{"id":276346,"date":"2016-12-13T06:53:03","date_gmt":"2016-12-13T06:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=276346"},"modified":"2016-12-13T06:53:03","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T06:53:03","slug":"pokemon-go-seeks-to-revive-interest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=276346","title":{"rendered":"Pokemon Go seeks to revive interest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">Pokemon Go has released its first major update, but faces a battle to reinvigorate the gaming phenomenon.<\/p>\n<p>The augmented-reality game&#8217;s popularity has waned since its launch in July when it smashed download records and sparked a global craze.<\/p>\n<p>But it soon fell from the top of app charts as downloads plunged and many players stopped buying in-game coins.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts, though, point out it has an enormous player base and is still one of the highest grossing mobile games.<\/p>\n<p>The main updates released on Monday by US firm Niantic, which developed the game under licence from Nintendo, include:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"story-body__unordered-list\">\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">the addition of new Pokemon characters, including Togepi and Pichu, that were originally featured in Pokemon&#8217;s second-generation Gold and Silver titles<\/li>\n<li class=\"story-body__list-item\">the release of limited edition festive Pikachu wearing Father Christmas hats, which can be captured until 29 December<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Niantic said more Pokemon would be added over the next few months. It had already added the blob-like Ditto last month.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width\">\n<figure style=\"width: 515px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__img js-image-replace\" src=\"http:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/C55C\/production\/_92942505_9c21382a-97ea-429a-999d-dd0922a1b977.jpg\" alt=\"Pokemon Go\" width=\"515\" height=\"211\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"624\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The addition of Pichu and Togepi add novelty to a game some people think had gone stale<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<p>However, there was no mention of the ability to trade characters, which Niantic&#8217;s chief executive had previously hinted at. Nor was there the introduction of multi-player battles, which many gamers desire.<\/p>\n<p>The update will compete for attention with Nintendo&#8217;s own Super Mario game, which will be released on iPhone on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Off peak<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pokemon Go generated about $600m (\u00a3470m) in global revenue in its first three months and is still bringing in $120,000 a day in the UK, according to analysts at App Annie.<\/p>\n<p>However, downloads have dropped sharply, falling from 79 million in July to less than 10 million in November, mobile trackers Apptopia told the BBC.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape has-caption full-width\">\n<figure style=\"width: 677px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__img js-image-replace\" src=\"http:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/18059\/production\/_92939389_pokemongodowningstreet.jpg\" alt=\"Pokemon Go player\" width=\"677\" height=\"381\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"624\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pokemon Go players have called for more multi-player battles and trading<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Estimates from Slice Intelligence suggest the number of paying players has also plunged from its peak, down 80% by September, although others dispute those figures.<\/p>\n<p>At its launch, Pokemon Go tapped into demand for the hugely popular franchise and brought augmented reality gaming into the mainstream.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is always a challenge to bring users back to a mobile game,&#8221; said Jack Kent, a mobile analyst at IHS Markit.<\/p>\n<p>But &#8220;done correctly&#8221; Niantic could satisfy many existing players and encourage lapsed users to return.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Despite its initial success, some players have found the core game play lacking,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Special promotions around Halloween and tie-ups with retail giants including Starbucks in the US have already been used by Niantic to keep players engaged.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Pokemon Go had the biggest launch the mobile games industry has ever seen,&#8221; said Craig Chapple, editor of mobile games trade publication PocketGamer.Biz.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Millions of players have stopped playing, but millions are still playing it and paying for items in the game.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Analysis: Dave Lee, North America technology reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure class=\"media-landscape no-caption full-width\"><span class=\"image-and-copyright-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__img js-image-replace\" src=\"http:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/E49C\/production\/_92942585_cd5a7b62-39bd-4c05-8037-fb7a70d0f205.jpg\" alt=\"Pokemon Go\" width=\"619\" height=\"348\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"624\" \/><\/span><\/figure>\n<p>The summer of Pokemon Go already feels a distant memory. When the craze began earlier this year I spent some time around popular spots in San Francisco including Ocean Beach. As far as the eye could see: kids out on their phones playing Pokemon Go. And a few adults.<\/p>\n<p>When I asked them if it was just a passing fad, they all said: &#8220;Of course&#8221;. The game play was limited, and the fact you couldn&#8217;t battle against your friends hurt any potential for longevity.<\/p>\n<p>These updates won&#8217;t change that. It will get the hardcore enthusiasts excited &#8211; Pikachu in a hat! &#8211; but will it be enough to tempt those who uninstalled the app to try again? I doubt it.<\/p>\n<p>Pokemon Go&#8217;s update will have attention only for a day, maybe two at best. Then it&#8217;s time for the real star of the show: Super Mario is coming to iOS later this week.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pokemon Go has released its first major update, but faces a battle to reinvigorate the gaming phenomenon. The augmented-reality game&#8217;s popularity has waned since its launch in July when it smashed download records and sparked a global craze. But it soon fell from the top of app charts as downloads plunged and many players stopped [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":276347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[106],"tags":[3,6865],"class_list":["post-276346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-ghana-news","tag-pokemon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=276346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=276346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=276346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=276346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}