>>46098427In fact, it's happened repeatedly.
>>46098472Here's another thing: People are comparing GO's situation to other mobile games when it's a weird beast of its own. One thing that needs to be taken into account is that Niantic was once part of and still has heavy ties to Google. I'm pretty sure they just split for anti-monopoly reasons but I'm guessing out my ass. The timing makes sense.
GO benefits from being treated casually. GO thrives from being a slow burn. People think it's dead, when it's fully integrated into people's lives as as an exercise companion, a 5-30 min timewaster, and/or something to add onto whatever you're doing, like planning a day with friends Pre-COVID around Community Days. Expecting a FOTM to take it out is asking for a lot. GO is a game that's also a non-game.
But, there's more.
A lot of GO players use Google Survey rewards to buy stuff, and then you also have the whales. I would love to see how much money GSR players bring in to Niantic. The majority of the questions ask where you went and what you did at that place. Said data sells for a lot of money.
This is tinfoil hat craziness, but please consider it for the sake of the franchise and where its going. Niantic would sooner put GO on life support than watch it die. TPCi is making a lot in merch sales because of GO, but who knows how much the data collected from surveys goes for.
>>46098633>>46098648Definitely not happening. Niantic has great servers that are likely tied to Google. The development and repair cycles also happen much faster in a game like GO. I think the closest you have is Pokemon Masters where people will have spent enough money to buy several Switch consoles just to get their waifu. And instead of a cut of that going to Nintendo, it's all for the developer and TPCi.
I think they'd sooner put more MMO aspects in Masters and GO before considering this.
