Unless you’ve been living on Jupiter for the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably noticed the frenzy surrounding 2016’s hottest gaming phenomenon—Pokémon Go. The app has taken the world by storm, quickly becoming the most downloaded app after its release on July 6th. Millions of players log in each day to hunt virtual creatures in real-world locations. But how did this game evolve into such a cultural sensation?
To understand Pokémon Go’s success, we need to travel back to the mid-1990s, when Japanese animation and gaming were at their peak. Back then, Nintendo, Sony, and SEGA dominated the gaming industry, and Nintendo’s Game Boy—released in 1989—had been a major success. However, by 1996, Game Boy sales were starting to decline, and Nintendo was on the lookout for the next big thing to revive their handheld console.
Enter Satoshi Tajiri, the mastermind behind Pokémon. When Pokémon Red & Blue debuted in Japan in 1996, it became an instant hit. Two years later, the franchise took the global market by storm, captivating players around the world. By 1999, Pokémon was everywhere: video games, a wildly popular animated TV series, merchandise, and even animated movies. Pokémon had become a global brand that dominated the entertainment landscape for years.
Fast forward to 2014, and the Pokémon franchise had lost some of its spark. As the 20th anniversary of the original game approached, Nintendo needed a fresh idea to reignite the Pokémon brand.
That idea came from an unlikely source: an April Fool’s joke. In 2014, Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata and Tsunekazu Ishihara (the president of The Pokémon Company) teamed up with Google to create a prank called the Pokémon Challenge. Using augmented reality (AR) and Google Maps, they produced a video showing people catching virtual Pokémon hidden in real-world locations. The prank cleverly hinted that anyone who succeeded in “catching them all” would earn the title of “Pokémon Master” and land a job at Google.
While the prank was lighthearted, it sparked a serious idea. Inspired by the success of Ingress, an augmented reality game created by California-based developer Niantic, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company saw potential in turning the Pokémon Challenge into a real game. Thus, the concept of Pokémon Go was born.
Development of Pokémon Go began shortly after, with Niantic leveraging data from Ingress to help populate the new game. The official announcement for Pokémon Go came on September 10th, 2015, along with a heartfelt tribute to Iwata, who had passed away two months earlier. A beta version was released in March 2016, first in Japan, then expanded to Australia, New Zealand, and finally the United States by May.
By July 2016, Pokémon Go was rolling out globally. Players were instantly hooked on the game’s blend of real-world exploration and nostalgia. Using augmented reality, Pokémon Go allows players to “catch” Pokémon in their neighborhoods, parks, and city streets, all through their smartphones. The app has not only become a cultural phenomenon, but it has also skyrocketed the use of AR technology in gaming.
More importantly, Pokémon Go has breathed new life into the Pokémon franchise. What was once considered a nostalgic relic of the past is now more relevant than ever, with millions of players rekindling their love for the series. The game’s success has also significantly boosted Nintendo’s share value, propelling it to its highest point in the company’s history.
The meteoric rise of Pokémon Go demonstrates how a brand can be rejuvenated with a simple yet innovative idea, smart execution, and effective collaboration. What started as an April Fool’s joke has turned into a massive success, proving that with creativity, the right strategy, and a strong team, even the most established franchises can find new life.
So, whether you’re a fan of Pokémon or not, the success story of Pokémon Go is a powerful reminder of how innovation and teamwork can transform an idea into a global sensatio
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By Iñaki Castellet Hernández
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