Why Do People 1
Why Do People Play Loca ion-Based Augmen ed Reali y Games:
A S udy on Pokémon GO
Abs ac
Pokémon GO b ough he loca ion-based augmen ed eali y games in o he mains eam. To
unde s and why people play hese games, we c ea ed an online su ey (n=2612) wi h open
ques ions abou he easons o s a , con inue, and qui playing Pokémon GO, and composed
ca ego ies o he answe s h ough a hema ic analysis. Ea lie expe iences especially wi h he
same anchise, social in luence, and popula i y we e he mos common easons o adop he
game, while p og essing in he game was he mos equen ly epo ed eason o con inue playing.
The playe ’s pe sonal si ua ion ou side he game and playabili y p oblems we e he mos
signi ican easons o qui he game. In addi ion o shedding mo e ligh on he Pokémon GO
phenomenon, he indings a e use ul o bo h u he s udying and designing loca ion-based
augmen ed eali y game expe iences.
Keywo ds: Pokémon GO; loca ion-based; augmen ed eali y; ee- o-play; mobile games
Au ho s: Ka i Alha; Elina Koskinen; Janne Paa ilainen; Juho Hama i
This is he pos p in e sion o he a icle, which has been published in
Compu e s in Human Beha io , 2019, Volume 93, 114-122.
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.chb.2018.12.008
Why Do People
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1. In oduc ion
Loca ion-based augmen ed eali y (AR) games a e pe asi e games ha ie in o he
e e yday li e o he playe s and ans o m hei mundane su oundings in o a pa o he game
wo ld (Mon ola, S en os & Wae n, 2009). A e being published in July 2016, Pokémon GO
(PGO) (Nian ic, 2016) became he i s loca ion-based AR game o ga ne mains eam popula i y
and one o he mos success ul mobile games in gene al. The game peaked a 28.5 million daily
unique playe s in he Uni ed S a es alone a week a e i s launch (ComSco e, 2017), i had
eached o e 750 million downloads wo ldwide wi hin i s i s yea (Mino i, 2017), and had
made $1.8 billion in e enue wi h in-app pu chases in wo yea s (Nelson, 2018). P e iously,
loca ion-based augmen ed eali y games had mos ly been esea ch p o o ypes o games wi hou
signi ican comme cial success (Paa ilainen e al., 2017), bu a e he success o PGO, many
loca ion-based AR games a e now en e ing he ma ke . In his a icle, we will use PGO as a case
o s udy why people play loca ion-based AR games.
In PGO, playe s ac as Pokémon aine s and walk in he eal wo ld, using hei mobile
app o na iga e in he game wo ld while ying o ind, ca ch, ha ch, ain, e ol e, and igh
Pokémon c ea u es. The playe ’s loca ion is acked by GPS, while he game shows an o e lay
map o he game wo ld, showing he nea by Pokémon and o he in e es poin s on i . The playe
can ap any nea by Pokémon o change in o he ca ch mode, whe e he playe can h ow Poké
Balls a hem. A success ul ca ch will add he c ea u e in o he playe ’s Pokémon collec ion,
Pokédex, and he aim is o collec all he di e en c ea u es, which has been one o he main
easons o con inue playing he game (Rasche, Schlomann & Me ens, 2017). PGO is based on
he popula and al eady o e wo decades old Pokémon anchise, which has been one o he key
easons o play PGO acco ding o p e ious s udies (Rasche e al., 2017; Zsila e al., 2017).
Why Do People
3
PGO ies in o many esea ch in e es s om he las decade. I is a loca ion-based
pe asi e game (Mon ola e al., 2009; So amaa, 2002) ha u ilizes con ex -in o ma ion
(Paa ilainen, Ko honen, Saa enpää & Holopainen, 2009) and AR (Bicha d & Wae n, 2008;
Lind , Ohlenbu g, Pankoke-Baba z & Ghellal, 2007). I ies in o a ansmedia s o ywo ld (Dena,
2009) while including elemen s om exe games (Sou he on, 2014), easu e hun s (Mon ola e
al., 2009), geocaching (O’Ha a, 2008), and ee- o-play games (Alha, Koskinen, Paa ilainen,
Hama i & Kinnunen, 2014; Paa ilainen, Hama i, S en os & Kinnunen, 2013).
We look a why people play loca ion-based AR games h ough PGO. Wi h i s excep ional
success in his a ea, i is an impo an a i ac o esea ch om he cul u al, academic, and game
design pe spec i es. To s udy why PGO eached such popula i y, we in es iga e 1) why playe s
ha e s a ed o play PGO, 2) why hey con inue playing i , and i so, 3) why hey ha e s opped
playing i . We employ su ey da a ga he ed om PGO playe s (N=2612) and a mixed-me hod
design con aining bo h quali a i e and quan i a i e analyses. The con ibu ions o his pape a e
h ee- old: 1) we p o ide new in o ma ion on his cul u ally impo an phenomenon, 2) he
indings can be used in ollow-up quan i a i e s udies by ope a ionalizing ou indings in o
a iables, and 3) he indings can be used when designing loca ion-based AR game expe iences.
2. Rela ed wo k
Loca ion-based games esemble o he digi al games in o he ways, excep he way hey
ake place in a physical en i onmen a he han only on a de ice sc een (Leo ke, 2018).
Acco ding o Leo ke, he discussion a ound loca ion-based games has ocused on wo
discou ses: how hey allow playe s o in e ac wi h s ange s in ways hey no mally would no ,
and how hey ans o m he su oundings in o spaces o play.
Why Do People
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P e iously, indi idual loca ion-based games and p o o ypes ha e been s udied om
di e en aspec s, bu PGO is he i s o ha e a ac ed wide academic in e es . Especially, he
game’s e ec s on heal h and well-being ha e been s udied (Al ho , Whi e & Ho i z, 2016;
Ba kley, Lepp & Glickman, 2017; Koi is o, Malik, Gu kan & Hama i, in p in ). S udies
explaining why people play he game and especially explo a o y s udies in es iga ing his a e
s ill lacking. Quali a i e mapping o such an eme ging phenomenon is essen ial o
unde s anding i .
Rasche, Schlomann and Me ens (2017) s udied he easons o s a , con inue, and qui
playing PGO in an explo a o y su ey s udy (N=199). The sel - epo ed easons o s a we e
so ed in o ca ego ies shown in Table 1.
Reasons o s a
Reasons o con inue
Reasons o qui
Cu iosi y (68%)
Comple ing he Pokédex (41%)
Bo edom (57%)
Being a Pokémon an (40%)
Fun o cu iosi y o ec ea ion
(15%)
Di icul ies in eaching highe
le els (29%)
Media epo s (28%)
Finding new o a e Pokémon
(11%)
Being disappoin ed (23%)
Repo s om iends (27%)
Ca ching s ong Pokémon o
being he bes (10%)
Technical p oblems (18%)
E e ybody a ound me plays i
(14%)
Join ac i i ies wi h amily and
iends (6%)
Too ew Pokémon (18%)
Being ascina ed by he
augmen ed eali y unc ion (6%)
Being ac i e o ou side (6%)
Waned in e es (11%)
Combining un and physical
ac i i y (4%)
Upda es o new gene a ions
(5%)
Too ew Pokés ops (9%)
Why Do People
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Game o a eling (3%)
Highe le els (4%)
No ime o play (9%)
Nos algia (1%)
Incuba ing eggs (3%)
Lack o co-use s (7%)
Figh ing in a enas (3%)
Too ew a enas (5%)
Nos algia (3%)
Table 1. Reasons o s a , con inue, and qui playing PGO (Rasche e al. 2017).
In Zsila e al. (2017), mo i a ions o play PGO we e s udied by u ilizing he Mo i es o
Online Gaming Ques ionnai e (MOGQ) wi h h ee new ac o s: ou doo ac i i y, nos algia, and
bo edom. These new ac o s we e ound o be he main play mo i a ions. In addi ion, ec ea ion
om he o iginal MOGQ model was he s onges mo i e while he lowes sco es we e obse ed
wi h skill de elopmen and escapism. O he signi ican ly ela ed ac o s we e compe i ion, social,
coping, and an asy. The au ho s sugges ha he h ee new mo i a ions should be aken in o
conside a ion in u u e s udies when s udying games simila o PGO.
Simila ly, Yang and Liu (2017) s udied mo i a ions o playing PGO. The au ho s used
ac o analysis o iden i y se en mo i es o playing: exe cise, un, escapism, nos algia,
iendship main enance, ela ionship ini ia ion, and achie emen . Excep o exe cise and
escapism, he o he mo i es had a posi i e co ela ion wi h he o e all amoun o play.
Hama i, Malik, Koski and Joh i (2018) s udied g a i ica ions o playing PGO and how
hey p edic in en ions o con inue playing and o pu chase in-game i ems. Thei esul s showed
ha game enjoymen , ou doo ac i i y, ease o use, challenge, and nos algia we e posi i ely
associa ed wi h in en ions o con inue playing, whe eas ou doo ac i i y, challenge, compe i ion,
socializing, nos algia, and in en ion o con inue playing we e associa ed wi h in-app pu chase
in en ions.

Why Do People
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3. Me hods and da a
We designed a su ey ea u ing open-ended ques ions ocusing on game expe iences in
PGO. Ra he han u ilizing a p e-de ined su ey ins umen , we emphasized he esponden s’
own na a i es and meaning-making by allowing hem o answe eely. This is a ui ul
app oach when s udying new and eme ging phenomena. The su ey ea u ed closed-ended
ques ions o e eal key demog aphics and playing habi s. In his a icle, we ocus on he h ee
open-ended ques ions ega ding s a ing, con inuing, and s opping o play PGO ( ansla ed om
Finnish):
1. Begin by explaining wha made you o s a playing Pokémon GO.
2. Wha makes you o con inue playing Pokémon GO?
3. I you ha e s opped playing Pokémon GO, wha made you o qui ?
The su ey was de eloped and es ed wi hin an i e a i e p ocess. Du ing he de elopmen ,
18 es esponden s ga e eedback on usabili y, low, and o he issues ha migh a ec he
esponden expe ience. We dis ibu ed he inal su ey in 15 Finnish PGO and o he ela ed
Facebook g oups, and encou aged esponden s o u he sha e he su ey. Two Finnish gaming
news po als ad e ised he su ey. As an explo a o y s udy, he esponden sample was no
aimed o be ep esen a i e o he whole playe popula ion.
The su ey was launched on Sep embe 1, 2016 a 7:00 PM and was online un il
Sep embe 7 h, 2016 12:00 PM wi h a o al o 2616 esponden s. Two cases we e emo ed due o
alse in o ma ion and wo cases due o echnical p oblems in sa ing he esponses. The e o e, he
da a consis ed o 2612 su ey esponses.
O he 2612 esponden s, 2595 ga e a leas one eason o s a he game and 2049 a leas
one eason o con inue playing i . O he 119 esponden s who had qui he game, 117 epo ed a
leas one eason why hey had done so.
Why Do People
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The esponses we e ypically sho , anging om a single wo d o a couple o sen ences,
longe answe s being ela i ely a e. Many o he esponden s ga e mo e han one eason o
each ques ion.
We used applied hema ic analysis (Gues , MacQueen & Namey, 2012) o he quali a i e
analysis, whe e he open-ended answe s we e coded by h ee esea che s. Fo he h ee su ey
ques ions abou s a ing, con inuing, and qui ing PGO a simila app oach was conduc ed. Th ee
esea che s s a ed o code he da a indi idually, aking no es o he issues ha ose om he
answe s and ma ked he codes and hei desc ip ions o a code guide. A he poin o sa u a ion
he esea che s con ened o alk, compa e he codes, and me ge simila codes oge he . Based on
he inal codes, he esea che s c ea ed main ca ego ies o hese codes. The ca ego ies and he
codes hey include a e lis ed and desc ibed in he esul s chap e .
The h ee esea che s coded a sample o he da a (N=100) sepa a ely wice du ing he
p ocess wi h he help o he o med code guide, i s a e he i s discussion and la e a he end
o he p ocess. A e bo h ounds, he esul ing codes we e compa ed and discussed. In he case
o disag eemen , a consensus was sough and he code guide edi ed acco dingly. A e changes o
he code guide, p e ious codes in luenced by he change we e co ec ed. This app oach was used
o make su e ha he esea che s sha ed a uni ied iew and could code a majo i y o he da a
alone. In addi ion, using se e al esea che s helped us o pinpoin challenging and p oblema ic
poin s, and sol ing hese made he p ocess mo e eliable.
To suppo he p ocess, we used Fleiss’ kappa (Fleiss, 1971) o es he in e - a e
eliabili y wi h bo h da a samples in he s a ing and con inuing ca ego ies. On he i s ound, we
eached excellen ag eemen (a leas 0.80) in 7 s a ing ca ego ies and 6 con inuing ca ego ies
and subs an ial ag eemen (a leas 0.60) in 3 s a ing and 2 con inuing ca ego ies. On he second
Why Do People
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ound, we eached excellen ag eemen in 7 s a ing and 6 con inuing ca ego ies and subs an ial
ag eemen in 3 s a ing and 4 con inuing ca ego ies. No kappa alue was lowe han 0.60. These
kappa alues we e seen as high enough o be con iden abou con inuing coding he da a
sepa a ely, a oiding he high cos and ime-consuming p ocess o all esea che s coding all o he
da a. Fu he mo e, he p ocess helped us see which ca ego ies we e he mos challenging o code
eliably, and we could ocus on imp o ing hem.
Due o he lowe numbe o esponden s who had qui he game and gi en a leas one
eason why (N=117), he hi d ques ion allowed o each o he h ee esea che s o code all o
he da a. Howe e , he h ee-s ep p ocess o i s c ea ing a codebook and hen compa ing wo
samples o da a coded indi idually by he h ee esea che s was implemen ed simila ly as wi h
he o he wo ques ions. A each poin , he esea che s discussed and compa ed he codes o
achie e a consensus. Howe e , he in e - a e eliabili y es was no used.
All in e iew quo es in he Resul s chap e ha e been ansla ed om Finnish. Su ey
pa icipan s a e indica ed a e he quo es by an ID numbe , gende , and age.
4. Resul s
Table 2 lis s he backg ound in o ma ion and he playing habi s o he esponden s. As
he esponden s we e mos ly om PGO g oups on Facebook, i can be p esumed ha ou
esponden s we e somewha mo e ac i e han all PGO playe s on a e age. A he ime o he
su ey he game had been ou o wo mon hs.
N
%
N
%
Gende
Playing equency
Female
1628
62.3%
Se e al imes a day
1394
53.4%
Male
927
35.5%
Once a day
483
18.5%
Why Do People
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O he
57
2.2%
A ew imes a week
516
19.8%
Age
Mo e a ely
100
3.8%
Unde 18
147
5.6%
I don’ play anymo e
119
4.6%
18–24
721
27.6%
Le el
25–34
1067
40.8%
Unde 10
96
3.7%
35–44
489
18.7%
10–14
265
10.1%
45 o mo e
188
7.2%
15–19
641
24.5%
Walked dis ance
20–24
1323
50.7%
Unde 50 km
464
17.8%
25–29
276
10.6%
50–99 km
671
25.7%
30 o mo e
11
0.4%
100–199
946
36.2%
Used money
200–399 km
476
18.2%
Yes
939
35.9%
400 km o mo e
55
2.1%
No
1673
64.1%
AR mode
How much money (i used)
On
200
7.7%
Unde 10e
225
6.6%
O
2017
77.2%
10e–19e
226
8.6%
Depending on si ua ion
388
14.9%
20e–49e
307
11.7%
I don’ know
7
0.3%
50e–99e
118
4.5%
100e o mo e
63
2.4%
Table 2. Backg ound in o ma ion and playing habi s.
4.1 Reasons o s a playing Pokémon GO
We di ided he easons o s a ing o play PGO in o 11 di e en ca ego ies (see Table 3).
Al oge he , hese ca ego ies included 53 sepa a e codes, each ca ego y including 2–11 codes. On
a e age, one playe epo ed s a ing easons om 1.6 ca ego ies.
Why Do People
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While he game mechanics s ayed in he ma gin when desc ibing he easons o ge in o
he game, hey a ose as one o he main easons o con inue playing. Collec ing, e ol ing,
ha ching eggs and ba ling we e men ioned.
Ha ching eggs is addic ing. I walk/bike nowadays mo e in o de o ha ch eggs. (ID 1925,
emale, 23)
The social ea u es we e an impo an eason o con inue, whe he wan ing o mee new
people while playing o playing oge he wi h iends o amily. The game unc ioned as an easy
way o connec people oge he and c ea e a eel o communi y. Some liked o compe e o
compa e p og ession wi h o he s, while o he s wan ed o help o each o he s o play he game.
Communi y and sociabili y. The game alone does no keep my in e es , bu is a splendid
addi ion o social si ua ions. (ID 219, male, 27)
Closely connec ed o social ea u es, esponden s explained con inuing o play due o
social in luence. This could mean pa en s wan ing o be up o da e and in o med abou hei
child en’s hobby o a oiding being le ou o social ci cles when all iends we e s ill playing
he game.
Because all my iends play. I don’ wan o s and ou om he c owd. (ID 2464, male,
12)
In e es con inued being somewha impo an , meaning ha he game con inued o eel,
o ins ance, in e es ing o un.
[I]n i s mos pa s e y excellen implemen a ion makes he game eel in e es ing and un
om day o day. (ID 2454, emale, 22)

Why Do People
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Some epo ed con inuing o play because o u u e expec a ions o he game. They
we e cu ious abou how he game was going o change o wai ing o a speci ic upda e. Some
we e e en h ea ening o qui i he game would no change “ o he be e ”.
The game has such an inconcei able po en ial o de elop o he be e , his is
unques ionably he bigges and he mos impo an eason. (ID 1245, male, 34)
The na u e o he game as a eason o con inue included he casual na u e o he game,
making i easy o play, while o he s el ha he challenging na u e was posi i e. The game
p o ided su p ises and was ewa ding.
The casual na u e o i . I is easy o play o an occasional minu e o o hou s and hou s
wi hou much planning. (ID 1531, emale, 26)
While p e ious expe iences, especially wi h he Pokémon b and, we e b ough up as he
numbe one eason o s a he game, hey we e a ely men ioned as he eason o con inue
playing. Some b ough up hei lo e o Pokémon o simila ac i i ies o PGO, bu hese we e in
a small mino i y.
The lo e o Pokémon, I p esume. When i ’s been wi h you o you whole li e, he game
will no go away in a hu y. (ID 1019, emale, 25)
A ew esponden s men ioned s aying in he game o keep up simila ly as in he easons
o s a he game.
[A]s a eache I wan o be up o speed on he you h’s wo ld o games. (ID 2570, emale,
39)
Only a ew esponden s epo ed echnology ela ed easons o con inue playing, o
ins ance liking he loca ion-based p ope ies o he AR ea u es.
Why Do People
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I ’s un o ake pic u es o he Pokémon on a eal backg ound so o speak. (ID 2013,
emale, 27)
4.3 Reasons o s op playing Pokémon GO
We di ided he easons o s opping o play PGO o 9 di e en ca ego ies (see Table 5).
These ca ego ies included 49 codes, each ca ego y including 2–12 codes. On a e age, one playe
epo ed easons o qui om 1.8 ca ego ies.
Ca ego y
N
%
Codes
Si ua ion
63
53.8%
Time, heal h, addic ion, bo edom, eached goal, dele ed o
space, hype down, wea he , phone no wo king, si ua ion
changed, in e ne connec ion, money
P og ession
35
29.9%
Slow p og ess, g inding, epe i ion, no new Pokémon
P oblems
32
27.3%
Technical p oblems, ba e y usage, game always on, slow
pe o mance, incomple e, lack o con en in a ea
Sho comings
25
21.4%
Lack o new hings, no endgame, missing ea u es, missing
con en
Mechanics
24
20.5%
Ba le sys em, sea ching, demands mo emen , does no
encou age mo emen , canno use a bike, escaping Pokémon,
losing Poké Balls, poo design
Na u e o he game
16
13.7%
Un ewa ding, no challenge, oo andom, bad luck,
compe i i eness, lack o sociabili y, shallow, oo simple
Changes
10
8.5%
Poo upda es, change o wo se, closing hi d-pa y
applica ions
Social in luence
9
7.7%
O he s, child en, iends, pa ne , chea ing
The company
9
7.7%
Communica ion, lack o us
Table 5. The easons o qui playing Pokémon GO.
Why Do People
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The playe ’s si ua ion was he mos equen ly epo ed eason o s op. Ge ing bo ed, a
lack o ime o money, poo o cold wea he , and heal h p oblems we e men ioned, while some
had qui due o hei phone b eaking o he game no wo king whe e hey li ed. Some had
achie ed hei goal and had hus decided o qui , while o he s el he hype was se ling down.
I don’ ha e he ime o go and si in he pa k o walk somewhe e jus a e Pokémon. (ID
78, emale, 28)
Du ing he summe i was nice o walk ou side, bu now du ing he all I’m no ha
in e es ed, and wouldn’ e en ha e he ime. (ID 1088, emale, 31)
While p og ession was a s ong eason o con inue he game, i was also a s ong eason
o qui . The le eling cu e was seen o be oo s eep: he equi ed expe ience poin s needed o a
new le el ose exponen ially, while he ea ned expe ience poin s s ayed he same, making i
necessa y o g ind o ad ance. Simila ly, when eaching a ce ain poin in collec ing he
Pokémon, i became inc easingly ha d o ind any new ones o ad ance owa ds he goal o
ca ching hem all.
Ad ancing s a ed o be in u ia ingly di icul a a ound le el 20: you ne e ge eelings
o accomplishmen when you ne e ge on o he nex le el and he e a e no many b and
new Pokémon ei he . (ID 1762, emale, 23)
Playe s we e bo he ed by he a ious p oblems in he game. Bugs, he game c ashing o
no egis e ing he walked dis ances p ope ly we e men ioned. The esponden s c i icized he
unequal gaming possibili ies due o he Pokémon and PokéS ops being concen a ed o ci y
cen e s. In addi ion, some disliked ha you needed o keep he game ac i e a all imes e en
when playing passi ely. This caused he ba e y o d ain.
I qui sho ly a e he publica ion because he game was in ini ely buggy. I he game had
been any hing o he han a Pokémon game i would p obably be played by ha dly anyone,
and you could no publish such a buggy game. (ID 1514, o he , 27)
Why Do People
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Because he GPS did no wo k p ope ly, he game did no egis e all he leng h o
my walks. I el a bi poin less o walk 5 km when he game hen egis e ed maybe
hal a kilome e . (ID 1665, emale, 34)
The sho comings o he game, especially he lack o con en , we e seen o be
p oblema ic. The e was no endgame o playe s who had al eady ad anced u he , and he game
was seen o be oo shallow and simple. Some playe s would ha e wan ed mo e ea u es o mo e
Pokémon.
The e was no hing new o do in he game and my in e es slowly dec eased un il I qui .
(ID 1282, male, 22)
A he momen he game is a walking simula o wi h a Pokémon heme. (ID 1516, emale,
21)
The game design and some o he game mechanics we e disliked o seen o be aul y.
Especially he ba le sys em was c i icized o being o e -simpli ied and o no eeling like a
ba le agains ano he playe . Sea ching mechanics we e seen as impe ec , and he ca ching
mechanics we e some imes us a ing when you would lose many Poké Balls on one Pokémon
o when he Pokémon led. The game s opping o measu e mo emen i he speed was oo high
was c i icized, claiming ha he game discou aged cycling.
PVP [playe e sus playe ] is p e y passi e ( he o he playe is no ac ually “p esen ” as
in Shadow Ci ies in i s ime, whe e g oup igh s we e possible oo). (ID 1652, emale,
36)
I is idiculous ha as an abo e le el 20 playe unde 100 cp [comba powe ] Pokémon
don’ always ge caugh wi h he i s ball. (ID 2024, emale, 23)
Di e en aspec s o he na u e o he game we e b ough up as he eason o qui . These
included he game being un ewa ding o andom in i s ewa ds, lacking challenge, being oo
Why Do People
21
compe i i e, simple o shallow, o jus no social enough. Some explained ha he game should
no equi e mo emen , while some el ha he game encou aged s aying in one place ins ead o
walking.
I simply did no wan o go ou side o walk a ound andomly, as i eels like he chance o
inding he wan ed Pokémon is he same as winning he lo e y. (ID 618, emale, 26)
The game e ol ing and changing was no always posi i e, as some imes playe s el ha
he game was changing o he wo se. Fo ins ance, he emo al o he nea by ea u e, which had
made loca ing Pokémon easie made some o s op playing. Simila ly, some complained abou
Nian ic’s app oach o close down he hi d-pa y map se ices, which we e used o show he
loca ions o all Pokémon a any gi en ime.
The changes he de elope made uined he game, o ins ance emo ing he Nea by
ea u e was jus lousy game de elopmen . (ID 207, emale, 25)
Because Nian ic doesn’ ix he bugs in he game, makes s upid addi ional ea u es and
banned hi d pa y se ices. (ID 2079, male, 30)
The company behind he game was b ough up. Nian ic was c i icized o hei lack o
communica ion o he public, and e en claims o no seeing hem as us wo hy a ose.
The de elope s’ beha io owa ds he game communi y was he las d op. (ID 2572,
male, 23)
When qui ing he game, social in luence was b ough up. I iends no longe played he
game, some esponden s explained no eeling like con inuing he game alone. O he people
could ha e a nega i e in luence, o ins ance by chea ing.
I is no nice o play he game in a acuum. When o he playe s’ en husiasm aded, so did
my own en husiasm owa ds he game. (ID 526, male, 30)
E e yone om my ci cle s a ed o chea in he game so I los my in e es in he game
comple ely. (ID 1494, male, 25)

Why Do People
22
4.4 Rela ions o playing equency
Two mul iple- eg ession analyses (Tables 6-7) we e conduc ed be ween he easons o
s a ing and con inuing PGO iden i ied in he quali a i e s eps o he s udy and he playing
equency (see Table 2).
Rega ding he ela ionship be ween he easons o s a playing and playing equency,
he esul s indica e ha he easons o s a playing bo h had a negligible o al e ec ; he
easons explained only 6.3% o he a iance o playing equency as well as none o he
easons o s a playing had a s a is ically signi ican ela ionship wi h he playing equency
(Table 6). In o he wo ds, he esul s indica e ha he easons o why playe s s a playing do
no ha e a mo e sus ained e ec on whe he hey play he game less o mo e.
DV: Playing equency R² = 0.063
Be a
p
P e ious expe iences
-0.014
0.541
Keeping up
0.004
0.828
Posi i i y
0.021
0.291
Si ua ion
-0.005
0.819
Social in luence
0.015
0.492
Mechanics
0.022
0.263
Na u e o he game
-0.009
0.637
Social ea u es
0.024
0.223
Popula i y
-0.021
0.309
Technology
-0.026
0.189
Table 6. The ela ionships be ween playing equency and he easons o s a playing (R2
= 0.063).
The e a e se e al signi ican ela ionships be ween he easons o con inue playing and
he playing equency. The easons o con inue playing explained 31.2% o he a iance o he
Why Do People
23
playing equency. The esul s in ull can be seen in Table 7. The s ong ela ionship
(B=0.282) be ween p og ession mo i a ions and con inued playing is clea ly s onge han he
ela ionship be ween con inued playing and o he easons o con inue playing.
DV: Playing equency R² = 0.312
Be a
p
P e ious expe iences
0.044**
0.019
Keeping up
0.010
0.610
Posi i i y
0.061**
0.001
Si ua ion
0.087***
0.000
Social in luence
-0.032
0.130
Mechanics
0.058**
0.002
P og ession
0.282***
0.000
Na u e o he game
0.015
0.431
Social ea u es
0.027
0.215
Expec a ions
0.077***
0.000
In e es
0.076***
0.000
Technology
-0.079***
0.000
Table 7. The ela ionships be ween playing equency and he easons o con inue playing
(R2 = 0.312), * = p < 0.05, ** = p < 0.01, *** = p < 0.001.
5. Discussion
The success o PGO has been he sum o se e al ac o s, bu one clea eason o i is he
b and. Acco ding o ou indings, p e ious expe iences, especially wi h he Pokémon anchise,
we e he main eason in achie ing he playe -base. Pokémon has se e al s eng hs. The b and is
widely known, i has nos algic alue, and i s cha ac e s a e simple and a ac i e e en i one is
un amilia wi h hem. The “go a ca ch ‘em all” heme o Pokémon is well sui ed o a loca ion-
based game whe e he playe can go o di e en places o ind and ca ch di e en c ea u es.
Why Do People
24
Using exis ing in ellec ual p ope y (IP) is a common p ac ice in he game indus y, and
seems o be impo an in loca ion-based games, as well. The announced upcoming loca ion-based
games use widely known IP: Ha y Po e (Nian ic, o hcoming), The Walking Dead (Nex
Games, 2018), Ghos bus e s (4:33 C ea i e Lab, o hcoming), and Ju assic Pa k (Ludia, 2018).
Exis ing IP was no usually used in p e ious, less success ul loca ion-based games be o e PGO,
such as Bo Figh e s (I ’s Ali e!, 2001), Shadow Ci ies (G ay A ea, 2010), o Ing ess.
Acco ding o ou esea ch, social easons we e impo an bo h in s a ing and con inuing
PGO. Social in e ac ion is a common mo i a ion o play (e.g. Yee, 2006; Hjo h & Richa dson,
2017). While i has been a gued ha PGO ails o ha ness he social ne wo king powe compa ed
o ea lie loca ion-awa e games (Licoppe, 2016), ou da a shows ha encoun e s do happen.
Al hough he game lacks in-game communica ion channels and means o loca e o he playe s
h ough he game, i ac s as a social ca alys and inc eases he e ec wi h ea u es such as i al
eams and lu es ha a e sha ed by all playe s in he a ea. The equi emen o play ou doo s
makes he playe s isible o each o he , and including eal-wo ld loca ions in o he game ga he s
c owds o he bes play a eas o o a sigh ing o a a e Pokémon. These ea u es can assis he
eme gence o in-g oup closeness (Humph eys, 2016). Acco ding o Vella e al. (2017), PGO
s eng hens exis ing social ies, ac s as an iceb eake , and c ea es a sense o belonging.
Fu he mo e, social in luence and he isibili y o he playe s a ec s he hype h ough he
bandwagon e ec (Colman, 1950): when people hea abou he game equen ly and see i being
played, hey may wan o y i oo.
Many esponden s s a ed o con inued playing PGO as a o m o exe cise. Al hough
s udies o he long- e m e ec s o PGO on heal h habi s a e needed, i has been s udied ha
mobile apps ha combine playing and physical ac i i y may lead o subs an ial sho - e m
Why Do People
25
ac i i y inc eases and ha e he possibili y o eaching seden a y popula ions (Al ho e al.,
2016). PGO wo ks as a gami ied exe cise app, since i o e s mo i a ional a o dances (Hama i,
2015) o playe s o walk mo e han hey no mally do. PGO has o he posi i e in luences as
well, such as sel - ea men o dep ession o o he di icul si ua ions in li e. Simila sel -
epo ed e ec s ha e been ound by Ka i, A jo an a and Salo (2017), as well.
In e es ingly, he game being ee o cha ge and using no el echnology we e a ely
men ioned in luencing he decision o pick up o con inue he game. Howe e , i can be
specula ed ha bo h o hese in luence he decision mo e s ongly han people ha e exp essed.
Fo one, games being ee- o-play is al eady a widely-sp ead model, and migh no be
men ioned e en i i was a signi ican mo i a ion o pick up he game. I can be specula ed ha
ha ing a pu chase p ice would ha e dec eased he playe base subs an ially.
The lack o esponses a ound echnology migh be explained by he esponden s no
always exp essing he echnology- ela ed easons in speci ic e ms, bu ins ead desc ibing he
game eeling “in e es ing”, “ un”, o “no el”. A po ion o hese answe s migh e e o AR and
loca ion-based echnologies since hey we e no mains eam game echnologies be o e PGO. On
he o he hand, he loca ion-based echnology and AR ea u es we e in ocus o each he hype
o he game, which was one o he main easons o s a he game.
P og ession was by a he mos common mo i a ion o con inue playing he game, and
i also had he s onges posi i e co ela ion o playing equency. Collec ing all he Pokémon
has been an impo an pa o he Pokémon anchise since i s beginning. PGO o e s a wide
a ie y o c ea u es o collec , some o which a e a e and need a lo o e o o ca ch, making
comple ion a long ask e en o he mos ac i e playe s. In addi ion, he indi idual Pokémon
ha e di e en a ibu es, and ca ching he bes o each c ea u e ex ends he possibili ies o
Why Do People
32
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