Dear all,
I would be writing a more complete article on Pokémon Go and its impact to not only the future of gaming but also what investment opportunities there would be. The following is just the first version of what I intend to put out.
Pokémon Go is roughly a week old, and it’s already the no.1 free downloaded app on iOS and Android. The game itself is built by Niantic (an internal startup at Google and partially owned by Nintendo), and it is a geocaching game with augmented reality. Virtual players meet in real places to capture Pokémon together. So far, Pokémon Go is available in some countries around the world, and with the following video attached above, this is just the beginning of this Pokémon Go craze. Despite the fact that most video games have relatively small window of profitability, Pokémon Go will shatter everything you know about mobile gaming and the amount of data (gmail contacts, your location, time spent gaming, and etc) collected via Pokémon Go will quickly become the largest asset of Nintendo and Google. This type of geocaching game wasn’t the first of its own kind, as Niantic previously built Ingress that is based on similar gaming philosophy — acquire items, join teams, and capture the flag.
“The future of mobile gaming will involve individuals going outside their homes and playing together.”
Inside the game, you can use such Pokémon Go item called the Lure Module that will attract Pokemons spawning in a designated area, namely Pokéstop. Many restaurants, hotels, and places to visit have been attracting new customers with the use of Pokémon Go Lure Module. (Article from Inc. explaining how Pokemon Go drives businesses).
For those of you who dismiss Pokémon Go(PG) as a fad, I would not make such judgement this soon, because Nintendo has been planning this release for quite some time, and as genius game designers, they have envisioned a reality that will change ours. As more players of all age engage in the playing of Pokémon Go, a new psychology will emerge out of this — “Life is a Game.” This can be either dangerous or advantageous to society as a whole, but we shall observe how much influence this mentality will have as more & more geocaching mobile games become available.
Long-Term Investments: Augmented Reality(GOOGL & APPL), Drones (IFLY ETF), and Games (GAMR ETF).
For now… the current catalog of Pokémons on PG is 151, and each monster have different geographies and probabilities of appearances in all 50 states. This means people will actually go out there and travel tirelessly to capture these virtual monsters. As for physically out of reach Pokemons, you can buy Pokédrone:
On the good side, American obesity might drop as much walking time is needed to find these Pokémons and also hatch Pokémon Eggs, and small local businesses will experience a wider exposure to these randomly trespassing individuals. Perhaps Pokémon Go can help the local economy as more circulation of money indirectly occurs.
To sum up, 1) do not underestimate Pokémon Go and its potential impact because you can very likely benefit from the Pokemon Go phenomenon, and 2) go out there try it for yourself. Pokémon Go is the game of 2016. It will unite numerous fanatics worldwide, and create collaborative communities worldwide.
Catch On, Peace Out!
Update 15 Jul 16 - 8pm PDT Thanks
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