The Conversation

What's made Pokémon GO such a viral success?

Author: Thuong Hoang, Research fellow, University of Melbourne

Technology often needs a “killer app” to gain mass market appeal.

For the touch screen, it was the iPhone; for wearables, the Fitbit. Augmented reality games have been around for more than a decade, so what was it about Pokémon GO that allowed it to become a global phenomenon?

We believe it can be attributed to three core social...

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