One player of Niantic’s popularPokemon GOhas come up with a brilliant way to add far more depth to the mobile augmented reality title by copying a feature from 2022’sPokemon Legends: Arceus. Perhaps hoping to distract players from the many controversies surrounding the game and the developer itself in recent months, Niantic recently revealed new details about what gamers can expect whenPokemon GO’s 7th-anniversary celebration begins on July 6.
Building on lessons learned from its well-loved but undeniably niche, location-based mobile gameIngress, developer Niantic releasedPokemon GOto iOS and Android users in July 2017. Retaining some elements fromIngresswhile adding thePokemonlicense and the then-cutting-edge use of augmented reality,Pokemon GOquickly became a hit with players worldwide. Following explosive growth forPokemon GOthroughout the global pandemic, the mobile title has seen a drop in both player numbers and revenue in recent times. In the wake ofPokemon GO’s diminishing profitability, developerNiantic laid off over 200 employeesin late June.
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As initially pointed out by gaming news site Dextero, a discussion on thePokemon GO-focused r/TheSilphRoad subreddit about how to improve Niantic’s ailing mobile title led to a brilliant insight from one Redditor. In response to a question about what people would do to reinvigorate the game, Redditor ThisistheSteeve recommended givingPokemon GO’s Pokedex a revamp to bring it more in line with the one found in 2022’sPokemon Legends: Arceus. The post suggested retooling the Pokedex inPokemon GOto add a series of unique tasks for players to complete for each creature, similar to how it functions inPokemon Legends: Arceus, in order to “give people a reason to engage with their Pokemon beyond one and done Pokedex entries.”
Redditors responding to ThisistheSteeve’s post were impressed with the ingenious suggestion, with one commenter stating that they “absolutely love this concept – it would be a welcome addition to the game as a whole.” Other Redditors chimed in to show support for retoolingPokemon GO’s Pokedex, which several responses felt would be a great way to give players an incentive to use more of the Pokemon they’ve collected over the years. While many recentchanges toPokemon GOhave gone over poorly with players, taking a page fromPokemon Legends: Arceus’ playbook could potentially give the game a much-needed boost.
The unique mashup of gameplay mechanics suggested by ThisistheSteeve could help revitalize the ailing mobile title. However, given the company’s financial troubles, it seems unlikely that Niantic would make any such changes toPokemon GOanytime soon. For now, those looking for somePokemon Legends: Arceus-inspired action may be better off waiting for thecartoon shooterPalworld.
Pokemon GOis available for Android and iOS.
