Well it has been well over a week since Pokémon Go came out and the world has not been the same. Initially I was going to just share the press release – does not appear I need to anymore. 🙂 I could do a traditional review of the game but again, not sure I need to do that anymore since 10 million downloads has already occurred here in the US. 🙂
I thought I would share my thoughts on different aspects of the game.
The Game Itself:
Yes it is fun and a neat idea. Having to travel around and “discover” or find different creatures can be somewhat addicting. The Pokémon are randomly generated so you never know what you might find. Once you find enough of them, then you can evolve them into bigger and better ones. The challenge is finding the rare Pokémon, so the game is something you will/can do for a long time.
Myself and my kids have combined Pokémon Go with our trips to karate class, grocery shopping, going out to dinner, etc. I really do not know much about Pokémon but my kids do and want to play, so I am playing. After they explained to me how it worked, I sorta got into it. Right now I am level 12 and my best creature is Vaporeon with about 600 CP. I am curious to see how many I can find and how high level-wise I might get.
Well almost every night my boys are asking me to take them out collecting. I go because I love spending time with them. It is also funny to see others out on the Pokémon trail.
My “issues”:
These are not really issues per say, maybe my rants. At this point in the game, these are the things that irritate me somewhat.
Locations – We live on the south side of town and there a few Poketops and Gyms but man, the minute you go downtown, it simply explodes.
It would be nice to see these locations (PokeStops and Gyms) spread out more. I guess you go where the people are though. Because of our location, we do more driving than walking, so it makes it harder to find Pokémon or hatch eggs.
Fighting in the gyms – I just, with the help of some friends, beat by first gym. The whole battling is interesting but I have only controlled a gym for a few hours. Controlling a gym, for 24 hours, will give you some neat stuff (or so they say) but it seems folks are always be out and retaking over gyms. I think they need to lower this time aspect.
Time – To really do well in the game, you need to have the time and ability to go out and find them.Right now I am finding the time but it has been somewhat diffficult.
I am finished “ranting” and here are a few other thoughts I had.
Pokémon Go and your business:
If you own a local brick and mortar business and want to get more foot traffic, then you need to hop on the bandwagon. The company behind the game, Niantic, Inc., has setup a form where you can request for a PokeStop Gym to be added to the game. I also found this article: How to “Lure” Pokémon GO Players into Your Storefront.
Pokémon Go staying power:
How long will the game last? I think this will be around a while, as long as the developer’s continue to support and update it. Pokémon itself has been around since 1995 so …
People are developing items to help keep the game going. I just found this article Pokemon Go maps will show you where to catch the rarest species. Now there are maps online you can access to get info of what Pokémon are located near you or where you are going.
Also this article:
Final Thoughts:
I think the game is fun and it is neat to see folks (of all ages) out and about. (See this article: Pokeman Go is the Rare Game Bringing People Together.) I have gotten a kick out of seeing people hundled around their phones trying to catch these creatures. As we have driving around, you can tell who is playing the game.
Bottom line is that this is a well developed geo-game that has peaked the interest of millions and as long as folk are having fun. I have no problems with it.
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Look with I found this in my office…..
