Former Niantic Exec: Pokemon GO Sequel Would Split Players
Scopely games president Ed Wu, who formerly led Pokemon GO at Niantic, says a sequel would divide the game’s large player base and is not the right approach now.
Ed Wu, Scopely’s president of games and former senior vice president for Pokemon GO at Niantic, argued a numbered sequel would split the game’s community and is not the correct approach at present.
He noted Pokemon GO’s appeal comes from being a single shared experience that fits into players’ daily routines, and that a sequel that divides the community “doesn’t make as much sense.”
Wu added: “I think that doing a sequel within a franchise is pretty clearly not the correct thing we do. There’s such a big community because of the way that our games can be a part of folks’ lives wherever they go, however they explore the world. Creating a sequel that divides the community doesn’t make as much sense. If and when we do something new, it will really have to be from a different angle, but still with this notion of inspiring people to explore the world together.”
Pokemon GO launched in 2016 and is approaching its tenth anniversary. The mobile augmented-reality title has been downloaded more than 500 million times and has generated an estimated $8.8 billion in player spending since launch.
Niantic has applied its location-based technology to other franchises, including a Monster Hunter mobile title. The studio operates live-service games and faces the operational and business challenges common to that model.
Some developers expand and update an original title instead of releasing a numbered sequel, keeping a single player base by adding regular content updates, seasonal events and live-service features.
Wu did not outline a specific roadmap for a new Pokemon GO product and emphasized any future effort would need to preserve the communal nature of the existing player ecosystem.
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