Opinion: What egaming can learn from Pokémon Go's shortcomings

David Hitt, industry head at Qubit, on how the sector can make the most of augmented reality

I spent my Saturday morning in Hyde Park, hunting for a Squirtle, using Pokémon Go’s “Nearby” tool to track it by wandering near water, and praying. After an hour, I struck gold, and had Squirtle cornered. I hurled my Pokeball and waited. And waited. And waited. Until it was clear, for the tenth time that day that the app had crashed.

Despite the immediate Poké-frenzy, less than a week after release users are already upping their expectations. They want Pokémon trading facilities, leadership boards and internal social networks for trainers to communicate conveniently within the world of augmented pocket monsters. Consumer demands are rising all the time and aren’t limited to mobile apps.

Indeed, the egaming industry faces the exact same rising demands.

Gamers are not sympathetic to experiences that frustrate them and fail to meet their expectations. They are less patient than ever before, with just eight seconds to grab their attention. If an experience disappoints them, they will move on because the likelihood is they can find a better one out there.

So how can the egaming industry stay one step ahead of the customer?

Painless processes

People like to live in the moment. Seamless experiences that make their lives easier are the top priority for the customer on the go, especially now that they are busy trying to catch ‘em all. The aim should be to collect customer information in a way that is also user friendly. By stripping away irrelevant content, optimizing registration forms and allowing the user to access their betting accounts faster, they can encourage a higher use rate.

Get creative with cross-selling

Data is vital, and luckily something consumers are no longer shy about sharing. It can be an everyday occurrence, like using your Google account to sign up to Pokémon Go. It is how you use this data that is important however.

Combining historic betting data with current session information can determine visitor preferences and drive the right promotions at the right time. Location-based messaging will also help with this. Geo-targeted promotions capture the user’s attention and capitalize on that coveted moment of intent.

Make the experience fun

What Pokémon Go did get right is the interactive nature of the game, a feature egaming entities are already monopolizing on. Augmented reality is a powerful way to bring the online experience to life, however this doesn’t necessarily mean you need virtual poké balls to provide an immersive user journey. Personalisation rather, is key in driving this enhanced experience.

Driving personalized push recommendations based on horses the user has previously placed bets on, or tailoring their landing page to their favourite sport can allow customers to champion their own experience and develop a deeper brand connection.

Could Niantic Inc’s brainchild be in line for a nose-dive in popularity? Probably not. It has however created a new benchmark for enhanced user experience within the egaming market, and its growing pains are best learned from before they are forgotten.