Posted in: Games, Nintendo, Pokémon | Tagged: Niantic, nintendo, pokemon, pokemon go

Tokyo is Getting a Pokémon Go Meetup Bar

Published Tue, 28 May 2019 11:40:13 -0500

It may be 2019, but Pokémon Go is still a major gaming phenomenon, especially in Japan. Because of the mass number of players who want to make friends who also play the game, a bar in Tokyo has opened up to cater specifically to Pokémon Go players.

With Niantic's new friend tiers and trainer battles, its more important than ever to have active friends in-game. Which means Pokémon Go players have a new need to socialize. And what better way than to play Poké Go while sharing a few pints?

Pokemon Go: May and June's Research will Spawn Latios, Latias, Lugia, and Ho-Oh — credit// Niantic

From Sora News:

Years after the initial boom of the smartphone game Pokémon GO, it has found a stable group of die-hard fans in Japan. However, the makers at Niantic probably didn't expect this fan base to consist largely of upper-middle-aged men and women.

While on the one hand the demographic has kept the game successful, on the other it has presented problems, especially with the recently implemented "friend" feature. For older folks it's sometimes difficult to undo those years of social conditioning that teach us it is not appropriate to approach strangers on the street and discuss imaginary creatures with them.

And while it is possible to make "friends" by sharing codes online, many features still involve face-to-face interaction. As a result, many trainers' gameplay is left significantly crippled.

However, there is hope in the form of P-GO Izakaya Genkinokakera, a bar where trainers can congregate over drinks and trade, battle, and share gifts to their hearts' content.

While P-GO Izakaya Genkinokakera is the first bar in Tokyo to market specifically to Pokémon Go players, we can't help but think this would be a solid idea for bars worldwide. After all, Pokémon Go has an international audience, plenty of whom are over the legal drinking age in their respective countries.

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