ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates the benefits of approaching apparently new developments such as Pokemon GO by couching these in a broader thinking through of what mobile means in relation to digital audiences. It provides a context for understanding Pokemon GO and discusses the emergence of mobile media audiences. The chapter explains the emergence of Pokemon GO, placing it into the recent history of mapping, locative media, and augmented reality (AR) technology. Scholarship on mobile AR, especially the work of Tony Liao and Lee Humphreys, draws our attention to the stakes in how various interests, including users and powerful corporate actors shape places, tools, and technologies. The chapter examines Pokemon GO against the histories of mobile gaming. It concludes with some remarks on the discursive, business, technology, and design strategies evident in Niantic's effort to configure and sustain the phenomenal success of its Pokemon GO launch.
