In a few years when people look back at the huge Pokémon Go craze, they will certainly refer to the game as part of a gaming revolution, a standard bearer that will serve as a milestone for other games to come. When it comes to the game’s relationship with the bitcoin community, commentators will probably see a blunder in hindsight. Although Reddit threads suggest that the bitcoin community is split insofar as its enthusiasm about Pokémon Go goes, those bitcoin users who do play would certainly like the option to pay for the game with coins. Those who do not play, could be swayed to do so if the game offered some of the advantages that bitcoin use offers.
Bitcoin in Gaming
The gaming sphere has been relatively slow to adopt bitcoin outside of gambling. Probably the most prominent game that has adopted bitcoin is Minecraft. PlayMC launched the idea of rewarding players with bits on Minecraft, which are worth one Satoshi. Nevertheless, few gaming endeavors have embraced bitcoin either as a payment mechanism or as a feature within the game. This, on the other hand, has led to the development of proprietary bitcoin games that have captivated the bitcoin audience and those who are looking to get into bitcoin.
Bitcoin Game Developers jump on the Pokémon Bandwagon
Despite the fact that there are few games that enable users to pay with bitcoin, there are quite a few that enable users to earn bitcoin, or to play uniquely bitcoin themed games. Some of them also seek to inform interested users about how bitcoin works. Some of the most popular bitcoin gaming apps, like Sarutobi or Flap Pig, let players earn bitcoin for playing – much like PlayMC’s Minecraft. Others like Bitcoin Billionaire, inform the player about how bitcoin works.
Bitcoin game development is certainly growing into more mainstream gaming. The proof of that is PokéBits, the Pokémon game designed for the bitcoin community. The most remarkable fact about PokéBits is that it was launched a few months before Pokémon Go. It would seem like this was a prescient launch of sorts, but It is more likely that Pokémon simply had a following among bitcoin enthusiasts a long time ago.
Getting all the Principles Together
Knowing that Pokémon has a considerable following within the bitcoin community, from Reddit threads and the launch of PokéBits, it seems that the fact that Google Play or the Apple App Store do not receive bitcoin payments is indeed a blunder. But aside from the shortcomings on the supply side, Pokémon Go might have some features that are less appealing to many bitcoin community members. Chief among them are security concerns regarding the use of the app and the safety of the identity of its users. There are also concerns about the use of GPS within the game and how it is possible for hackers to follow players around on their quest to ‘catch em all’. These are huge barriers for Pokémon Go on the demand side of the bitcoin community.
Cryptographic Protection on Pokémon Go
This is precisely where the opportunity to combine with security minded, blockchain savvy bitcoin game developers arises. In theory, parents who know their children are playing Pokémon Go would be relieved if they knew that cryptographically protected identities would make it difficult for anyone to discover who players really are. This would boost Pokémon Go’s credentials as a safe game. The other feature that would enhance parents’ feelings about the game would be if they could indeed pay with bitcoin. Many would feel much more comfortable if they could give their children a limited amount of money in bitcoin for the game instead of having to give them their credit card details.
Final Thoughts
It is clear that both Pokémon Go and the bitcoin community have a lot to gain from cooperation. There are great opportunities for the expansion of both circles in the areas in which they meet and in the areas in which they could complement each other. There is no doubt that bitcoin enthusiasts who are staying away from the game, would be more likely to play if they could get bitcoin like anonymity or could even acquire the game and in game upgrades with bitcoin. In the meantime they have their own bitcoin version of Pokémon in the PokéBits RPG. Hopefully in the future there will be more integration and the bitcoin culture will have a greater influence on game developers outside the community.
