Very few games in the past several years have been able to match the success and influence of Pokemon Go. The game released last Summer and took only two weeks to become the top-grossing app in the app store. Even now the game is estimated to have a daily revenue of about 1.2 million dollars.
Needless to say, Pokemon Go was one of the biggest success stories last year. However, it also had a major impact on society. When the game first came out people everywhere were on their smartphones walking around trying to be the very best like no one ever was.
It was an experience unlike any other, and the addition of raids in Pokemon Go has helped to rekindle that experience.
Of course, Pokemon Go was far from a perfect game at launch. Game crashes, bugs, and glitches all plagued the initial experience of Pokemon Go. The game has improved since then, adding tons of brand new features like the Buddy system, an entirely new generation of Pokemon, and a revamped gym system.
While these new additions are great, there are still a couple of changes/additions that I think Pokemon Go should make in its next update. I realize that not all of these changes will be made, but the game could improve a lot with them.
Firstly, Pokemon should release all of the shiny Pokemon.
Currently, there are only a couple of shiny Pokemon in the game. There was the shiny gold Magikarp that was released during the water event back in March, and just these past few days a shiny Pikachu has been released to the public. However, I think Niantic could improve Pokemon Go immensely by simply releasing all of the shiny Pokemon.
Shiny Pokemon are one of the things fans of the main series installments love. Some people spend hours breeding, soft resetting, and fishing just in the hopes of getting a shiny variant of one of their favorite Pokemon. Of course, Niantic should try to implement mechanics that aid players in obtaining shiny Pokemon just like in the main series games.
Not only will trainers have a pretty Pokemon to put in gyms, but they will also have something to show off to their friends.
Implement a PVP mode
This is an addition that many are certain will be released at some point in the future. However, why Niantic hasn't released it yet is what bugs me. Currently, the combat in Pokemon Go, while not terrible, gets stale over time and gyms don't put up enough of a challenge anymore. Raids are a nice new addition that does add some challenge, but players can only obtain one raid pass a day and can't get anymore unless they purchase more. This is why Niantic needs to implement a PVP mode.
This would give Pokemon Go a brand new way to improve the multiplayer of the game in addition to making the game more of a social experience.
Players could battle 1v1 or even 4v4 and earn rewards like Stardust, coins, etc. Better yet, Niantic should allow players to wager on things like Stardust and coins to make the battles more exciting and addictive. Not only that, but it would give the game more of a metagame than the one currently in place. When Niantic implements PVP, it would be fantastic if they also implemented a new kind of combat instead of the basic tap and swipe. Perhaps maybe they could implement a system similar to the main series Pokemon games or something more action-oriented. However, Niantic should try to keep it as simple as possible to avoid alienating casual gamers. Regardless, PVP is a must if Pokemon Go wants to keep players active and engaged.
Implement Trading
Similar to PVP, trading is a feature that many fans expect to arrive soon especially since it was shown off in the initial trailer. Trading is a feature that was a key component of the main series games. It allowed players to obtain Pokemon they couldn't obtain in their version, evolve certain Pokemon, and even get awesome shiny Pokemon from other players. This feature has only improved with the advent of the Global Trade System and Wonder Trade.
Niantic doesn't have to implement a Wifi trade system, but something simple should suffice. Of course, the trading system should be handled with care because otherwise, players may end up trading Tyranitars for Weedles which would be chaos.
Perhaps they could make trading only work with Pokemon that are of a similar CP level, evolution stage, shiny status, etc. The system needs to be fair, so players won't break the game.
Remove the Speed cap for spinning Pokestops.
Putting a speed cap that prevents players from obtaining items at Pokestops was one of the worst implementations Niantic could make. I understand why Niantic would do this since Pokemon Go is a game that led to a lot of car accidents from players who tried to play and drive. However, this issue is similar to texting and driving which is that the legal responsibility is on the driver, not the phone. If phones had to start implementing a speed limit that prevented people from texting at a certain speed the world would be in complete chaos.
Niantic already implemented this with the button that requires players to identify themselves as a passenger, which shifts the legal responsibility to the players. If I crashed my car playing Pokemon Go the fault is on me, not the game.
I respect Niantics intentions, but this implementation has made it harder for rural players to Play The Game. Before this change, people using mass transit were only able to obtain items when traveling because they didn't have the time to get these items. Cut off from Pokestops, it became very hard for these players to play the game. They need to remove the speed cap for at least Pokestops to enable more people to play.
Increase the level cap
While I may not be at level 40 quite yet, several players have reached the maximum Level Cap for Pokemon Go.
Unfortunately, these players don't have much else left to do with their experience gained once they reach this maximum level. The solution is simple, Niantic should increase the level cap of the game, presumably from 40 to 45. Yes, the experience required to reach a higher level will be probably extremely high, but it will at least give these players something to do with all their experience. Perhaps Niantic can even give new rewards to players who reach these higher levels such as a second infinite incubator or an exclusive shiny Pokemon. This small change could give the game more of an endgame goal to strive for.
Conclusion
There are more things I would love to see Niantic do with the app such as improving the raid interface, fixing technical issues, and release the next generation of Pokemon but these are the inclusions that I want to see the most.
Pokemon Go has improved quite a lot since its release, but the app still lacks the same level of polish the main series games are known for. Niantic has some big shoes to fill so let's hope they can do it.
