Summary
With its latest mobile game becoming another successful venture under thePokemonbanner, its next project should focus on healthy food, cooking, and eating habits in order to complete its trilogy of lifestyle apps. AsPokemoncontinues to expand the franchise in all sorts of new directions witha Netflix seriesPokemon Conciergeand its own MOBA withPokemon Unite, it has been making significant headway on the mobile gaming front. In particular, the most recent launch ofPokemon Sleepwith the help ofPokemon GO’sown developer Niantic seems to suggest that the franchise is aiming to tap into every aspect of players' day-to-day lives.
Though it might not have been a direct ambition ofPokemonto do so, there’s been a growing trend among its associated apps and games that appear to be trying to deliver a seamlessPokemonexperience from its mainline games through to being active in the real world. But having always been an underlying mindset reflected inPokemon HeartGoldandSoulSilver’s Pokewalkersor the integration of the 3DS’s StreePass with its games, it’s no surprise thatPokemon’s ethos for a healthy and active lifestyle now extends to mobile. But after monopolizing exercise and sleep, all that remains forPokemon’s lifestyle app trifecta is food.
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Pokemon’s Apps Promote Healthy Lifestyles with Players
While the main premise behindPokemon GOallowed the series' fans to actualize dreams of becoming real-life Pokemon trainers, it had a second aim of encouraging those same players to get out and about in the real world. Having already proven that it could achieve this within a year of its 2016 release witha study confirmingPokemon GO’shealth benefitsshortly thereafter, Niantic’s apphas since evolved to advance this thanks to the addition of Gyms, walking with Buddies, and most recently its new Routes feature. As a result,Pokemon GOticked the first box of a healthy lifestyle with a positive way to get players active.
It wouldn’t be until 2019, however, thatPokemon’sambitions for bringing people and Pokemon closer together would be showcased, as during an official press conference it announced bothPokemon HOMEandPokemon Sleep.Confirming that it had already turned walking into entertainment,Pokemonsought to turn sleeping into entertainment too, something it has now achieved with the app’s release this year. Though it hit the odd snag withusers concerned aboutPokemon Sleep’ssafetyaround tracking data or overheating batteries, the app has since become a literal sleeper hit among players in helping them get a good night’s rest.
Pokemon Has Yet to Tackle Healthy Eating
BetweenPokemon GOandPokemon Sleep, the series has successfully enmeshed itself with two key areas of its players' daily lives, something whichPokemonhas been open and honest about wanting to gamify and capitalize on. It has even accomplished the same with brushing teeth by promoting bettertoothbrushing and oral hygiene withPokemon Smile, though this was aimed more at children than its older players. But this leaves one remaining aspect of a healthy lifestyle up for grabs, meaning that whilePokemon GOtackles walking andPokemon Sleephandles sleeping,Pokemonnow just needs an app for eating.
In recent years, diets have since earned a negative reputation as people realize how they can have the opposite effect through a culture of body shaming, unattainable expectations, and community gatekeeping. In light of this, a new trend of health-related brands, influencers, and in particular apps are instead promoting positivity and support for all its members regardless and celebrating their achievements both big and small. By adopting a similar model and leaning on its current success, there’s never been a better opportunity forPokemonto tap into this health trendand add eating to its other apps' sleeping and eating.
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How a New Pokemon App Could Tackle Healthy Eating
Given thatPokemoncan’t afford to risk its reputation by associating with the negative connotations of dieting, an app geared towards promoting healthy eating would need to be careful in its overall design. But it’s far from impossible to achieve, asPokemonwould simply need to avoid perpetuating harmful diet-related ideas such as the importance of calorie counting or myths about certain food groups. Instead, such an app should focus on educating users about food and healthy diets by providing clear and correct information with the help ofPokemonas a medium.
For instance, the mainline games likeSwordandShieldorScarletandViolethave both recently featured curries and sandwiches, so a healthy eating app could build from this by providing players guidance on what sort of food they should eat with recipes they could try. Additionally, the inclusion offood-themed Pokemoncould also balance players' views on “good” and “bad” food, since the likes of Applin, Pumpkaboo, Vanillish, Slurpuff, and more showcase how all are equal in the world ofPokemon. In fact, just as Snorlax aptly representsPokemon Sleep, a new healthy eating app could use Munchlax as its own mascot and partner for players.
However, the question remains as to how such an app could gamify eating the same wayPokemonhas with walking and sleeping. Provided thatPokemon’s aim is still promoting a healthy lifestyle, the app could add gameplay with aPokemon Professor like Willowand Neroli who is instead investigating Pokemon eating habits. By recruiting the player to assist with this research with their partner Munchlax, the app could encourage players to log information about what they eat during the day, what times they ate, if they had any cravings and so on to shape their gameplay experience with this Professor offering positive feedback and support.
There is also the potential that this app could most benefit fromPokemon GOandPokemon Sleepconnections, as the information tracked by both would be vital in providing players with a more well-rounded perspective on their eating habits. This could also help improve the overall gameplay experience, as the deeper players sleep withPokemon Sleepor the further they walk inPokemon GOcould earn players rewards in the new app. With the right approach and balance between these apps all backed by the series' popularity,Pokemoncould monopolize a trifecta of healthy lifestyle apps that few others could achieve.
MORE:Pokemon GO’s Story Needs to Dig Deeper in One Key Department
