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Nearly ten years have passed since Pokémon GO first captivated mobile users, and for many Australians, the fascination remains as strong as ever.
Among these dedicated players is Ryan O’Hara, a 31-year-old from Wollongong.
An enthusiastic participant since the game’s debut, O’Hara has invested thousands of dollars into Pokémon GO, a decision he wholeheartedly stands by.
“Pokémon GO truly altered the direction of my life,” he shared with nine.com.au.
The game, an augmented reality sensation launched on July 6, 2016, enabled players to discover and capture Pokémon in their everyday surroundings.
It caused chaos at first.
Australians flooded the streets, converging on parks and playgrounds where Pokéstops (location-based landmarks that give players items and experience) could be found.
Hordes of players could be found standing in the dark well into the night, heads bent over bright screens as they battled and caught Pokémon.
O’Hara has fond memories of those early days.
“I remember having a police car U-turn to come back past a group of us standing at a raid together,” he said.
“We thought we were getting in trouble until they asked us if we were doing a raid and if they could join.”
During a raid players team up to battle and catch strong Pokémon.
After the initial craze died down many Australians lost interest; not O’Hara.
In the last 10 years he’s walked more than 23,500km while playing – equivalent to walking from Sydney to Perth and back three times – and caught nearly 200,000 Pokémon.
He’s attended countless in-person meetups, become an admin for the Illawarra region, and travelled interstate for competitive Pokémon GO tournaments.
He even met his wife of three years through the game.
The sense of community and connection is what has kept O’Hara playing all these years.
“I’ve gone from a 22-year-old single male when the game was released to a now 31-year-old father and husband,” he said.
“And I’ve played the game in between all the life changes and challenges.”
O’Hara said the game has also made plenty of improvements over the years, adding new features and hosting more special events.
But the in-game microtransactions can be a drawback.
”I have gone through periods where I was spending money weekly on the in game features,” he said.
“But I do have long gaps where I will spend little to no money in the game.”
At the peak of his playing, O’Hara estimates he was spending a few hundred dollars a month on Pokémon GO.
But he was also earning money as a Pokémon GO streamer and through competitive tournaments, which offset the cost a bit.
It’s not the worst way to spend his money either.
“I went from spending my disposable income going to the pub, to spending significantly less on Pokémon GO and getting outside and more active,” he said.
While some players like O’Hara have been consistently catching Pokémon for the last decade, others rediscovered their love for the game more recently.
There was a spike in active players during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Mitch, 29, from Sydney got back into Pokémon GO a few years later.
Like many Aussies he started playing in 2016 and even used to sneak his phone into his work uniform to track his in-game steps during a shift.
He lost interest when the initial craze died down but got back into the game in 2022 as way to pass the time while walking his dogs.
Since then, he’s become a Pokémon GO fiend.
Mitch has caught more than 6500 Pokémon, walked nearly 250km while playing (almost the distance from Sydney to Canberra) and has convinced several friends to play as well.
“They have all become obsessed,” Mitch told nine.com.au.
“Now I spend a lot of time strategically planning out raid days, showing them which Pokémon are worth keeping and how to quick catch.”
This Wednesday Mitch worked from home just so he could take part in virtual Pokémon raids during his lunch break.
He was joined by friends who also worked from home or rostered off for the occasion.
Mitch doesn’t tell many strangers about his passion for Pokémon GO but said the game is a great alternative to spending hours on social media.
“It’s helped me stay in touch with friends who have moved overseas and makes downtime more exciting than just endlessly scrolling.”
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