It slipped out final week that Niantic was in talks to promote their one and solely large success as an organization to Scopely, who runs titles like Marvel Strike Power and Star Trek Fleet Command. Gamers have been instantly involved about what impression which may have on Pokemon Go, as if one exploitive writer could be greater than a level or two totally different from one other.
Pokemon Gone!
It isn’t as if Niantic hasn’t been pushing options to make folks pay extra. The entire Dynamax system is just about a “cow, meet milking machine” characteristic set. And the newest Tour is just about promoting the entry to particular Pokemon. I do know issues can all the time be worse, however it isn’t like issues aren’t unhealthy already.
(As an apart, Scopely was the previous proprietor of Chilly Iron and was concerned with the sale of Chilly Iron to Dawn, which ended up by no means taking place or one thing. Does this imply they’re sketchy already?)
However I’m extra fascinated by why an organization like Niantic would wish to get rid of their one major asset, the one title that makes the corporate in any respect noteworthy, the money machine that’s in all probability paying all of the payments.
I scent a silly investor demand.
Certain, Niantic has mentioned that the curiosity in AR gaming has not developed alongside the strains they have been anticipating… which is code for the actual fact they couldn’t repeat the success of Pokemon Go, even when handed an IP like Harry Potter. And that little doubt is a consider all of this, that Niantic couldn’t simply re-skin Pokemon Go and maintain the cash machine increasing indefinitely.
It’s also attainable, with the sport arising on the ten 12 months mark, that they is likely to be up for contract negotiations with The Pokemon Firm. Neglect about Detective Pikachu, it’s Capitalist Pikachu that guidelines the roost over there and, after seeing practically a decade of fantastic income, Capitalist Pikachu is likely to be demanding an even bigger slice of the pie.
The argument is that Pokemon is what makes Niantic profitable, not their know-how, so The Pokemon Firm is the get together that brings probably the most worth to the desk, so they need to get a bigger minimize of the income.
We have no idea if that’s truly taking place, however it’s actually believable. Pikachu performs hardball when cash is at stake.
However, as famous over at Forbes, the long run course for Niantic comprises some key phrases you would possibly acknowledge:
Niantic’s future focus seems to be on enhancing spatial intelligence via large-scale machine studying fashions, leveraging knowledge collected from its gaming purposes to construct detailed 3D maps of the world.
Oh, they wish to use all that knowledge they collected about their customers to coach some type of AI or LLM or no matter smokescreen time period is standard this week for the over-hyped rubbish technology machine know-how.
Which in all probability means a key investor has determined that the road for Pokemon Go, and any further copypasta titles primarily based on it, received’t be going up any extra, so they need the corporate to ditch all that, promote it off whereas it nonetheless has even $3.5 billion in worth, and to take that money to Vegas and put all of it on pink… or make investments it into language mannequin tech, whichever is simpler.
And since tables in Vegas in all probability can’t cowl that massive of a wager, AI is the best way ahead.
So I can really feel the ache of gamers and the fear {that a} wheeler seller speculative studio like Scopely will make issues worse… although writing to The Pokemon Firm since you’re afraid of money seize monetization is like writing to the NRA asking for stricter gun legal guidelines. If Scopely makes extra money, The Pokemon Firm makes extra money, so it’s utterly of their finest curiosity for Scopely to take action.
Am I too cynical? I concern I’m not.
Anyway, so it goes. Ultimately, whereas Niantic managed to understand the essence of Pokemon for a bit with their Pokemon Go title, additionally they haven’t precisely been as much as the duty at a number of factors alongside the best way. I don’t know, perhaps we should always applaud when an organization acknowledges that they’re out of their depth?
