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Honestly, way more people would have kept playing had it been introduced with the features the game has today. They took too long to release features like raids, pvp, community days and shiny Pokémon. Those who stuck around or one day opened there app again, and started playing when those features existed in the game, enjoy it. If niantic would have released it fully baked I can’t even imagine how much more revenue they’d be swimming in.

The nice thing is anyone of any skill level can play it. Though a lack of skill in pvp will limit how far up the ranks you can climb.

I’d suggest people in here who are kinda interested in the game to check out some pvp streamers on twitch. Pvp, I would think, is the most interesting aspect of the game for hardcore gamers of other games.
 
Do people still play this?
I went ahead and opened it today, caught a few pokemon, traded some in for candy, and did a few evolves just now for the last 20 minutes on the basis of this article reminding me the game exists.

But no, I don't play this anymore. When I started it up, it informed me that I'd walked 70 km since my last adventure sync. I think I've opened it 3-4 times for under 5 minutes each time in the last 2 years. Just whenever I think about it, I open the app, take a peek, catch a few pokemon, spin a pokestop or two for items, and maybe transfer a few pokemon and evolve one or two. I've never spent a cent in this game in its 5 years of existence.
 
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Honestly, way more people would have kept playing had it been introduced with the features the game has today. They took too long to release features like raids, pvp, community days and shiny Pokémon. Those who stuck around or one day opened there app again, and started playing when those features existed in the game, enjoy it. If niantic would have released it fully baked I can’t even imagine how much more revenue they’d be swimming in.
Yeah, it's a completely different game now. I took a three year break and did not expect the game to suck me in again the way it did.
 
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1944: teen boys participate in storming of normandy, celebrate eventual victory at great loss of life

2021: adult men participate in pokemon go, celebrate 5th year anniversary of launch with special in-app events

Good lord are we in trouble
I'm a psychiatric nurse with Vancouver Coastal Health in Canada. I try to help people struggling with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, addictions etc. I also happen to enjoy Pokemon Go. Life can't always be serious; it's ok to have some distractions.
 
Honestly, way more people would have kept playing had it been introduced with the features the game has today. They took too long to release features like raids, pvp, community days and shiny Pokémon. Those who stuck around or one day opened there app again, and started playing when those features existed in the game, enjoy it. If niantic would have released it fully baked I can’t even imagine how much more revenue they’d be swimming in.

The nice thing is anyone of any skill level can play it. Though a lack of skill in pvp will limit how far up the ranks you can climb.

I’d suggest people in here who are kinda interested in the game to check out some pvp streamers on twitch. Pvp, I would think, is the most interesting aspect of the game for hardcore gamers of other games.
Honestly, PVP is the worst part of the game. It’s just a monotonous button masher. Main series games are much more fun in this regard and actually have depth. I play for the raids and events and actively avoid PVP, but that’s me
 
The real money comes from companies that pay for pokemons to be in their restaurant/bar/shop.
It’s basically an ad disguised as a game and people (“herding”) come and buy products from these companies along the way. E.g. Pokemon Go Frapuccino.
This is the exact reason the Nintendo stock shot up 52% after launching Pokemon Go. Niantic is a spin-off from Alphabet - so it all makes sense.
Very few people know this.
 
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Honestly, PVP is the worst part of the game. It’s just a monotonous button masher. Main series games are much more fun in this regard and actually have depth. I play for the raids and events and actively avoid PVP, but that’s me
I used to sorta think the same thing before I saw high level pvp players. It may seem like just button mashing but trust me at a high level there’s a decent amount of strategy involved. Not to mention constructing a team and farming pvp iv Pokémon where that little extra bulk can earn you a W.

That being sad it’s also a time suck that can probably also burn people out a bit at times.
 
Honestly, way more people would have kept playing had it been introduced with the features the game has today. They took too long to release features like raids, pvp, community days and shiny Pokémon. Those who stuck around or one day opened there app again, and started playing when those features existed in the game, enjoy it. If niantic would have released it fully baked I can’t even imagine how much more revenue they’d be swimming in.

The nice thing is anyone of any skill level can play it. Though a lack of skill in pvp will limit how far up the ranks you can climb.

I’d suggest people in here who are kinda interested in the game to check out some pvp streamers on twitch. Pvp, I would think, is the most interesting aspect of the game for hardcore gamers of other games.
The shiny rates make it a must play for any shiny hunter.
 
5 years since this game was released and GPS spoofers are still a massive issue in this game.
 
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5 years since this game was released and GPS spoofers are still a massive issue in this game.

I always saw them more like support from the sky. Berlin is so spread out (it can take you 10 minutes to finally make it across a street) and thus, it was always nearly impossible to gather people to raid. Lived in Stuttgart before and it was much easier to play actual raids there (city is more centralised). Same with Pokestops. I can walk 10 minutes for 1 Pokestop in Berlin while back in Stuttgart I just had to walk down the shopping street and have 30+ Pokestops nearby. It was not only frustrating, but also made the game somewhat boring. Thus I stopped playing when I could not relate to the newer Pokemon generations either.
 
5 years since this game was released and GPS spoofers are still a massive issue in this game.
I’ve never spoofed yet with some of the arbitrary restrictions I can see why people would. It’s a global game yet I can trade only with people that live in my 5 mile across city? I still need a kanto Pokémon that’s exclusive to Australia. That’s wack.
 
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I always saw them more like support from the sky. Berlin is so spread out (it can take you 10 minutes to finally make it across a street) and thus, it was always nearly impossible to gather people to raid. Lived in Stuttgart before and it was much easier to play actual raids there (city is more centralised). Same with Pokestops. I can walk 10 minutes for 1 Pokestop in Berlin while back in Stuttgart I just had to walk down the shopping street and have 30+ Pokestops nearby. It was not only frustrating, but also made the game somewhat boring. Thus I stopped playing when I could not relate to the newer Pokemon generations either.
Groups like the Reddit r/pokemongoraids and apps like pokegenie can help these issues dramatically. I live in a very, very small town and don’t often get anybody joining in raids if I don’t reach out to the community. There’s whales that want to join even your tier one raids.

Utilizing friend code sites and such you can also easily get max gifts per day/ random invites to raids.
 
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I used to sorta think the same thing before I saw high level pvp players. It may seem like just button mashing but trust me at a high level there’s a decent amount of strategy involved. Not to mention constructing a team and farming pvp iv Pokémon where that little extra bulk can earn you a W.

That being sad it’s also a time suck that can probably also burn people out a bit at times.

Once you have an arsenal of High Level, High Rated Pokémon, then it comes to strategy, but for most people PvP can be hard to break into because you just get stomped by players who have better Pokémon. Knowing what Pokémon can counter others and when to use shields and charge attacks is important, but if you’re Pokémon aren’t up to snuff, then none of that matters.

PvP isn’t what this game is about for me. PvP a fun distraction when I want to jump into it, but I hardly do that. Raids, completing tasks, catching Pokémon, evolving and filling the Pokédex are the main attraction for me. I’m the “gotta catch ‘em all” player. I used to try for every M, F, Shiny, Shadow, costume, et cetera and keep my bag stocked with all of them until bag space became a problem (thankfully you can pay $$$ to make it easier to hold a lot more now). Lately, I’ve given up mostly on shadow Pokémon variations and M/F. As long as I fill the Pokédex, I’m happy. Heck, I don’t even need to actually fill it, but it’s my constant goal in the game.
 
Playing since 2016
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09FCE0DE-C20D-4645-9477-3953380508B2.jpeg


here’s my trainer code if you wanna wanna add!

0359 8282 7863
 
Honestly, PVP is the worst part of the game. It’s just a monotonous button masher. Main series games are much more fun in this regard and actually have depth. I play for the raids and events and actively avoid PVP, but that’s me
The tapping part of a PVP contest is easy. Maybe the PVP players in my locale are just so good, but I’ve found PVP really challenging. Depending on how competitive you are with it, a lot of planning/thinking goes into:

- which Pokemons you power up, and their IV combination.
- which moves (quick, primary charge and secondary charge) you give a pokemon - some moves are now legacy and no longer available on particular Pokemons.
- which combination of pokemons you take into a battle.
- when you do a charge move.
- when to shield or take the hit.
- when you substitute to bring in another.
- which charge move to use against which pokemon.
- when it’s a face to face, disguising your swipe pattern to make it harder for the opponent to guess which charge move you’re using.

In short, a PVP can be played in a very simple way that requires little skill/challenge, but the elite players think about so many variables, and it can be very challenging.
 
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They had the opportunity and potential to make something great, but they got greedy fast.
 
Long-term player here. Have gotten out exploring parks and areas I would not have otherwise known about. A fun form of exercise.
Depending on where you live, you'll have to go on long drives to catch em all.
 
People who are fanbois will blindly support anything, just look at this website

This mindset is such a disease.

People like something so they pay for it. What is wrong with that? I am quite sure that there are things you like that I would not participate in but I would not be so childish to call you a fanboi and accuse you of blindly supporting something.
 
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Depending on where you live, you'll have to go on long drives to catch em all.

This is why I never got into it originally. I was going to use pokemon go as an excuse to get out and walk (yes, I know, lame I need to give myself an excuse)

but in the township I lived in when it was new, the pokestops were about 2 hours walk between them. closest was 30 minutes. and there were only about 5 or 6 different pokemon throughout the whole town

it isn't even that small of a town (50,000 population). But if I look at my new town? There's stuff everywhere.

Pokemon Go's mileage really varied based on living location, and definittely heavily focused city and heavily urbanized areas.
 
A billion is coming from 10 people? I guess Gates, Cook, Zuck and Bezos are among them?

lol. Watching billionaires play, argue and soon fight over Pokémon Go would be something I’d pay for! Lol.

honestly though in an era where kids play games stationary too often PoGo is great for their physical walking entices socializing without any pretendes or hang ups.

I’ve seen kids whom stutter, have MS, etc all feel more comfortable being outside sharing Pokémon, having conversations laughing, oodling etc. I dong even think schools ever can come close to such an inclusive community. Basically being exactly like the TV.

TV show, toys, games (cards, console mobile etc), movies over a decade long is something Hasbro’s Transformers, GI Joe and only a few others have been able to obtain. But this community is worlds above everything else for kids in games I’ve seen. When it debuted I knew it would reach a high level of interactive play.

I’m quite impressed and glad a game like this exists. Just surprised not many more interactive games like this exist.
 
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