From Niantic to Scopely

Back to the hard stuff now after the soft stuff over the past few days. I had wanted to save the discussion of this for a couple days later, but seeing that it's relevantly important and has urgently presented itself, I thought I'd discuss it now. So, near the end of last month, I reported that Pokémon Go along other games might be sold to another company as a result of the selling of Niantic's games unit... and that "might be" has become "has been", with the deal finalized and situation announced. The importance and urgency thus becomes evident.

The new suitor for the games is a company called Scopely, a company known for developing other mobile games, particularly one that concerns a certain buying and selling board game, of which one (non-electronic) edition is tied to Pokémon and may deserve a separate discussion. The games unit joins the other units of the company, though by reports it will still work and play well with Niantic while having the possibility to cross over into other affairs. It seems like a simple state of affairs, but the details may just make things complicated.

According to the announcement letter on the news section of the Pokémon Go web site, Ed Wu as the game's team leader states that Scopely is fascinated by what has happened thus far with Pokémon Go, the team will still be in it for its development, and support can be provided through Scopely. In essence, the method to the madness will still be as it has been from individuals to communities, although some changes might still be along the way since the game is pretty much still a "work in progress", something admitted outright in the letter.

Even so, by the experience of other people, specifically those who have played other games by Scopely, those games tend to be heavy-handed in the aspects of promotion and monetization. It would then make sense that they'd have concerns that the situation would bleed into Pokémon Go and detract from the game experience all players or Trainers recognize. Whether the premises in the announcement letter will remain fulfilled or not, that may be anyone's guess and becomes something to "wait and see" under the new "wings" for the game.

I personally have my own concerns as well. The last time a company making games that I like was sold to (technically, bought out by) another one, the results were pretty much as described above, becoming an actual manifestation of those concerns of other people. Still, Pokémon Go isn't like those other games since the fundamental elements of the game belong to The Pokémon Company, so there is the hope that TPC can step in to mediate matters if a major conflict manifests, even though this too is not really a guarantee, then and now.

Scopely is regardless now the bearer of a world-famous game, for a subset of legions of fans for a particularly well-known franchise. The challenge for (the dev team under) Scopely now will be to pick up where they left off at Niantic - yes, there is much about that to come in the short and long term - and deal with familiar and new problems and challenges that are (and have been) such a hallmark of the game. If a core idea of Pokémon is becoming the very best, then Scopely may have to be prepared to adopt that idea for this game and beyond. 

One year ago: Loot (or Not) from Pikachu's Indonesia Journey in Bali

Two years ago: Quickies: Flying With Lugia, On Demand

Three years ago: Investing in a Battle Pass?

Four years ago: A Year of Living Dangerously

Five years ago: Cosplay: IAM COSPLAYCON

Six years ago: The Pokémon Search Bar in Pokémon Go

Seven years ago: Ash and Pikachu, DJF 2018 Style

Eight years ago: A Psyduck Headache