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Niantic, Maker of Hit ‘Pokémon Go’ App, Refuels with $3.9B Valuation

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Re: Niantic, Maker of Hit ‘Pokémon Go’ App, Refuels with $3.9B Valuation

#31

Post by Noos »

jerf wrote: post #29
GolDDranks wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Expect that Pokemon has done the exact opposite: it deliberately has not upped the age of the target audience of the core product. Ash is still ten years old, after adventuring for 20 years. And he's still "relatively unexperienced". Time doesn't pass. Pokemon has diversified the franchise selection though, there are now many goods (themed tableware etc.) aimed for more mature audience.

I've seen at least 3 or 4 posts to the tune of "I'm 23, and I just can't get into this latest Pokemon game. It's so easy, not like they used to be! Am I a bad person?" If you value your karma score, on no account should you say anything like "It's OK, Pokemon is a game designed for children, and while that doesn't mean you must now make an angry face at it, growl, and loudly announce that you're too grown up for it n…

The Pokemon games are very complex for games designed for children, as are games like Yokai Watch. The first game is probably one of the most complex 8-bit console RPGS, I'd think. But they really aren't children's games in the usual sense of being designed specifically for them into well into the later lifespan.

I think the later games make more concessions to them, but it feels more like it was just a normal rpg that somehow got big for kids due to ancillary merchandise, like trading card games and cartoons.

Re: Niantic, Maker of Hit ‘Pokémon Go’ App, Refuels with $3.9B Valuation

#32

Post by anoncoward111 »

oregontechninja wrote: post #30
wokwokwok wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s an odd assertion, given PvP battles are now live. Do you have anything to back it up? My understanding was that they just have a small team and aren’t very good (ie. brave enough) at making changes beyond ‘text fixes’

He's saying traditional as in a turn based strategy game like the core series (like Red and Blue). Many of the long time fans were turned away by lack of strategy.

Not only was the button mashing (and lag) extremely offputting, the worst feeling in the world was beating a level 6 gym by yourself and then someone puts their pokemon in before yours.

I rage uninstalled pokemon go after that and my data bill has been rational ever since :)

Re: Niantic, Maker of Hit ‘Pokémon Go’ App, Refuels with $3.9B Valuation

#33

Post by Izkata »

krapp wrote: post #10
hombre_fatal wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't imagine it matters much since the core mechanic has proven to be so popular and it's really a squeeze of the IP tit. I bet a Harry Potter skin will be even bigger than Pokemon Go. I'd wager most people are on no more than can-recognize-pikachu terms with the Pokemon franchise yet Pokemon Go was a cultural phenomenon. Meanwhile most people I know have at least seen most Harry Potter movies. I know 30- and 40-s…

>I'd wager most people are on no more than can-recognize-pikachu terms with the Pokemon franchise yet Pokemon Go was a cultural phenomenon. Umm... what? Pokemon was already a massive global cultural phenomenon before Niantic got it, an entire generation more or less grew up with the franchise. Hell, a lot of people were shocked Nintendo allowed an unknown company like Niantic anywhere near such a property. The existi…

And Ingress got a massive boost due to being in XKCD. I doubt they'd've even gotten the chance to make Pokémon Go if it weren't for that.

Re: Niantic, Maker of Hit ‘Pokémon Go’ App, Refuels with $3.9B Valuation

#36

Post by abledon »

chc4 wrote: post #27
swampthinker wrote: post #22

I firmly believe that had Niantic been allowed to mimic the traditional Pokemon PvP, it would have been an even greater success. The core gameplay of the Nintendo games wasn't terribly complex, but had tons of replayability.

They added (limited) PvP to Pokemon Go yesterday.

if they had added turn-based PVP with an AR overlay for other viewers to 'watch' on their phone, with crazy effects and real life sized pokemon,,,,, would have been a HUGE hit with initial snowball of people flocking to that app.

Re: Niantic, Maker of Hit ‘Pokémon Go’ App, Refuels with $3.9B Valuation

#37

Post by TeMPOraL »

Between Ingress, Pokémon Go and now Harry Potter, aren't they worried about fragmenting the landscape? There's only so much time an individual can spend on AR games; looking at how people moved between Ingress and Pokémon Go, I'd guess the limit is one popular game on the market, max two. Releasing more sounds like a way to selfpwn the entire business.

Re: Niantic, Maker of Hit ‘Pokémon Go’ App, Refuels with $3.9B Valuation

#38

Post by hrrsn »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #37

Between Ingress, Pokémon Go and now Harry Potter, aren't they worried about fragmenting the landscape? There's only so much time an individual can spend on AR games; looking at how people moved between Ingress and Pokémon Go, I'd guess the limit is one popular game on the market, max two. Releasing more sounds like a way to selfpwn the entire business.

Pokemon had mass appeal. Ingress was always relatively niche and nerdy.

Re: Niantic, Maker of Hit ‘Pokémon Go’ App, Refuels with $3.9B Valuation

#39

Post by skocznymroczny »

swampthinker wrote: post #22

I firmly believe that had Niantic been allowed to mimic the traditional Pokemon PvP, it would have been an even greater success. The core gameplay of the Nintendo games wasn't terribly complex, but had tons of replayability.

I think a big flaw of Pokemon Go was how different the experience was for urban folks and the rural folks. While the former were running between Charizards and Blastoises, the latter were enjoying their very rare Pidgey and Rattata spawns.

Re: Niantic, Maker of Hit ‘Pokémon Go’ App, Refuels with $3.9B Valuation

#40

Post by jerf »

Noos wrote: post #31
jerf wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen at least 3 or 4 posts to the tune of "I'm 23, and I just can't get into this latest Pokemon game. It's so easy, not like they used to be! Am I a bad person?" If you value your karma score, on no account should you say anything like "It's OK, Pokemon is a game designed for children, and while that doesn't mean you must now make an angry face at it, growl, and loudly announce that you're too grown up for it n…

The Pokemon games are very complex for games designed for children, as are games like Yokai Watch. The first game is probably one of the most complex 8-bit console RPGS, I'd think. But they really aren't children's games in the usual sense of being designed specifically for them into well into the later lifespan. I think the later games make more concessions to them, but it feels more like it was just a normal rpg th…

"The Pokemon games are very complex for games designed for children, as are games like Yokai Watch"

This is one of those "don't underestimate children" times. I was playing Ultima 4 at the age kids play Pokemon nowadays. But it's definitely designed for 10-14 year olds, and I wouldn't even be surprised a 14 year old not wearing nostalgia goggles would actually start to notice it's getting kinda easy.

A lot of that "complexity" is just fluff. Non-competitive Pokemon is still like most other (J)RPGs; ultimately, an answer to every problem (not the answer, but an answer) is to trade time for levels and just blast your way through the next boss. And time is what kids have at that age.

A systemic problem with the genre and the exponential-power-gain treadmill. There are solutions, like the Shin Megami Tensei approach of greatly raising the power of non-level-related elements, or the Disgaea approach of just embracing it and going nuts, and some other things (Elder Scrolls has tried a couple of solutions though I'm not in love with either of Oblivion's or Skyrim's attempts to solve this) but the exponential-power-gain approach is still pretty dominant.

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