Perhaps the only people shocked at the massive success of Pokémon Go were the people making it. Niantic had made projections on what the server load would be for the game at launch. A humble estimate - considering the fact that it was releasing a really hyped rip-off from a well-loved franchise in its 20th anniversary year - was that demand might hit five times the team's target uptake.
Pokemon GO was a huge success
The reality was a mind-blowing 50 times the expected traffic, just within 24 hours of launch. The result? Downed servers and a frustrating experience for players, just as Pokémon Go was going for an incredible breakout release.
Pokémon GO's success is infectious
The success of Pokémon GO has also bolstered every other core Pokémon games. Aside from the mobile game's huge dominance of the summer, the Nintendo 3DS' upcoming game Pokémon Sun and Moon has also become Nintendo's most pre-ordered game ever, beating Zelda and even Super Mario.
Mike Quigley speaks out
"What we're happy about is that during the 20th anniversary, we've played a significant role in helping overall; building Pokémon affinity," says Niantic U.S.'s Mike Quigley. "We're very close with those guys and know how crucial we are to them but also know that they got other things. So long as those things are complementing each other really well, I'm pretty sure there will definitely be some halo effects."
Will the two games merge?
But could the two games more directly integrate with each other? Could the future updates see players being able to transfer Pokémon caught in the real world into their 3DS games? "There's nothing specific to speak about that just yet, but what I would say is Masuda-san from Game Freak and Mr. Ishihara, and our CEO John Hanke, have been mentioning about that being an area for us to explore down the road," Quigley reveals.
