When "Pokemon Go" first hit the app market, almost everyone and their Grandma were playing. You could walk down the street, or sit in a park, and tell exactly who was playing by the way that they stared at their phones, moved their fingers, and ran when they thought a Pokemon was close by. The game was able to do things that world leaders and health organizations couldn't; it got people moving again. People were walking up and down the roads, having fun on a game while moving, instead of sitting on the couch. Family's were even going on outings to catch Pokemon, meaning more time with the family unit which has been proved to help children have successful relationships I their future. The game also let people go out and meet new people. Whenever I would walk around with the game and I saw other people playing, I would ask, "what team are you?" This could spark up a really big conversation where I got to talk to a person I have never gotten to know.
Over the past month or so, the game has started to die down due to nothing new to do, lack of interest or lack of time. The game originally started with a tracking feature which would tell you which Pokemon were closer. By moving in a certain direction, a player was able to determine if the Pokemon they wanted was closer or farther than the way they were walking. This feature broke quickly and was shut down by Nianco. After so much play time by players, nothing new in the area could be done. With Pokemon being so geographic and only the ability to get 150 of them, it can get boring fast if you have most of them.
Recently, the game has added another feature: the buddy system, which allows a player to pick a Pokemon to walk with them, much like Pikachu in the TV show. The cool part about it is it works on a similar concept of eggs in the game, where you walk a certain distance and get something for it. With the buddy system you get one candy for every set distance, determined by the Pokemon. So if you have a starter Pokemon you want to get stronger but can't find others to get more candies from, this could be your solution.
This could be the boost that the game needs until legendary Pokemon start appearing or the next generation is released. What do you think? Leave a comment of your opinion below!
