Pokémon Sleep, made by the same company who created Pokémon Go, created a sleep game which rewards and records the gamer’s sleep with Pokémon that would otherwise take many hours trying to catch.
Developed by Japanese games studio Select Button Inc. and published by The Pokemon Co., Pokémon Sleep became the most downloaded game for the week beginning July 16th
It has recently celebrated reaching 10 million downloads Friday, and is now offering some in-game items for free.
In order to play, gamers are required to sleep with their phones close to their heads, and the game will keep track of vibration caught by the sensors in the device, estimating sleep quality. The better the gamer sleeps, the more creatures they can collect.
Things can be sped up by purchasing in-app items, in order to befriend more Pokémon, or by paying for a premium subscription. This option comes with bonus sleep points.
Tomoki Toma, one gamer said, “I really make an effort to go to sleep at my set bedtime, which I never did before.” He claimed to have been using the game religiously for the last few weeks.
Pokémon Sleep is now up against health apps including, Calm, BetterSleep and Sleep Cycle. Pokemon, (owned by Nintendo Co., Creatures Inc. and Game Freak Inc.), claimed to have spent over four years on the game, testing different game designs to add “an element of fun.”
Interest, however, is said to waning as more users are voicing boredom over a game where the outcome is determined while the player is asleep. Users also can’t transfer to creatures from Pokémon Sleep to other games.
Sources indicate searches for the game have dropped about half the peak worldwide.
Another gamer, who started playing three weeks ago said, “It’s a lot of fun collecting different Pokémon, but the game does get a little repetitive after a while.”
There are also many ways to cheat including, telling the game you’re going to bed when you’re actually curling up with a book, leaving the phone on the bed while getting coffee, or manually entering false sleep data.
What will keep Pokémon Sleep users checking in every night, are the draw of characters and health benefits. Game play is limited, and there is a long list of popular idle games running in the background.
These are; ‘AFK Arena,’ ‘AdVenture Capitalist,’ ‘Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector’ and ‘Egg Inc.’
Pokémon Go broke records, celebrating its seven year anniversary last month due to reinventing itself through updates. The success contrasts with the developer’s struggles on some other games, which prompting a Los Angeles studio close and staff cut of 25%.
The company are also looking at ways to link its newest game to more devices in the future.
Longtime Pokémon fan, Masamitsu Takahashi said, “Pokémon Sleep is fun, but without the quintessential Pokémon battles, it just doesn’t feel like you’re playing a game. But I’ll wait to see if any major overhauls are in the works before I delete the app.”
