Five hidden meanings of Pokémon Go's phenomenon: Report

By Park Sae-jin Posted : July 18, 2016, 16:47 Updated : July 18, 2016, 16:47

Gamers brave a driving rain to play Pokémon Go in the eastern port city of Sokcho [Yonhap Photo]


Pokémon Go, a mobile augmented reality game produced by Nintendo and Niantic Labs, became a worldwide phenomenon even in South Korea.

Although not yet officially released and not playable in South Korea, some gamers have gathered in the eastern port city of Sokcho, the only place where they can play it, after a series of in-game screenshots and reviews of the game.

Including local government officials and businessmen, many were surprised by the phenomenon created by the game. The hype is also expected to bring an economic boost to the region in synergy with the advent of the summer holiday season.

In a report released Monday, the Hyundai Research Institute analyzed and explained what the phenomenon implicates. Below are the hidden meanings interpreted by the institute.

1- Looking for a new project? It's not far away as you think.
AR technology used in Pokémon Go is not new. Just like Apple's iPhone, Pokémon Go will become a typical case of bringing a phenomenal market reaction just by adding creativeness into existing technologies.

2- Those who dominate the platform dominate the market.
Pokémon Go is expected to uplift sales of platform businesses such as Google and Apple by a significant amount. Platform business models like Pokémon Go will continue to be strong competitors and affect internet and production businesses.

3- Contents matter.
Nintendo, the mother of the Pokémon franchise, once experienced hardship in running its business because the company failed to adapt to a mobile generation. Now, many experts predict the gaming company will be revitalized with Pokémon Go. Its success was possible because of its contents power.

4- O2O (Online to Offline) business will become the model for next-generation businesses.
With the global distribution of smartphones, O2O businesses like Pokémon Go are being invigorated. They are now limited to a small number of business categories but will expand into the areas closely related to our everyday lives.

5- Trend spread in light speed through a mobile and high-speed Internet.
Just a day after its release, Pokémon Go got listed as Apple's most downloaded app and became the fastest chart killer in its category. Thanks to the high-speed Internet, and a growing number of mobile and social network users, it's only a matter of time for killer contents to become the trend.

Aju News Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.con
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