Globalisation, New Media and Culture: An Analysis on the Pokémon Go Phenomenon

Introduction

This essay explores the rise of the mobile application Pokémon Go and the cultural flows involved. The game was a breakthrough in technology, and extremely innovative as it attempted to blend the virtual world with reality. This new technology led to a Pokémon Go craze all over the world, cumulating over 500 million downloads within two months of its release (Gilbert, 2016). Its overnight success brings up the question of how it was achievable. This essay shall attempt to answer the question in relation to globalization and new media, and demonstrate the positive and negative impacts it might bring to society on both an international and local level.

First, it discusses the success of Pokémon Go and the role globalization and new media played in this process. Second, it looks at the social impacts on society and perceptions shaped as a result. Lastly, it will conclude with an analysis on how the game relates to advertising culture and potential problems to take note of.

The Rise of Pokémon Go

Augmented reality is not something new. One notable game that has featured this, is the game Ingress, an application launched by Niantic, the same company that created Pokémon Go (Tan, 2016). Bown and Gackenbach suggest that the use of the Pokémon brand contributed to the popularity and more widespread reach as compared to Ingress. Pokémon appealed to the emotional aspect of consumers (BBC, 2016), with its catchy theme song, a whole show dedicated to it and even console games to go with it. The nostalgia associated with the Pokémon brand played a huge part in the success of the game (BBC, 2016).

Globalization and new media

In addition to the emotional approach as a contributing factor to the success of the game, the roles of globalization and new media cannot be forgotten. Globalization has resulted in a smaller world, where people are able to connect easily and instantly. It is an integration of markets (Anastasiou & Schäler. 2010). With this phenomenon, the Pokémon brand was able to gain global attention. Pokémon began as a Japanese video game, but has since been exported and altered to appeal to various cultures. For example, giving some Pokémon characters English names even in the Japanese versions (Tobin, 2004). The game has been launched in almost 40 countries, and has broken records for its number of global downloads (Addley. 2016). The Pokémon brand is not confined to Japan alone, as Japanese media content has flowed across the world and many are now familiar with the Pokémon brand.

With the advent of the Internet, it provided a platform for content and information to be distributed. Traditionally, media content could only be played on specific devices. An example would be how a phonograph would be required to play a vinyl record. However, with the Internet, a wide range of media content can be played and found through one device (Croteau & William Hoynes, 2014). Information is easily shared and found, especially with the development of smartphones. They function like a computer, with its internet access. Furthermore, its portable feature allows for greater time spent on it and being connected to media networks. As such, mobile applications such as Pokémon Go have been able to reach a wide network of people.

The greater exposure to marketing and advertising has seen an increased level of consumption among the older generation. It is easier to get involved with mobile games, with the ubiquity of smartphones and the Internet. Pokémon Go is special in that the game is very inclusive, with its consumers ranging from seniors to young children (McLaughlin & Yoshida. 2016). It creates a sense of belonging and contributes to the notion of “cultural citizenship”.

Imagined communities

Anderson has a theory on imagined communities, and refers to print capitalism and the increase in access to script languages such as Latin as causes of nationalism. Similarly, the media can create imagined communities. A mental picture of one’s community is established through exposure to media and its images, creating shared meanings of nationhood (Anderson, 1983). As a result, stereotypes can also be perpetuated through images in the media.

In this case, the game Pokémon Go is helping to destroy the stereotype that gaming is bad and anti-social (Sigmund, 2017). A wide demographic of people are actually consumers of this game. In addition, there is a level of interaction involved while playing this game, as it encourages people to share information on the latest Pokémon sightings. There have been incidences in Singapore, where people would share Pokémon tips and sightings with others, forming a sense of community and closeness that was not possible before (Thet, 2016). This goes against the stereotype that playing games is anti-social. In fact, it brings the community closer.

Social impacts

There is a lot of walking involved in Pokémon Go, since one would have to accumulate “steps” to hatch eggs as well as to find Pokémon gyms. There is an increased frequency of physical activity, as more consumers go out of their houses to play the game. This is also contrary to the stereotype for traditional games, where playing games meant you were inactive. This is in line with Gauntlett’s argument, where making is connecting, as the creation of Pokémon Go has “increased our engagement and connection with our social and physical environments”.

As much as there are advantages to this game, there are certain concerns as well. Talks about privacy issues have been circulating, as the game is able to track your location. Additionally, there have been cases where pickpockets bait Pokémon Go users by placing “lures” nearby, after which they rob them of their belongings (Criddle. 2016). The virtual world has been connected to reality, where real life consequences can happen as a result of a virtual game. There have also been cases where consumers of the game drive while catching Pokémon, being too engrossed in the game and falling into rivers or even crossing into unauthorized areas to play the game (Criddle. 2016).

Advertising Culture

Pokémon Go has also opened up new opportunities for advertising. This game has revolutionized advertising culture. Food and beverages shops can place “lures” to attract game players to their shop to consume their goods (Chan, 2016). This works as players are able to detect nearby locations where there are “lures” or “Pokémon gyms”. Players flock to these places as it contributes to the fun of the game, where