A number of video game developers have chosen Pokemon GO as one of their top games of 2016. Read on below for the list of names and the reasons for why they fell in love with Niantic‘s popular mobile title. You’ll notice that Pokemon Sun and Moon were also a favorite last year.
Kazuyuki Hoshino (Sega / Sonic the Hedgehog): “I played this SO much in the summer.”
Kazutoki Kono (Project Aces / Ace Combat): “People are searching for Pokemon at all times in all places. This game changed the world.”
Drew McCoy (Respawn Entertainment / Titanfall): “Not much ‘game’ to play here, per se, but there’s tons to love about my time playing it as I look back on the summer and fall walking around with my wife and kids catching Pokémon in as many new and interesting places as possible. I’m still upset they all happily caught Mr. Mime in Switzerland while my phone was dead and could only stand by to watch!”
Yoshinori Ono (Capcom / Street Fighter): “Pokémon Sun & Moon – This title is almost mandatory to play. I’m currently playing both Pokemon Go and Sun/Moon in parallel.”
Arthur Parsons (TT Games / Lego Dimensions): “Many people may scoff when I write Pokémon Go, however it was a special game in 2016 for me for different reasons to those that people may think. It is a game that came out and managed to bring my entire family together. All of a sudden the kids were asking if they could take the dogs on a walk, asking if we could all go for a walk out in the forest, asking if we could spend time together, in the outside!!! Unbelievable! So yes bizarrely we spent many an hour trekking around the countryside catching Pokémon, laughing and joking, and having fun. So Pokémon Go has to come on my list purely on the basis that intentionally or not it made us all venture outside together in a shared interest, and even made us take the odd midnight Poke-walk in the forest! Kudos!”
Tommy Refenes (Team Meat / Super Meat Boy): “When Pokemon Go first came out my wife and I would walk around and catch Pokemon and it was awesome. Then they changed a bunch of stuff and now it sorta blows because I can’t get PokeStops anymore while riding in the car so I can’t catch Pokemon. I swear they just need to lawyer up and stop trying to make the game “safe” for everyone in every circumstance. I can snapchat while I drive, why can’t I get PokeStops while I’m riding in a car?”
Harvey Smith (Arkane Studios / Dishonored): “Despite the problems, both technical and conceptual, I love this little game for its global nature. I’ve caught Pokemon in L.A. and London, but also in Zatec, Czech Republic. And it really provided us with one of the few non-horrifying cultural moments of 2016.”
Hajime Tabata (Square Enix / Final Fantasy XV): Pokémon GO was his third favorite game of 2016.
Tim Willits (id Software / Doom): “I admit I don’t have this game on my iPhone, but all three of my kids do. Spending time with my kids driving around looking for Pokemon has been a lot of fun for me and a great father / kid experience. One day we drove around the Texas State Fair grounds with the top down on the car trying to hatch eggs and hunt for Pokemon –great memories. Games that can deliver experiences like that deserve to be on any top 5.”
Source: Game Informer
Pokémon Blog 