Pokemon Go – I Don’t Get It…

**Full disclosure – I haven’t actually played the game yet, I’ve just watched other people wandering around the office/parking lot/my neighborhood glued to their phones

 

The official definition of the Pokemon Go app is that its “a free-to-play, location-based, augmented reality, multiplayer online mobile game that also supports its own custom wearable tech.”

If that doesn’t mean anything to you, you’re not alone.

The short version of how to play is simple, you download the free app, create a profile and then walk around looking at your phone. It uses your location and your phone camera to create a lens through which you can “view” Pokemon in the real world.

I understand how to play. But what I don’t understand is why everyone is playing it. As of right now, there are more Pokemon players than Tinder users for Android and it’s on track to have more daily mobile users than Twitter.

Pokemon is big enough that we all know what a Pikachu is, but it’s not just people nostalgic for the game who are playing. It’s everyone.

Is it the social interaction? Or bringing a fictional world to life? I just don’t get it. Can someone please explain the hype?

Share