Long life, that's every online game's dream, to have a very long life-span and very loyal players. That's one of Pokemon Go's goal too. Shocked? Yes, even a mobile app can dream, can it? Niantic aims to have Pokemon Go as long as World of Warcraft (Wow) is doing, 12 years and still going strong.
If you have plans to argue, then don't. Pokemon Go have been through enough success to the point that whatever they plan can come true. Well, not really, but we're getting close. In less than a year, they've crossed the 500 million download mark, what's to stop them from aiming to make the app live more than 12 years?
Niantic is currently having a hard time rolling out their app from the start even during the frequent updates. That's one basis of very many players awaiting the app's next move. That would also mean that the 12-year longevity target is plausible. Apparently, Niantic won't have to worry anymore about having too much fans as Mike Quigley - chief marketing officer, spoke to Eurogamer that their player-count has already leveled. This makes the WoW ambition even close to reality.
Quigley also expressed that it is pointless to compare Pokemon Go to other mobile games. He says that the game leans more on MMO type than any other game types. With client and server-side sprints of two weeks each, and a bi-weekly bug fix and patch releases, the augmented reality game indeed resembles and MMO. Gamasutra even describes the game as a "unique beast". Here's what Quigley said:
"I think our lifespan and curve may be quite different from a free-to-play mobile game -- it may be more in a World of Warcraft vein just because of the type of game we are,"
On top of that, the marketing officer also made known to all that grooming the game does not center its focus on revenue. Making the fans feel good about the game is one secret ingredient that everyone tends to forget.
"It's not about taking a bunch of money off the table and going. Monetization has never been the focus for us. It's about doing right by the brand and doing right by the fans."
