Pokémon GO turned its fifth year of age just this summer. Since its release in 2016, Niantic’s game has been able to find its way into the hearts of fans of pocket creatures, also thanks to a long series of updates that have added new game modes, as well as new monsters to capture. So let’s retrace the history of Pokémon GO, from its launch until its fifth anniversary.
Pokémon GO: a story that began in 2016
Pokémon GO was born, as we have already said, in 2016, more precisely the 15th of July in Italy, after an interesting marketing campaign focused on the magic of meeting Pokémon during our walks around the cities we live in. When the game came out it was an unprecedented success and, during the months following the launch it seemed to be back in the 90s, a moment in which the Pokémon Mania.
However, the initial explosion of the GO phenomenon was, in a sense, short-lived. Just finished the summer months the use gradually decreased, also because at launch the activities that could be carried out in the game were very few. You could catch Pokémon, but only those of the first generation, Legendaries not included; while the Pokémon battles alone were relegated to conquering gyms, a mechanic that threatened to come to us very soon.
However, as you may know, Niantic has been able over time to completely change the cards on the table, to the point that Pokémon Go has a healthy growth trend which has continued since the day it was launched and which not even the pandemic has been able to stop.
According to data from Sensor Tower, the game has generated about 5 billion in turnover in its first 5 years of life, and 2021 could bring even more revenues to Niantic, given only in the first 6 months of this year the company has already certified. the achievement of 646 million in revenues. Let’s analyze how Niantic managed to make Pokémon Go such a popular application.
Raids, missions and PvP
The first noteworthy mechanic introduced in Pokémon GO is that related to Raid, which arrive in game in 2017. Raids are nothing more than bossfights in pure MMO style against extremely strong and resistant Pokémon that can appear in various gyms for a limited period of time. Together with the Raid Niantic began to introduce the concept of the Legendary Pokémon into the game, obtainable only after defeating in the bossfight.
Since Raids are activities designed to be carried out by large groups of players, the obvious effect they have had was to create small groups of fans in practically every place in the world.. Think that there was a period where practically every city, even in Italy, had its niche of fans who organized themselves through messaging apps to go and face the Legendary Pokémon of the case.
Raids are still one of the most popular activities in the game, partly because they are the ones that leverage its social component and partly because catching Legendary Pokémon after facing them in long battles together is a truly rewarding experience.
More recently then, in 2020, Niantic added the Lotte GO, a real PvP mode in which trainers can face off and show off the skills of their best Pokémon. While the rewards from battles are sometimes really great, this is definitely one of the weakest components of GO, as it is mostly based on luck.
Of course, all of these additions came as the team progressively added creatures from more recent generations. We are currently in the sixth generation and rumors are circulating about the imminent arrival of the seventh.
The fifth anniversary of Pokémon GO
Today, in this summer of 2021, Pokémon Go reaches its fifth anniversary in a completely different and clearly more evolved form than the one in which it started. Not only has the game been able to change over time by adding all the components we have talked about so far, Niantic was also forced to revise some game mechanics to address the health emergency from Covid-19.
Just to give the most emblematic example of all, the company has introduced the possibility of performing i Raid remotely and by invitation, through the use of a special card created with the pandemic in mind. This allowed players to participate in raids even from home (first to be carried out strictly in presence) and to keep communities active.
At the same time, the mega evolutions, which need a particular energy obtainable through raid. A mechanic that, needless to say, has not failed to revitalize the community even in times of Covid.
This choice seems to have benefited Niantic a lot as, commercially speaking, 2020 was one of GO’s best years. Now the game seems to have a clear path towards the future and fans are already waiting for it to arrive in game Mega Mewtwo, appeared in the promotional key art of the fifth anniversary.