Niantic has made no secret that Pokémon Go is a kind of stepping stone for the potential of AR, which could span many industries and lead to gaming experiences that could be far more engaging than the relatively crude AR in games today.
But that won’t make people happy in the future. The tech is a couple of generations ahead of where the games and applications are today, Finman said. Game companies need time to absorb new technologies and figure out what to do with them.
“What is new about augmented reality? There are two main tech mechanics,” he said. “The position of the device matters. Being able to move around. That is where a lot of AR is today. The second is the real world becomes content. How can games change based on where you are? If you are by a beach, are there more water Pokémon coming out? That’s where the new game loops are being explored.”