Pokemon Go gained billions of dollars by enticing people to spend time outside. The business behind the global game phenomenon is now attempting to encourage people to sleep. Now available in the U.S., Pokémon Sleep is an app that “turns sleep into entertainment” by gamifying sleep.
What is Pokemon Sleep?
Pokemon Sleep tracks and rewards your sleep with Pokemon that you would otherwise have to catch during your waking hours. Pokemon Sleep, developed by Select Button Inc. and marketed by The Pokemon Co., was the most downloaded game during the week beginning July 16, according to mobile data analytics firm data.ai. On Friday, the game celebrated reaching 10 million downloads by giving away some in-game goodies for free.
Users participate by sleeping with their smartphones next to their heads, and the game tracks vibrations detected by the phones’ sensors to determine sleep quality. The better your sleep metrics, the more creatures you collect.
You can also speed things along in the free-to-play game by purchasing in-app products to befriend more Pokemon or by purchasing a premium membership that includes extra sleep points.
“I really make an effort to go to sleep at my set bedtime, which I never did before,” said Tomoki Toma, a 23-year-old from just outside Tokyo who’s used Pokemon Sleep faithfully for more than four weeks.
Criticisms surrounding Pokemon sleep
Pokemon Sleep joins the ranks of health-related apps such as Calm, BetterSleep, and Sleep Cycle. Pokemon, a joint venture controlled by Nintendo Co., Creatures Inc., and Game Freak Inc., claimed it worked on the game for over four years, experimenting with various game styles in an effort to provide “an element of fun.”
However, interest is dwindling as more users express frustration with a game whose conclusion is determined while the player is sleeping. Furthermore, users cannot transfer Pokemon Sleep monsters to other games. Searches for the title have plummeted to about half their peak worldwide, according to Google Trends.
“It’s a lot of fun collecting different Pokemon, but the game does get a little repetitive after a while,” said 22-year-old Tokyo resident Reina Watanabe, who started playing three weeks ago.
There are also numerous ways to cheat: tell the game you’re going to bed when you’re actually cuddling up with a book, leave your phone on your bed while you go fetch coffee, or manually enter bogus sleep data.
Pokemon Sleep’s ability to keep consumers checking in every night is dependent on both the appeal of the characters and the supposed health benefits. The gameplay is limited, but there is a lengthy list of idle games that have been popular for years and continue to run in the background on phones all around the world, such as AFK Arena, AdVenture Capitalist, Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector, and Egg Inc.
Future plans and player feedback for Pokemon sleep
Pokemon Go set records and celebrated its seventh anniversary last month, thanks in part to Niantic Inc.’s augmented reality game, which redefined itself through updates. The success of that title contrasts with Niantic’s troubles with other games, which caused the San Francisco-based company to close its Los Angeles unit and lay off 25% of its employees.
According to Pokemon Sleep producer Kaname Kosugi, the business is looking into ways to connect its newest game to more devices in the future.
“Pokemon Sleep is fun, but without the quintessential Pokemon battles, it just doesn’t feel like you’re playing a game,” said Masamitsu Takahashi, 30, a longtime Pokemon fan from Gifu Prefecture in central Japan. “But I’ll wait to see if any major overhauls are in the works before I delete the app.”
