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One year after release, Pokemon Go is fitness tool for older people in Japan

OSAKA — Millennials may have abandoned the smartphone game Pokemon Go in droves since its launch a year ago, but it has gained new fans among older Japanese, who find it a useful way to get active outdoors.

Mr Tsutomu Misago, 48, playing Pokemon Go on his smartphone in Tempozan Park, Osaka. Photo: Kyodo News

Mr Tsutomu Misago, 48, playing Pokemon Go on his smartphone in Tempozan Park, Osaka. Photo: Kyodo News

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OSAKA — Millennials may have abandoned the smartphone game Pokemon Go in droves since its launch a year ago, but it has gained new fans among older Japanese, who find it a useful way to get active outdoors.

Players aged 40 or older rose to 48 per cent from 38 per cent, according to Values Inc, a Tokyo-based research agency. On the other hand, Pokemon Go players aged in the 20s and 30s account for only half the players now, compared with 62 per cent a year ago.

Value Inc noted that Japan had 11 million Pokemon Go players shortly after the game’s domestic release in July last year. By end-2016, this figure had fallen by half.

Dr Akira Hata, a professor at Chiba University’s Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, said the game has been successfully designed to get people accustomed to walking.

“Walking is helpful to prevent us from becoming overweight and suffering from high cholesterol,” he added.

Mr Tsutomu Misago, 48, was one middle-aged Pokemon Go fan seen hunting down Pokemon monsters in Tempozan Park in Osaka earlier this month. It was here where hordes of young players used to gather to catch rare virtual characters of the location-based game.

“I have nothing to do on my days off,” he said. He runs a construction business in Kobe. And as he wiped the sweat off his face, he said that getting outdoors and playing the game is “better than just staying at home”. Near Mr Misago was another player, aged 56, tapping on his smartphone as well.

Explaining that he had left his family in another part of Japan to live in Osaka due to his job, he said that he keeps playing Pokemon Go as “I have few other reasons to go out”.

Their enthusiasm for the game contrasts with the indifference of a 20-year-old man strolling in Tokyo’s Ueno Park with his girlfriend. The park was also once a popular place for Pokemon Go fans.

“I stopped playing it after two months as I felt tired of walking,” he said. He only happened to be in the park as he had gone to see a giant panda cub that was born last month at the zoo adjacent to the park.

The augmented reality game was jointly developed by Nintendo Co, Pokemon Co and Niantic Inc. It was released in Japan on June 22 last year, about two weeks after its global debut in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

The game immediately became a hit in Japan, flooding parks and streets with players trying to catch various Pokemon monsters. The game was made infamous by overly engrossed fans who caused traffic accidents and trespassing problems.

The new demographic that is attracted to Pokemon Go now has spurred tourism offices to use Pokemon Go as a useful marketing tool. For instance, the tourism office in Amanohashidate area of Miyazu, northern Kyoto, announced in March that it would work with the creator of the game.

It created a map showing where players can catch Pokemon Go game items at its scenic sightseeing spots.

“I have long wanted to visit Amanohashidate,” a 40-year-old tourist from Ishikawa prefecture said recently. “I finally decided to come because of Pokemon,” he said.

The tourism office officials said Pokemon Go seems to have been “a good cue” motivating people to visit the area.

Miyagi, Fukushima and Saitama prefectures are also adopting Pokemon games in their marketing plans.

Going forward, Pokemon Co said it plans to boost the game’s popularity by enhancing game features and tweaking plans for players’ events. KYODO NEWS

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