“Pokémon Go” have created a phenomenon in last years, did you still remember the scenes everyone in the street in tend to catch those Pokémon and looking for “Pokestop” which is a supply station providimg virtual tools using during the game. “Pokemon Go” is a game with Augmanted Reality(AR) technology which connecting online map and GPS and combine with the Pokémon data in order to allow catch pokémon in the reality.
OSM Vandalism in Barcelona (2018),Pokémon Go Hub, all rights reserved,viewed 20 October 2018, <https://i.imgur.com/nhvG20z.jpg>
Pokémon is Copyright Gamefreak, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company 2001-2016 All images and names owned and trademarked by Nintendo, Niantic,The Pokémon Company, and Gamefreak
When the game launched in 2016, Pokemon Go used Google map as the game field of the game, however, the game switched to use Openstreetmap. The reason of this game developer decided to choose Google map originaly because this game developer- Niantic which is a company owned by Google. Although Niantic is one of Google’s sub-companies,they still got to paid a large amount of license fees to Google to utilise their services. When this game first launched in United States and Japan’s App Store, they did not find out the problem of using Google Map causing a lot of aftermath. The accuracies of the maps is one of it, according to Lankinen(2016), it compared some places on Google Map, Openstreetmap and the map in Pokémon Go, it stated that some places on Google map was missing, Openstreetmap show up more detail in that area.
The comparisons of online maps and game maps
Anita Lankinen(2017),Pokemon-Go-Screenshot-1,Spatino,viewed 20 October,<https://www.spatineo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Pokemon-Go-Screenshot-1.png)
Anita Lankinen(2017),Google Map Screenshot,Spatino,viewed 20 October,<https://www.spatineo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Pokemon-Go-Screenshot-1.png)
Pokémon is Copyright Gamefreak, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company 2001-2016 All images and names owned and trademarked by Nintendo, Niantic,The Pokémon Company, and Gamefreak
So, why Pokemon Go choose to use Openstreetmap now?
- Free online resources, no license fees charged
- In city, there are more people corporating and making the map, there will be more detail on the map
- Able to launch the conservative country where blocked the Google service (e.g. China, Russia etc.
- More stable and reliable sources
- With a big team to organise and maintain the maps
- Applicate in apps charges license fees
- Barriers for development in conservative districts
- Only update the landmark or the critical facilities for free and cause the map not detail as openstreetmap
Openstreetmap :
Pros
- People able to contribute of making maps
- Free online resources
- More street or road detail in the city map
- Break the barriers
Cons
- Only rely on online users to. update
- The detail of the road in countryside may not detail as Google map (not enough people to update)
- Fake maps or information can exist
Lastly, for the future development of Niantic and Pokémon Go, using Openstreetmap is a wise choice for both because as a companies always want to explore a bigger market and make the biggest profits. In the future, Niantic may focus on how to optimise the Openstreetmap to make it function as stable and reliable as Google map.
Reference:
1.Waddell, K. (2016, January 19). Why Google Quit China-and Why It’s Heading Back. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/01/why-google-quit-china-and-why-its-heading-back/424482/
2.Lankinen, A. (2018, April 03). The mystery of Pokemon Go maps is solved and it’s not just about the street maps. Retrieved from https://www.spatineo.com/2016/07/mystery-pokemon-go-maps-solved-not-just-street-maps/
3.OSM Vandalism in Barcelona (2018),Pokémon Go Hub, all rights reserved,viewed 20 October 2018, <https://i.imgur.com/nhvG20z.jpg>
4.Anita Lankinen(2017),Pokemon-Go-Screenshot-1,Spatino,viewed 20 October,<https://www.spatineo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Pokemon-Go-Screenshot-1.png)
5.Anita Lankinen(2017),Google Map Screenshot,Spatino,viewed 20 October,<https://www.spatineo.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Pokemon-Go-Screenshot-1.png)
Pokémon is Copyright Gamefreak, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company 2001-2016 All images and names owned and trademarked by Nintendo, Niantic,The Pokémon Company, and Gamefreak
Leave a Reply