Why is everyone so eager to see Pokemon Go die?

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I can't play because it's way too cold where I live during the fall and winter, especially if I have to sacrifice warmth by using those phone gloves. However, I still enjoy the game even if I don't play it obsessively anymore. It's just a simple, fun thing to do and it's an excuse to go outside, especially if you live in an otherwise boring area. So I don't get why even on the Pokemon Go fanpages, the number one topic of conversation is how this game is going to die or is dead. People seem almost eager or happy to see it fail. It perplexes me.

I think people are probably bored of it. There is only so much walking and getting Pokemon that you can really do (plus there isnt even all of gen 1 yet!). The game has been out since July and if I remember right- has lost tons of players due to not enough features. I suppose they've added a bit since then but not enough. Plus there is new and longer full Pokemon games now for 3DS that people will likely play instead. I also strongly feel that if people arent in a big city they likely wont get a huge variety of Pokemon anyway. So the game is literally just for people in big cities or people that travel a ton- which doesn't seem right completely.

To a degree that's true, yeah.

It's all based on server data that came from player submissions related to their PREVIOUS game, so if you live in an area that didnt get many, well... good luck doing anything, because you're not going to find Pokestops anywhere. No Pokestops, no catching anything.


Mostly though, I think everyone's ranting about this one because it's one of THOSE topics right now. You know, the "everyone loves to bash it" sorts that the internet generates every now and then. Also, they're making assumptions to be honest. I actually looked this up yesterday... the game isnt dying or dead. What happened was the same thing that happens to *every* game a certain amount of time after release (and I do mean ALL of them), which is that the initial burst of players faded. Actual player retention after that (AKA, the important part) is currently along the lines of other major mobile games. So it's doing fine. But most people just hear "less players now" and think this means "it's dead". Though one way or another players will have a harder time with it now depending on the area they're living in, simply because of winter. So that's a thing.

Good ol' winter, ruining everything... *grumble*

It is dying, though.

No, it isnt.

People have a very odd concept of "dying" when it comes to stuff like this. "Dying" would be "servers practically untouched by anyone". A game that's gotten so low that it's near shutting down. And by "shutting down" I mean "gone forever", as that's what happens when an online game dies.

This? Ye gods, no. Are the numbers what they were originally? Of course not. Did anyone EXPECT them to be? ....Of course not. Again, this "tapering off" happens with every game. EVERY game. Not just mobile, not just online games. Not just AAA games (even indie games go through this). ALL of them. The reason the initial "burst" of players is created in the first place is that you have a monstrous number of people (comparatively) that come in on day one and all start at the very same time. This is NOT normal data. When a game has stablilized (as in, the initial burst has died down, meaning that those who werent going to stay with it long have now already left), it will be both gaining and losing players at the same time: That's where "player retention" comes in. It's not about grabbing a giant group of players at the start and keeping them forever... that's impossible. No game does that. Not even LoL. It's about CONTINUOUSLY grabbing new players, and increasing the percentage of them that then stay for more than 30 days. Even LoL must do this, and so must Pokemon Go.

Even something like Candy Crush went through all of this. It started with that absolute giant explosion of players, same as Go had (though as this didnt involve real-world insanity, it was a bit quieter). Players were often drowned in invites from other players, because so many were going at it. But after a time, that burst wore off, and it has now stabilized. That burst wont return unless they release an actual direct sequel at some point.

One reason why people have this idea that Go is dying is because the SIZE of the initial burst was abnormal (whereas the size of the stabilized base isnt, for a major mobile title). Most games dont get that. The fact that it was a genuine Nintendo product on mobile was probably what made that burst so enormous. However, the size doesnt matter in the long run when it comes to the sales burst at the start: It'll stabilize after a time, utterly regardless of that bit.


Really, that's just how this sort of thing works. It's not just in direct sales either; this sort of thing is also seen in stuff like Kickstarters, for instance. And it's also not just in this one industry. This is the same sort of thing that even happens with TV shows (where it's usually even faster... even for shows that stay really popular for a long time). It's something that's always constantly considered by people like marketing execs.

In the case of Go, the unusual problem they face though is winter itself. Hard to get people outside, after all, when "outside" is basically a huge block of ice. Of course, not all of the world experiences that frosty season in the same way.

It'll be months yet before anyone REALLY knows how Go is doing in the long run.

I would still be playing Pokemon Go if I was able to get balls. Like, I'd watch video ads in order to get balls without having to find a PokeStop. Some of us live in the middle of nowhere.

I still play it pretty much every time I leave the house, I mean, it's Pokemon in real life! How is that not fun?

I don't think it's a very well-made game, but I don't care if it dies or not. People like to hate on popular things, often even without trying it themselves. I guess they get to feel that their own interests are smarter or more special because they're "rare".

I remember the hype surrounding it was really stupid at first, but thankfully it died down after a few weeks. I mostly didn't want to play it because it would've meant having to leave my house. The last thing I want to do is leave my house and exercise just so I can play some dumb game.

The game has actually encouraged a lot of people with depression, anxiety, and agoraphobia to leave their house and interact with people. Meeting other players in person is an automatic icebreaker because there is common ground. Or you could play alone and get exercise and see new parts of town. I guess that depends on where you live, though. I'm not saying you have to play, of course.

I agree. I like the idea of catching to train & battling in game trainers while I'm sitting at home & can get side-tracked & distracted by other stuff. I have a horrible sense of direction & would get lost if I was wondering around too much. I heard people got hit by cars & walked off of cliffs because they were too focused on the game but that can happen with any game.

I sometimes wonder if Pokemon Go was created as a social Darwinist experiment, to weed out members of the population stupid enough to play while driving. It's kind of a dark way to look at it, but hey, Pokemon already taught tons of kids about evolution, so why not take things a step further?

I still enjoy it, gives me an excuse/reward for getting out the house for a walk because otherwise I'm stuck in all day job hunting

Even though I am recently becoming very interested in the Pokemon franchise as a whole, I think Pokemon Go looks a bit pointless. I don't hate it, but I don't really like it either. It's just walking around, catching virtual reality Pokemon, and even then only about 1/7 of all the different types of Pokemon are available in the game.
There's not much reward either; you can't really do much with the Pokemon once you get them. However, with the main games, you can battle with them (I'm aware that gym battles are in Pokemon Go but with the proper Nintendo games they're a lot more competitive and strategic), and in later games, even pet them and feed them.
Also, the storylines of the main games, while formulaic, do have this charm about them which really adds to the gameplay experience. Pokemon Go just feels like mindlessly walking around until you see something. And if you don't live in an urban area or travel a lot, you probably won't see much at all.

Seems like its just not the big deal that it was, I mean I certainly haven't played in a while but I just updated it a couple days ago and seems like they've done some cool things with it. Now it would seem sometimes pokemon show up in my house whereas before that never happened unless I used an incense.

Anyways though it seems like quite a few people are still playing it, but just aren't as crazy about it as they were initially. I haven't really run into anyone all that eager to see it die, more people that don't care too much one way or the other.

I still like it, but I wish they'd fix the VR mode so it works on all phones including mine....whenever I try and use it the Pokemon isn't visible on the screen so I have to use the default mode or whatever to catch it. So no cool pictures of a pokemon appearing to be hanging out in the real world.

I'm not getting too bored with the game in general, but it's the irritating things like the "YOU'RE GOING TOO FAST!" popup that lessen my interest and undoubtedly that of other trainers. Not to mention I do most of my playing on the bus when going places and Niantic recently softbanned people from using stops if they were travelling over 30mph.

And finally the stupid music bug that means I have to skip to the next track to be able to hear it. Graagh! Get it sorted, Niantic!