Img source: pokemongolive.com

4 Reasons Why Pokémon Go is Still Popular in 2024

From many popular franchises from Japan, which is the most popular country when it comes to anime shows, Pokémon represents one of the most known ever. When it was introduced back in the 90s, the first Pokémon was about a card game. However, it reaches its popularity after the TV show. The premiere of the first episode was in 1997. Since then, Pokémon has reached global fame. Besides the card game and TV show, there is also a board game with figures and various video games for consoles.

Furthermore, while it kept its popularity for a long time, there is one thing that made this anime story even more popular among both kids and adults, and that is the Pokémon Go. That is an app available for both Android and iOS devices, which is using GPS in our smartphones to lead people to travel around and collect various characters from the franchise. It quickly became popular in the whole world. The main benefits of the game are that it motivates people to be more physically active.

However, many people thought that the current situation with the coronavirus and most countries being lockdown will decrease the popularity of this game, it is quite the opposite, and according to some statistic, more people are playing it in 2024, than during the last year. The company behind this app was aware of the fact that most people would stay away in their homes, and because of that, they edited the structure of the game, and made it possible to collect Pokémon’s around your house or a backyard. Also, you can use Virtual Location to replace physical walking.

Because of that possibility and many other factors, such as a great way to spend your free time since this game is quite entertaining, the fan base is increasing, reaching the same number of active players like it was in 2016 when the game was introduced. In this article, we are going to introduce to the main reasons why Pokémon Go is still popular.

Img source: nianticlabs.com

1. You Can Meet New People

Even if the place where you are living is still under lockdown, there are many online groups, like ones on Facebook, where you can find a lot of people who are using this app and exchange your experience with them. Also, that is a great way to meet new people with similar interests. On the other side, if you can roam freely around the city, you will see other people around the same places while they are trying to catch all sorts of virtual characters. You will find it much easier to start chatting with someone when both of you are interested in this game.

2. It is Entertaining

While we have numerous video games today, with amazing graphics and gameplay, Pokémon Go is unique because you will have to go outside if you want to collect more of the virtual creatures. Also, there are many sorts of Pokémon, and sometimes when a unique and rare type spawns near your place, don’t be surprised if you see a large group of people there with the same plan as yours, to catch that Pokémon. For example, one of the most interesting events related to this game was in Central Park in New York, when there were thousands of people all gathered in the same place because of the most unusual Pokémon in the game, Vaporeon. Besides that, many people find it as a fun way to be more active and to visit more places, to travel more. Some people connected various activities like hiking, mountain climbing, fishing, and more, with the game, because they find it motivating to visit all those places and get a virtual reward for that.

3. It Motivates People to Exercise More

As we already said, there are some changes in the game this year, because many people must stay in their homes. However, one of the main reasons why this game is so popular and beneficial for people is that is making them more active. We know how hard it is to start exercising every day, but this game managed to motivate people by offering them a virtual reward. The more active you are, and the more places you visit, there is a great chance that you will become more successful and catch more Pokemons. Also, the creators of the game created virtual stops where you can find most of the virtual creatures at places such as interesting monuments, landmarks, parks, and more.

4. You Will Discover New Places

Various characters can spawn in different places randomly, which can help you to discover some new park in your area, or to motivate you to went even further, and travel through your country more, and collect them on the way. There was never a game like this that made people so interested in visiting new places, even if it means that you will get around the area where you are living. Moreover, you will have a chance to meet every corner of your city, that you might never saw before.

Img source: bustle.com

The Bottom Line

There are many benefits to playing this game, and the fact that it is so unique made it popular among millions of people for such a long time Also, it is constantly developing and evolving, like with its changes in 2024, where it adapted to the ambient where people can collect creatures while in their homes. There are also many events related to this game, such as Pokémon Go Fest in Germany, Canada, Chicago, Taiwan, and more, where people gather around and catch millions of creatures there.

For example, during the Safari Zone Event in Taiwan in 2019, more than 300,000 people walked more than 4 million kilometers and caught around 50 million Pokémon. However, even if you are not allowed to walk far from your home, you can always use Virtual Location, and virtually visit many places while you are trying to catch as many of these creatures as you can.

About David Montano