Game developers like Niantic — the Google-developed start-up that created mobile games 'Pokemon Go' and 'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' — are increasingly having to grapple with discussions around gaming addiction.
But John Hanke, Niantic's CEO, claims the company's approach to product design means its users are discouraged from compulsive gameplay.
"I would really look at our games as an alternative to traditional video games, because they're designed to be played in small doses as you're moving around outside, and they're meant to be played together with people in real life," he told CNBC at the One Young World conference in London last week. "They're really the antithesis of sitting at home isolated, sedentary with a screen.
"I think it's a great example of how you can design technology that leads into positive impacts," he added. "Technology is not inherently evil, but if you're being led by profit and the dollar sign and you don't have other goals, the outcome may not be great." Niantic's games adhere to three core principles, Hanke explained: promoting community exploration, incorporating exercise into gameplay and encouraging real-world social interaction.
"In a game like 'Pokemon Go' there are hundreds of features you could build, and many would not fulfil one of those three objectives," he said. "It's about finding that balance between purpose and profit and pursuing both in the context of a private company. It's not easy — it's a constant challenge — but I do think it's possible to combine those things."Another issue at the forefront of the gaming industry's agenda is user data.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Become More Powerful and Strengthen Your Abs With This Trainer's Go-To ExerciseStrengthen your core and improve your power with the standing rotational core exercise.
Read more »
Lyft is offering free rides so that people can go to job interviewsLyft announced a new initiative that will give riders free or discounted rides to work and during the first three weeks of employment. The program looks to close the transportation gap in low-income communities, the rideshare company company says.
Read more »
'Supernatural' Star Jared Padalecki Arrested at His Go-To Austin ClubSam Winchester wasn't seeing ghosts on Saturday ... just cops.
Read more »
More Impeachment Witnesses to Go Before LawmakersHouse committees are expected to hear from about a half dozen more witnesses in their impeachment inquiry this week, including a top White House official who has been mentioned linking a hold on aid to Ukraine to investigations Trump pressured the country to pursue.
Read more »
'It's not America': 11 million go without a license because of unpaid finesHolland wishes it wasn’t like this. He also wishes he could have kept his job as a plumber, where he was making $16 an hour rather than the $11 an hour he makes at Denny’s.
Read more »