Summary
WithPokemoncontinuing to see great success in mobile gaming fromPokemon GOtoPokemon Sleep, its next project should maintain the trend of focusing on its players' health with an app aimed at mental health, meditation, and mindfulness. When it was first released in 2016 with undeniable success, studies highlighted thatPokemon GOhad had a beneficial impact on healthamong its players alongside the community it fostered. Now following the recent launch ofPokemon Sleepin 2023, the franchise has once again received praise for helping this same community get better rest and improve their well-being even more.
So instead of losing the momentum thatPokemonhas gained with its mobile games balancing entertainment with healthy living, the next app it develops should follow in the wake ofPokemon Sleepand take the format of a meditation app. BetweenPokemon GObeing awarded for its Covid-19 safeguardsto the confirmation thatPokemon Sleepsought to turn sleeping into entertainment, it’s clearPokemonis aiming to monopolize players' health and welfare. As a result, having already covered exercise and sleep, a newPokemonapp could not only help players mentally and emotionally but further destigmatize the subject of mental health itself.
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Continuing Pokemon Sleep’s Well-being Focus
Given thatPokemon Sleepappears to have been developed with the intent of turning everyday activities into gaming experiences, it’s likely that the next mobile appPokemonreleases could follow a similar approach. But within the limitations of day-to-day activities, there are any number of optionsPokemoncould explore for such a game. Instead, following research into theuse ofPokemon GOfor mental health therapy,Pokemoncould already have the guidance it needs for its next lifestyle app. More specifically, just asPokemon Sleepis just a sleep tracker at its core, this new app could embrace a mental health focus like other meditation apps.
In fact, whilePokemon GOwas geared more to embody and connect withPokemon’s mainline games,Pokemon Sleephas shown that this doesn’t need to be a requirement for the series' apps to succeed. For instance, thoughPokemon Sleepdoes feature some traditional elements such as its own Pokemon Professor, it doesn’t connect to the likes ofPokemon HOMEas the Pokemon players encounter via the app aren’t for fighting. A meditation app could therefore adopt a like-minded approach that foregoesPokemon’s traditional formula in favor ofPokemon Sleepwith a focus on its players' health and lifestyles.
Adapting Pokemon Sleep’s Approach To Meditation
AsPokemon Sleepis fundamentally a sleep-tracking app, a newPokemonapp would only need to adapt the same exercises and activities other meditation apps already use. This could include things like breathing exercises and mindfulness exercises, grounding techniques, yoga routines, and more, all conveyed throughPokemon’s design. For example, asSnorlax is the Sleeping Pokemon and representsPokemon Sleep, then the Meditation Pokemon Meditite or Medicham could be mascots for a new meditation app, with support from other Pokemon also connected to health, meditation, or emotions such as Alakazam, Musharna, Chansey, and Audino.
Such an app could also avoid theneed to connect toPokemon HOME, though it might benefit from a link withPokemon Sleepto help players ensure that their mental health isn’t impacted by poor sleep. Moreover, likePokemon Sleep, the app could swap a constant gameplay loop for day-to-day interactions, instead incentivizing players to use the app each day for a short period such as completing daily activity schedules. It could feature its own Pokemon Professor, but it wouldn’t need to find new ways to innovate its “gameplay” so long as it continues to support and promoteplayers' mental health under thePokemonbanner.
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