Gotta Catch This One: Minnesota Twins To Host Pokèmon GO-Themed Game

[Matthew Lenz]

On February 12th it was announced that Major League Baseball has partnered with Pokémon GO. The two parties have agreed to 14 themed games that will allow fans (or “trainers”) to play from anywhere they’re sitting in the park. Our Minnesota Twins were one of the 14 selected to host a Pokémon GO-themed games.

Image courtesy of Target Field - "Target Field April 2010" by Randy Stern is licensed under CC BY 2.0: Pikachu - "Pikachu" by RichardBH is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Other Pokemon: "Pokémon Go Takes Chicago" by tophrrrr is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

If you're unfamiliar with Pokémon GO it's essentially a virtual scavenger hunt where you use your phone to collect Pokémon like baseball cards. Instead of finding them at your local card store, the game forces users (called “trainers”) to get outside and walk around their parks, neighborhoods, and now Target Field.

On Sunday, August 31st the Twins host the San Diego Padres and a Pokémon GO-themed baseball game. For those of you with kids 12 and under, you can make it a dually exciting day by being one of the first 5,000 fans to get a Twins “Squishie” pillow! Then, stick around after the day to run the bases (like every Sunday home game)! Okay, back to Pokémon GO.

In addition to the theme night, Target Field “will feature all-new, official club-branded PokéStops and Gyms” during the entirety of their season. The blog update from their website continues to say, “trainers can also check out newly created Official Routes at the ballparks!” Again, that's at every game! So what's special about the theme night?

The theme night will feature the PokéSrops, Gyms, and official routes noted above, but trainers can add on to the fun with:

• Pokémon GO and club-branded merchandise
• Exclusive in-game avatar items
• Timed Research awarding exciting Pokémon encounters
• Raid Battles where Trainers have a chance to catch Pokémon with a Location Background

While there are 13 other games (for now), this is the only time the Twins will be involved in one of these theme games.

Unlike the other three major sports, baseball is one that many people watch passively. While there are obvious downsides to this, such as hurting the sports marketability, MLB made a brilliant move here. Not only does it cater to the sector of the fan base they're allegedly losing, but it encourages the passive fan to get out to the ballpark. Bored at the game? Head to your nearest PokéStop! Headed to the restroom? Swing by a Gym on the way too or from!  It's a great and creative way to get people to the ballpark - even if they're not overly interested in the ballgame.

So, any Pokémon GO trainers here? Are you planning on attending the theme night? Join the conversation in the comments!

 

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[bean5302]

Kinda under the impression Pokemon Go has dwindled down, hasn't it?

[I Never Bet On Sports]

Not a Pokemon Go player, but I do think this is a good partnership for both albeit nothing major.

A quick search reveals that Pokemon  Go had over 50 Million users last year and over half a billion dollars in revenue. This is down from over a billion in revenue and over 200 million users in 2016, but still a significant business. This event will most likely bring younger fans who are not active Twins fans to Target Field who might come back in the future for a Twins game. This will also likely encourage some Twins fans to try Pokemon Go during the game. 

 

[Doctor Wu]

Just what we need: another silly promotion. Most likely a generational thing, but it certainly has no appeal to me whatsoever.