How long will Pokémon Stop before Pokémon Go?

Last year, Google released a creative prank for the April Fools’ Day. They combined Pokémon and Google Maps in an interactive experiment that was a huge success. Users were able to explore their maps and were challenged to “catch ‘em all”.

This was a well-thought cooperation strategy because in September of the following year, 2015, a similar game was shown by Nintendo, the acclaimed Pokémon Go. The concept is similar but this time you will use smartphones and an augmented reality environment to transport you to a not so fictional world where Pokémon is not a far-fetched illusion.

The funny aspect is that Nintendo, Pokémon Company, and Google invested US$20 million in this game which is currently being developed by Niantic Labs. A game that has been developed for two years, according to Mr. Ishihara, the CEO of Pokémon Company. 

If you look deeper into it you can start to find out why there are so many flaws in their strategy. First of all, the prank was released last year and the game has been in the development phase one year prior to that. Yes, it was a great move because they raised awareness to the possibility of Pokémon and augmented reality walking alongside in the future. They made people want this “inexistent” product. The main problem dwells in the chosen name – Pokémon Challenge. By not being similar to the one being used it did not ring a bell in consumers’ head right away.

If on the one hand we have the perfect awareness to this game, on the other they failed in creating a link.

When Pokémon Go was shown through a trailer the internet collapsed. Everyone started freaking out and was eager to play it. With high expectations, this game failed to keep up with it. The best example is the graph bellow which translates the search pattern of the words “Pokemon Go” on Google – being A the point where this experience was announced.

 The main conclusion that can be taken is that searches reduced tremendously short after the trailer release date. In two weeks, the number of searches was 75% lower than in the peak moment. The justification is simple, Pokemon Go stopped giving updates about the game. The audience saw it being released and disappearing at the same moment.

There is even a Facebook page for this game and although it is verified it does not belong to any one of the 4 companies mentioned before. A huge problem because people will think it is the official page and will be tricked since they are constantly posting fan art about Pokémon and Pokémon Go.

The main question is how long will Pokémon Stop before Pokémon Go again on their mission to invade the internet? Will they wait so long that people will forget about it as they did with the Google prank? Let’s hope there are surprises waiting for customers, otherwise they may face a rocky start.