Tens of thousands traveled to Seattle this past weekend in search of a common goal: to catch all the Pokémon.
Niantic, creators of Pokémon GO, chose Seattle Center as the first in-person event Pokémon GO Festival US location since 2019.
Pokémon GO released in 2016 to worldwide fanfare and has become one of the most successful mobile augmented reality games, racking up $6 billion in player spending revenue to date, including $1.3 billion in 2021, according to data from SensorTower. It has been downloaded more than 678 million times worldwide.
The game spawns Pokémon in the real world. Players can catch Pokémon by finding them on a map; they can also trade or fight with others as they gain experience and level up in their player rank.
The area under the Space Needle in Downtown Seattle has been transformed for Pokémon GO Fest. The event combined virtual and real-world environments by giving ticket holders access to exclusive in-app quests and Pokémon in real-world habitats created by Niantic.
The event featured in-app quests that allowed Trainers to explore four environments throughout the Seattle Center and into the wider downtown area to seek out special Mythical Pokémon such as Sky Form Shaymin Y Buzz. The area was filled with trainers wearing GO Fest t-shirts and keyrings of their favorite Pokémon.
The appeal of Pokémon spanned generations, as kids, teens, seniors, and entire families roamed the city streets hoping to find a rare mythical Pokémon. Fans weren’t just there to take photos with Pokémon like Eevee and Pikachu. The trainers were there for the community; everyone I found promptly asked me to exchange friend codes.
Humberto Cam, director of global Pokémon GO live events at Niantic, said Niantic’s goal is “to get people to explore the world.” Kam was excited to see other Trainers in real life and the excitement on players’ faces when they encountered event-exclusive Pokémon.
“That’s what it’s all about, getting those Pokémon that people have been waiting for and just getting excited about,” Kam said.
Niantic, who has an engineering office in Bellevue, Washington, raised $300 million at a $9 billion valuation last year and said he wants to build a “real-world metaverse.”
Niantic’s vision for GO Fest aligns with Pokémon’s enduring philosophy of “uniting the world through Pokémon”. Trainers could engage with others by advertising the Pokémon they wanted to trade. They also took part in player-versus-player battles on the battlefield, which featured special guests such as former Seahawks star Richard Sherman.
Every area of Seattle Center was buzzing and buzzing with activity at all times of the day, from the team tents to the food court to the merchandise line.
The game environment was fluid and immediately launched my search for Pokémon GO Fest without a hitch. I came across a short narration about Ultra Beasts and was able to catch Pokemon I wouldn’t normally see in the game, including more. Unknown than I had ever seen in my life playing Pokémon games.
While I enjoyed seeing how Pokémon GO had grown since I first downloaded the game, I left with two criticisms of the event that I’d like to see implemented at future GO Fests. Unlike the trading card and the video game, players generally move while playing Pokémon GO. I found myself accidentally bumping into others while trying to follow the virtual map and my real world surroundings.
It would be easier to find Pokémon in congested areas if the game had the functionality to focus on a specific Pokémon and automatically start the battle when it is found, so trainers can keep an eye on the real world instead of struggling to select the desired Pokémon.
Also, it would have been nice to see the in-game quest spaced out over the three days instead of a few hours. This would incentivize Trainers to spend more time in the Seattle Center instead of rushing through tasks in time to encounter Mythical Pokémon.
Despite these shortcomings, Pokémon GO Fest was a refreshing event that brought people from a variety of backgrounds together for a common interest, something rarely seen outside of sporting events.
Niantic held an in-person GO Fest event in Berlin earlier this month and is heading to Sapporo, Japan next week. It’s hosting a final Pokémon GO Fest event on August 27 that will feature special Pokémon.