--- description: Pokémon Go is nostalgic for the many fans that grew up with the franchise in the 1990s, partially contributing to the game's sudden success. title: Psychology Experts Explain Why 'Pokémon Go' Is So Addictive image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt780fbf95de5cb6a6/69889b5b428a9e5a96cd35e7/pokemon-go.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Psychology Experts Explain Why 'Pokemon Go' Is So Addictive  by [Lisa Eadicicco](/author/lisa-eadicicco/)  ## Lisa Eadicicco Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 12, 2016 7:15 PM CUT  Pokemon Go is displayed on a cell phone in Los Angeles, July 8, 2016. Pokemon Go is displayed on a cell phone in Los Angeles, July 8, 2016.Richard Vogel—AP  by [Lisa Eadicicco](/author/lisa-eadicicco/)  ## Lisa Eadicicco Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 12, 2016 7:15 PM CUT I’ve spent my past few days staring at a screen, scouting the nearby terrain for imaginary creatures known as Pokémon. I could have written that same sentence 18 years ago, when I was eight years old and addicted to playing _Pokémon Blue_ on my Game Boy Color. But here I am as a 26-year-old in 2016, just as enchanted by these little critters as I was back in 1998\. In the Pokémon universe, each fictional creature has its own special powers that correspond to its “type.” An aquatic Pokémon like the turtle-themed Squirtle, for example, attacks its enemies with blasts of water. A grass Pokémon such as Bulbasaur whips its enemies with vines. Each game encourages players to catch as many different varieties as possible and pit them in battles against one another to advance. I’m far from the only adult hooked on [_Pokémon Go_](http://time.com/4401084/pokemon-go-how-play-guide-tips/ "undefined"), the first official game in the Pokémon franchise made specifically for smartphones. The evidence is easily seen — unlike other Pokémon games, _Go_ requires players to explore the real world around them in order to collect Pokémon. I could barely walk around for 10 minutes this weekend without hearing a fellow player excitedly yelp about a nearby Pikachu or Bulbasaur. Less than a week after it was launched in the U.S., _Go_ sits atop the iPhone and Android app store popularity charts. What’s creating all this excitement? In part, the fans that embraced Pokémon during their childhood in the 1990s are once again indulging in their old obsession. Nostalgia, experts say, can be a powerful force luring users to a new but familiar experience. “If nostalgia is in play, and it evokes this positive emotion . . . our brain can substitute the question, ‘Does this make me happy’ for ‘Is this a good game?'” says Dr. Jamie Madigan, author of the book _Getting Gamers: The Psychology of Video Games and Their Impact on People Who Play Them._ Indeed, nostalgia commands a powerful influence throughout pop culture, as evidenced by the sequels and reboots that seem unavoidable at movie theaters this summer. That’s because it is often associated with positive feelings and can help people feel more connected to others. At root, nostalgia is a kind of acute homesickness. The word comes from the Greek _nostos_, a return home, and _algos_, or pain. “Nostalgia is just as much about the future as it is the past,” says Dr. Clay Routledge, a professor of psychology at North Dakota State University who has been studying the psychological effects of nostalgia for 10 years. “It wouldn’t surprise me at all if this _Pokémon Go_ phenomenon was making people make new friends because they have these shared memories.” (A recent [story](http://www.wsj.com/articles/hunt-for-pokemon-has-led-to-painful-discoveries-1468255687 "undefined") in _The Wall Street Journal_ suggests that is indeed the case.) To be sure, nostalgia is not the sole cause of _Pokémon Go’s_ overnight success. _Pokémon_ fans have long clamored for a way to enjoy the franchise on smartphones. This represents their first chance to do so without using unofficial emulation software. “Putting \[Pokémon\] on the accessibility of a smartphone means the total available markets are monster numbers,” says P.J. McNealy, chief executive of consumer research firm Digital World Research. Also driving downloads is the game’s clever use of smartphone components like its GPS chip and camera, which together provide the illusion that wild Pokémon are out there in the real world, waiting to be caught. That said, _Pokémon Go’s_ clever game mechanics alone can’t explain why the game has become such a runaway hit. _Go_ developer Niantic has a similar but non-Pokémon game, _Ingress,_ that has a dedicated but comparatively small number of players. That’s evidence that Pokémon nostalgia, not gameplay alone, is the driving force behind what looks to be the breakout hit of the summer. _Pokémon Go_, says Routledge, is “this perfect marriage of nostalgia, bringing something old that people have these memories of from their childhood. And coupling that with technology that allows people to connect and share these experiences in ways they could not in the past.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4402123/pokemon-go-nostalgia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4402123/pokemon-go-nostalgia/"},"headline":"Psychology Experts Explain Why 'Pokemon Go' Is So Addictive","datePublished":"2016-07-12T19:15:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:14.064Z","description":"It's a heavy dose of nostalgia for fans who grew up with the franchise","url":"https://time.com/4402123/pokemon-go-nostalgia/","keywords":["Tech","Video Games","apps","Pokemon","pokemon go"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt780fbf95de5cb6a6/69889b5b428a9e5a96cd35e7/pokemon-go.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Eadicicco","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-eadicicco/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt780fbf95de5cb6a6/69889b5b428a9e5a96cd35e7/pokemon-go.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pokemon Go","caption":"Pokemon Go is displayed on a cell phone in Los Angeles, July 8, 2016.","creditText":"Richard Vogel—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4402123/pokemon-go-nostalgia/","name":"Psychology Experts Explain Why 'Pokemon Go' Is So Addictive"}}]}] ```