How Pokemon Go found success despite not being a very good game

Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm, withmillions of people venturing outside this month as aspiring Pokemon trainerseven though by traditional metricsit isn't a very good video game.

Currently onMetacritic, the game reviews aggregate website, PokemonGohas a 68 per cent average rating, with 13 "positive" and 15 "mixed" reviews for the smartphone game.

Critics panned the app'sfrequent crashes, high drain on asmartphone'sbattery and lack of instructions or advice about how to power up or evolve your creature collection. It has far fewer featuresthan traditional Pokemongames on Nintendo's handheldconsoleslike the Game Boy and 3DS.

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Most importantly for newcomers, basic instructions on how to actually play the game are few and far between.

A "tips" section lays out the basics of whatPokestops and gyms are, but little else.

A "Help Center" option buried in the game's settings screen links to developerNiantic's help page.

It's no wonder, then, that explainers and tutorials make up a chunk of mediacoverage about Pokemon Go.

Community learning

But the very fact that players actuallyneed to talk to others to figureout how the gameworks seems tocontributeto its massive success as a social catalyst.

On a Gamasutra blog post titled "Pokemon Go and the good things that can come from a bad UI (user interface)," writerChris Furnisscompared the common experience of learning how to play Pokemon Go to learninghow to play a board game.

"The majority of the time you're learning with a friend who has already played the game. You can ask questions, and get your learning experience tailored to the way that you learn best," Furniss wrote.

"The less-than-intuitive UI may not have been intentionally confusing on Niantic's part, but they certainly stumbled upon something magical: the power of the community."

What's more,Pokemon Go'srelatively bare-bones feature set may be what's attracting the largeaudience onethat would otherwise be alienated by traditional Pokemongames, like the upcoming instalments Pokemon Sun and Moon, which are comparatively packed with menus as well ascomplex battle and exploration mechanics.

In a Guardian feature that asked developers how they would improve PokemonGo,Rami Ismailofgame studio Vlambeerargued that itsstrength comes from the fact that it isn't much of a video game at all.

"It's a collection game. It misses all of those things that people think about when they think 'game,' and that's why it's accessible and pleasant," Ismail said.

But while Pokemon Go's simplicity can be credited for the game's sudden popularity, developer Niantic's CEO John Hanke has acknowledgedthat his team isworking on new features needed tomaintain faninterest for the longer term.

During a panel discussion at San Diego Comic-Con last weekend, he discussed multiple planned additions, including the ability to trade and breed Pokemon, new options for customizing Pokestopsand eventually expanding the number of Pokemonspecies beyond the approximately 150of the first wave.