8 franchises that could use a 'Pokémon Go'-style app
Pokémon Go hit the U.S. with little fanfare on Wednesday, but in the five days since its release, the mobile app game has become a full-blown phenomenon.
Police stations are issuing warnings, stadiums are getting overrun with eager Pokémon trainers and people are discovering horrifying things about the great outdoors as thousands of users are getting sucked into the augmented reality game. Pokémon Go, which allows the user to hunt and catch digital Pokémon in the real world, is -- for lack of a better word -- a game-changer.
But while we love catching and battling Pokémon and finding those hard-to-reach gyms, we can't help but wonder how other TV series, movies or games would fare in this augmented reality format. We thought about it -- and got excited about it -- and now we demand that these franchises get their own Pokémon Go-style app.
1. Harry Potter
Why battle Pokémon when you could battle wizards? Users could get their own wands at the beginning of the game, and level up by hunting for various items -- bezoars, gobstones, phoenix feathers -- and participate in wizard duels with other users. Pottermore already has us doing this on the computer screen, why not just make it an (augmented) reality?
2. Dragon Ball Z
No need to search the world for the seven mythical Dragon Balls, just search your neighborhood. An augmented reality game of Dragon Ball Z could have you embarking on epic quests to receive clues to where the Dragon Balls are, and battling other users -- and possibly alien species -- for hints of the Dragon Balls' locations.
3. Doctor Who
Find cracks in the universe, battle Daleks and fight aliens. Honestly, there's no limit to the kind of quests or missions you could get in a Doctor Who game, it has literally traversed all of space and time. You probably wouldn't get to do that yourself, but you could have a blink-off with a Weeping Angel.
4. Digimon
We couldn't forget Digimon, the younger, less popular cousin to Pokémon. You could hunt for digimons, level them up, and battle them against other users -- much the same as you do with Pokémon. Though we bet you can't rap the names of all 1,000+ Digimon.
5. Avatar: The Last Airbender
Master all the elements of fire, water, earth and air by going to whatever natural resources correspond to them in real life. Maybe you can level up your fire-bending with some sunlight, or you go to a lake or pool to master your water-bending. The game could pit users in a giant battle against each other by dividing them into Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, Air Nomads and Water Tribe. That would be something to shut down stadiums over.
6. Ghostbusters
Who you gonna call? No one on your phone as you hunt for ghosts and bust them in a Ghostbusters augmented reality game. We're not just including this because we're hyped for the movie -- a Ghostbusters game would make for a great horror-reality that might thankfully leave the slime out of it.
7. Pretty Little Liars
Find out who the mysterious "A" is in a game version of the worst slumber party ever. Pretty Little Liars may have thrown twist after twist at us, but now instead of being a passive viewer, you can be a willing participant in the best-dressed version of Clue. Can be made available to users not in high school, because life is high school.
8. The Da Vinci Code
Discover the real secrets of the Illuminati! The Da Vinci Code is probably not the first thing you'd think of when you play a mobile app game, but the books and movies are already an elaborate treasure hunt -- why not make it into a game that you can play? There would be riddles, clues and puzzles to find (though hopefully not by actually going to Vatican City), and you can discover who the Illuminati really are. Though who knows, maybe this game would be mysteriously shut down a day after its release.