Pokémon Go celebrates its tenth birthday this month, having been downloaded 800 million times across 150 countries and regions, with a trillion Pokémon caught globally. The augmented-reality smartphone game, which uses GPS to let players find virtual creatures in real-world locations, has had a profound impact on one player, who says it encouraged a lasting fascination with the natural world.
A father-son journey through Pokémon Go
When the game launched in 2016, the author and his two sons spent countless hours wandering the streets and parks of Frome, England, searching for Jigglypuffs and Charizards. For his autistic son, the game's social element—allowing gym battles with nearby players—provided a unique way to communicate with other children. "It offered my autistic son a route to communicate with other children in a way he'd never been able to before," he writes.
From virtual creatures to real-world wonders
Although his sons have grown up, the author's compulsion to explore has evolved. He now uses apps like Seek, which uses image recognition to identify plants and animals, and Merlin Bird ID, developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, to identify bird songs. "I can now fairly confidently identify at least 10 bird songs," he notes, adding that he associates certain birds with Pokémon—for example, the yellow hammer with Pikachu. He also uses Flightradar24 and MarineTraffic to track airplanes and ships, treating the data like a game.
The lasting influence of Pokémon Go
The author credits Pokémon Go with opening his eyes to the natural world as a "vast playable space." He explains, "When you explore a new game world, everything you encounter is potentially interesting. As you get older, you lose that fascination with the minutiae of the world around you." The game inspired others too: Brisbane student Kris Norris created a social discovery game based on leaving messages on payphones, and hydrologists in Colorado used a Pokémon Go-style app to track small streams.
Other location-based games followed, such as Zombies, Run!, Pikmin Bloom, and Geocaching. The author concludes, "All video games have the potential to open new intellectual doorways. No time spent in play is wasted. Wonder is a transferable skill."
What to play, read, and click
The article also recommends the mystery game The Mermaid Mask by brothers Tom and Adam Vian, available on PC, Switch/Switch 2, and PS5, with an estimated playtime of 10 hours. In gaming news, Paramount confirmed its Call of Duty film will be set in the Modern Warfare universe, with rumors that Pedro Pascal or Henry Cavill might play Captain Price. EA Sports FC correctly predicted the World Cup winner for the fifth year in a row, simulating Spain's victory. Xbox's chief content officer Matt Booty emphasized the importance of exclusive games, with Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution affected by a shift away from multiplatform releases.
Life lessons from gaming
Responding to a reader question, the author shares genuine life lessons from games: platformers taught him to observe before acting, stealth games reinforced patience, and The Secret of Monkey Island taught comedic understatement. He also picked up practical knowledge like the Scandinavian flick from World Rally Championship and the Coriolis effect from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
