Pokémon GO celebrated its 6th anniversary this summer. We at MeinMMO took this opportunity to look back at the beginnings of the game. We show you how huge it was back then.
What is Pokémon GO? The augmented reality game centered around the little pocket monsters from the Pokémon anime was released on July 6, 2016. Unlike other Pokémon games, the developers at Niantic aimed to bring the monsters a bit into reality.
From the very beginning, one of the most important cornerstones of the game has been to send trainers outside to explore their surroundings. Six years have now passed since the release, and Pokémon GO is still very popular among many players.
This is a good opportunity for us to look back at the early days. We will show you how it was to catch Pokémon in this game in 2016 and 2017 and the hype that Pokémon GO experienced back then.
The Hype around Pokémon GO
After Pokémon GO was officially released on July 6, 2016, there was a huge rush for this game. Millions of trainers downloaded the game from the app stores and went hunting for the little monsters. Thus, Pokémon GO was the most downloaded app in the App Store in 2016.
However, Niantic apparently did not expect this demand, as the servers were not equipped to handle so many players at that time, leading to issues that delayed the launch of the game in Germany and in numerous other countries like Japan by a few days.
Massing Gatherings because of Wild Pokémon
The hype surrounding the new Pokémon game continued. It felt as if people took the lyrics from the anime to heart and wanted to be the very best. Naturally, trainers wanted to catch as many monsters as possible.
This was evident by the numerous migrations to various public places that occurred in the first months after the release. On July 14, 2016, at 11:00 PM, hundreds of players gathered in Central Park because a wild Vaporeon suddenly spawned there.
A similar gathering was reported by reddit user nyfilexs in New York because of a wild Lapras:
And in Japan, masses of players also flocked to Tsuruma Park in Nagoya in the middle of the night because they hoped to find a special Easter egg there. The park looks like a Pokéball from above, which led to rumors on social media that you could catch the coveted Mewtwo there.
For players who started the game in recent years, such images are hard to imagine. If you look around outside now, gatherings like these because of a wild Pokémon are quite rare.
This is mainly because most of these monsters have now become commonplace. Rare Pokémon, on the other hand, are smaller exceptions. An example of this was during GO Fest 2022 in Berlin, where hundreds of players chased after a perfect Snorlax with a hat simultaneously, which could also be caught as a shiny with a bit of luck.
This costumed monster was only available during these live events. I surely didn’t want to miss this event and explain in the following article what I particularly liked about Berlin:
Respect for Public Spaces
The high demand for the game in the real world also led to problems. Trainers suddenly found themselves on their hunt for little monsters in places that were not suitable for such a hobby, like police stations or cemeteries.
For this reason, in order to maintain respect for these places, some public locations gradually removed from the game, like the memorial site in Auschwitz.
First Shinies and Legendary Raids
The First Shinies: After a few updates, features, and events later, the first shinies were finally introduced in March 2017. Players could first encounter shiny Magikarp and Gyarados during the Water Festival. This thus marked another important milestone on the path of the game as we know it today.
Release of Raids: Almost a year after the release of Pokémon GO, the popular raid battles were finally integrated into the game. Initially, you could only battle against “easy” bosses in pink and yellow eggs, but on July 22, 2017, at the GO Fest in Chicago, the legendary raid bosses were finally released in the game.
There was a global challenge in which trainers worldwide had to catch a certain amount of Pokémon in different time frames to unlock the level 5 raids. This was accomplished, and for the first time, Lugia and Articuno could be caught in the game.
This led, as in the previous months with wild Pokémon, to a huge rush for the legendary monsters in raids as well. A YouTube video from one trainer shows how many people wanted to secure the first Lugia at the GO Fest:
Even today, shinies and legendary Pokémon are still among the most sought-after monsters in the game. However, the hype has also somewhat diminished. Not least due to the possibility of remote raids that were introduced as part of the COVID bonuses in 2020, many trainers now also play somewhat less on-site.
Instead, they are invited to join raids with friends from abroad or other regions. This is practical, as it allows you to secure regional Pokémon that are usually not available in on-site raids.
However, this can still lead to a huge influx in 2022, as shown by the ultra beast Kaguron.
How long have you been playing Pokémon GO? Did you experience the hype in 2016/2017 around the new Pokémon, shinies, and legendary raid bosses yourself? Would you like to go back to that time? Or do you find it better that you can now raid comfortably from home? Let us know here at MeinMMO in the comments.
But even in 2022, the game is constantly changing. Findings indicate exciting new content hinting at new items and raids.
