Psychological tricks behind Pokémon GO

It’s no coincidence that the whole world is burning with Pokemon fever right now. Psychologists have also attempted to uncover the reasons behind the craze surrounding the new mobile game.

Nintendo’s latest game became an instant hit. Since its release, it has been flowing almost from the faucet, it has millions of downloads, and of course it has brought billions of dollars in profits to its creators. The pokemon AR adventure did not start from scratch, as a strong fan base was waiting for such a game to appear. However, developer Niantic’s previous game, Ingress, which is roughly similar to Pokémon GO, could not achieve such a success. What could be the secret of Pokémon GO’s success? What is so attractive about him that the whole world goes crazy for him?

Recently, psychologist Andrew Przybylski studied the characteristics that are essential for a game to be successful. He looked at a number of factors (such as difficulty, social interactions) and said the most important thing was that the game should be fun.

One of the bases of the game is that it relies on technologies known and used by everyone – smartphones and GPS. Most of the games that have been extremely popular in the past (from Snake to Angry Birds) have combined fun gameplay with new but easy-to-use technology. Pokémon GO knows this too. People started playing the game, or tried to cheat the system, who did not play or only played very little on their phones before. The audience received an easy-to-use application with the novelty of augmented reality.

In addition to entertainment, nostalgia is also a factor that cannot be neglected. Most Pokémon GO players have plenty of memories from 1996, when the first part of the series came out. The fact that the game is an almost constant topic of conversation made old fans reminisce. We can’t go without saying that these fans, who played the games as children in ’96 and watched the cartoon series made from them, are now working adults. And while Pokémon GO itself is free to download, in-app purchases generate millions in revenue.

In Przybylski’s opinion, “The only way for a game to be fun is to inspire confidence in players, to allow them to explore, and to connect them socially – all three of which Pokémon GO seems to have achieved.” “

Psychologists are increasingly beginning to understand why using social media is so enjoyable. The center of interest is mostly the creation and discovery of our self-image. We do this offline as well, but online we have more options, and of course we have different rewards, such as new friends and increased social interaction. It is interesting that there are many stories on the Internet where players stumble upon each other while hunting. So the game clearly supports social interactions, both in-game and in real life, which is quite unusual. Pokémon GO can be the ideal game for the age of social media, we were brought up for this, social media prepared us for these types of games – highlights Przybylski.

The success of Pokémon GO is indisputable. Although it didn’t start from scratch, it still had a dizzying “career” in the few days after its release. It breaks records, dominates the download lists, there is hardly a person who has not heard of it. Whatever the real key to its success, the makers have hit on something.

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