Pokemon GO Wouldn’t Have Worked with Digimon… Or Anything Else, for That Matter

Over the course of the last week, Pokemon GO has taken the world by storm. Thousands upon thousands of people have started playing it, combining to an active userbase that almost exceeds Twitter. The formula that Nintendo and Niantic have come up with is just as addicting as the mainline Pokemon games, this time pushing players out of their homes and exploring their cities, interacting with others along the way. A few questions do arise in the wake of GO’s success though, primarily of which is, would this formula have worked with any other propetry in the world?

Pokemon has few competitors, although some series like Digimon and Yo-Kai Watch have achieved success as well. However, the central gameplay loop of GO is so essential to the very idea of Pokemon, that it’s doubtful anything else could have capitalized like the game currently is.

The first and most obvious reason for GO’s success is the diverse cast of memorable ‘mon featured in the game. The first generation of Pokemon remain very recognizable, especially faces like Charmander, Squirtle and of course, Pikachu. Most people that grew up in the 90s or 2000s have some level of knowledge on Pokemon, even if they weren’t into the series, most had friends or siblings that were. The original 150 Pokemon are iconic, and there’s a drive to catch them all, and earn your favorites.

Other series just don’t have this level of familiarity, even the most comparable series Digimon. Creatures like Agumon or Renamon may be the most recognizable, but by and large Digimon, just never hit the mainstream in quite the way that Pokemon did. You don’t generally see Digimon merchandise popping up in stores like Target and Walmart these days.

There’s another, far more important reason that Pokemon GO’s formula only works for Pokemon, however. It has to do with the series central theme, and how everyone experienced it. Pokemon has always been about a young person setting out on an adventure, journeying around the world, meeting friends, challenging the best trainers and trying to catch ’em all. This is exactly what Pokemon GO is about. The game translates that setup into a real world environment, appealing to anyone and everyone that has had experience with Pokemon in the past.

To be successful in Pokemon GO you have to explore, you have to wander. You see other “trainers” on their journeys while you’re out and about, and by using lures, you can create a hotspot for other people to come to. This is the aspect that truly makes GO special, it makes you feel like a Pokemon trainer.

At some point, all of us that played or watched Pokemon dreamed of being one. We wanted to pack up our stuff, pick a starter and head out on our Pokemon adventure around the world. Now, through the power of your cell phone, you can be just that. By exploring around your city you can find not only new wild Pokemon, but also places you’ve never seen before. Pokemon GO manages to add that layer of real-world discovery on top of discovery within the game itself.

When you take on gyms, you’re taking on other player’s Pokemon, and joining a team to show your colors. This whole idea of being a wandering trainer is so integral to what Pokemon has always been, that GO becomes not only a new experience, but one filled with nostalgia. Other series out there might have you collecting creatures and evolving them for various reasons, but they never had such a well defined idea of travel and discovery surrounding the collection. Half of Pokemon has always been the journey, not just how many ‘mon you have.

Pokemon GO puts players in the shoes of being a trainer, and it’s an experience that you could only have with this particular series. There are tons of great creature collecting series out there, but none fill you with the drive to get out and adventure like Pokemon.

What’s your opinion on Pokemon GO? Do you think something like Digimon could create a similar experience?