [–]noob_dragon -3 points-2 points-1 points  (0 children)
        So I took a look at the app store and apparently the devs were too lazy to even bother supporting Intel chips. Well then, if they were too lazy to bother doing that little bit of programming then they were also probably too lazy to bother making a good game too.
        [–]misturcheef -2 points-1 points0 points  (3 children)
        Which app store?
        [–]TranceRealistic 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
        Both android and apple probably.
        [–]Perunsan 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
        only available in select countries
        [–]Speech500 -2 points-1 points0 points  (4 children)
        Is the game only available in the US right now, or is it just not popular in the EU/Asia?
        [–]ndbl 1 point2 points3 points  (3 children)
        It's currently only available in US, Australia, and New Zealand. It'll be coming to other countries soon.
        [–]Speech500 1 point2 points3 points  (2 children)
        So they chose specifically 3 out of the 6 English speaking countries? That's an unusual choice.
        [–]ndbl 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
        Yeah, I know, but not my decision.
        [–]Concrete_Cows 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
        Australia and New Zealand are pretty common places to launch an app (hearthstone did the same thing).
        UK was supposed to have released already but they held it back due to server problems once US launched (which is fine by me TBH).
        [–]snookums -3 points-2 points-1 points  (6 children)
        Think about how much more money they could make if they abandoned console hardware and went third party. They're limiting their revenue with console exclusivity.
        [–]risico001 1 point2 points3 points  (4 children)
        Or they push the market with new technologies in console. You don't want them to abandon it.
        [–]snookums -4 points-3 points-2 points  (3 children)
        No. I'd be fine with it. The gimmicks suck.
        [–]Vurondotron 1 point2 points3 points  (2 children)
        You are a fool who doesn't know what they are talking about. --- First off the Wii U gamepad wasn't a gimmick it was misused. -- The failure of the Wii U was the lack of architecture and the lack of marketing.
        [–]risico001 1 point2 points3 points  (1 child)
        Yep exactly and that is what happens when you push the market. Nintendo is the innovator, Sony/Microsoft just keep the cash cow going.
        [–]Vurondotron 1 point2 points3 points  (0 children)
        Nintendo is the innovator, Sony/Microsoft just keep the cash cow going.
        Yet, a lot of people seem to miss that..
        [–]Vurondotron 0 points1 point2 points  (0 children)
        Think about how much Sony and Microsoft would make by dropping out their consoles and moved to PC only and made a console together. -- Sarcasm. --- You people sound like you know shit but sadly don't.
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