Pokemon fans of all ages left their dark rooms to capture virtual creatures in an outdoor setting to become the next Pokemon master.
Trainers began looking for each Pokestop, gym and “secret spots” filled with rare Pokemon.
Locally, places such as The Pike in downtown Long Beach and Downtown Disney in Anaheim blossomed with players, smartphones and portable battery packs.
Soon, the mobile app became a cultural phenomenon.
According to SurveyMonkey, more than 30 million fans downloaded the app in just three weeks after the game’s release. Merchandise signaling which team players were associated with sold like wildfire, with sales rising 91 percent in a little more than a month, USA Today reports.
However, because of the high demand to “catch them all,” fans began to run rampant. USA Today reports multiple incidents, ranging from injuries and car accidents, to stabbings and shootings as a result of careless playing.
Although Pokemon Go is still available and has generated approximately $258 million, many fans are leaving the app unplayed and erasing it from their phone. Slice Intelligence, an online research survey center, reports the U.S. paying population declined by 79 percent since the number of in-game buyers peaked July 15.
CSULB students are still playing the game, despite the large drop since summer.
“I go to the pier in Long Beach and it’s not packed anymore — a lot of people have stopped playing,” Rae Delgado, senior creative writing major said. “It’s a lot of fun when you get a new Pokemon, but it’s now harder to meet players.”
Delgado doesn’t want to give up her search for Pokemon, and is excited for the new update releasing 100 new Pokemon to the app.
“I think [the update is] great! There was such a surge at the beginning nearly everyone caught all the Pokemon, so we need more incentive to play,” she said. “That’s why I keep playing. I want to stay updated and catch ‘em all, like in the video games.”
Delgado mentions that the majority of past-players stopped after continuous updates that didn’t include features many players hoped for, such as battling others and an updated Pokemon tracker. Other retired players were just tired of catching the same three creatures.
“It was cool at first to walk around find Pokemon in different places,” said Daniel Portillo, senior music and psychology major. “But after finding the same ones every day and needing to catch what seemed like hundreds to evolve just one, it just became too tedious.”
Pokemon Go grasped fan’s attention, but couldn’t quite keep ‘em all. However, the huge loss of players doesn’t compete with the overall sales and downloads Pokemon Go has acquired.