Why is everyone so surprised that Pokémon GO is still relevant in 2020?

I have a mixed relationship with Pokémon GO.

Tried to get into it when it first came out - walking across various local parks to go catch ‘em all, but like many mobile games, I just lost interest. 

My girlfriend on the other hand… Attention is about 50/50 to me/the world around her vs where the nearest Pokemon she has to catch can be found. Part of me is so happy she’s got something she genuinely enjoys just as much as me tucking into a new video game. But the other (probably old man) side of me just wants her to put the damn phone away!

...Anyway, where was I? Oh yes the actual story here. As we kickstart the new year, we start to get the financials of just how well games have done for the previous year. And Pokémon GO (surprise surprise) has done really well - overcoming the big drop off as the casuals like me stopped playing in 2017 and going higher than what they saw in their first year in 2016. You can take a look at the graph just below.

So, why am I talking about this? Pretty open and shut case. Well, turns out the press response (even from tech/gaming-focussed places like Gizmodo) seems to be that of bewilderment, bordering on Daily Mail-style attacks - ignoring what social good this game does and favouring instead to give it a good kicking by talking about how many accidents and injuries it’s caused.

Looking past the clickbait nature of the headline and story structure (I run a blog. I know how it is), why is everyone so shocked? The writing has been on the wall for a long time, and particularly obvious to me with my girlfriend.

I can sum up why it continues to be so successful in one word, after getting to know some of the great people of the NG2 Pokémon group - community. 

And not just that fake sense of community you get when you gel well with a team online. That sense you only get when you are physically around other people. The game breaks down those barriers of social awkwardness, as you meet strangers and build communities around trades and raids. This evolves into Facebook groups, discord group chats and a relentless schedule to hit all the best ones out there - continuously invigorated by many in-game events that get you all out and about together. Genuine friendships are formed and for that, the in-game purchases don’t seem that ridiculous.

Many of you across the globe probably had the same experience with this game as me, as in you played it for the first month (probably downloaded the APK early or got yourself an iTunes US account to get it early in Britain), then after that initial flirtation with it, you dropped it and never played again.

It’s OK to admit - mobile games always have a phenomenal mountain to overcome in maintaining user attention and play time.

But POGO managed to overcome this by nailing that community aspect of gaming in a unique way that makes it simply irresistible to those who persisted, and a tempting prospect for those who are looking for a new experience.

Simply put, duh. Of course it’s a huge moneymaker!