These days, wherever you go, you’re bound to meet people looking for Pokemon. Yup, this game is really happening. But you know what, it took the inventor 20 years for this application to be successfully played by many people. So, let’s get to know each other first, with John Hanke, the creator of Pokemon Go!
It all started in 1996 when Hanke was still in school. He made a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game called Meridien 59. Hanke then sold his game to the game company 3DO based in California, USA.
The proceeds from the sale were used by the owner of this Master of Business Administration to launch Keyhole, a company that depicts areas like a map. As the CEO of the company that was founded in 2001, Hanke continues his passion for mapping the world.
Google Inc. who were interested in Hanke’s idea took over Keyhole and made it the forerunner of Google Maps. After that, Hanke created the start-up company Niantic, Inc. in 2010. A graduate of the Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, USA, this also focuses on making GPS-based games, such as Ingress.
Well, the inspiration for making the Pokemon Go application actually came during the April Fool’s Day celebrations. At that time, Google and the Pokemon Company collaborated to create Pokemon Challenge in the Google Maps application. After seeing it, Hanke’s brilliant idea appeared.
Hanke also worked hard to approach Nintendo and the Pokemon Company to realize his idea. It is not in vain. After its release on July 6, 2016, Pokemon Go made $2 million in just one night. Because of this achievement, the international media considered Hanke a genius and called him the next Steve Jobs.