In 2016, Pokemon Go was a craze that swept the nation and had everybody and their mother (literally in some cases) staring down at their phones to chase after imaginary monsters suddenly inhabiting the very world as we knew it. Although the mobile game contributed to more than a handful of Pokemon Go-related injuries and deaths, it was mostly lauded as a way of getting people to go outdoors and get some exercise.
Now, Pokemon Sleep, an upcoming mobile game planned for a 2020 release “wants to do for sleeping what Pokemon Go did for walking.” The Pokemon Company announced in a statement this week that the app aims to turn sleeping into entertainment by tracking a user’s sleeping patterns. The gameplay will apparently adjust based on an individual’s sleeping pattern and an external device will then send the sleep data to user smartphones.
“The concept of this game is for players to look forward to waking up every morning,” said Pokemon’s chief executive, Tsunekazu Ishihara, during a press conference on Wednesday. “Everyone spends a large part of their lives sleeping, and turning that into entertainment is our next challenge.”
With billions of dollars per year spent on the sleep industry — between sleep aids, meditation apps, and so on and so forth — on paper, a magical sleep game that helps you get a good night’s sleep by reward good sleep habits sounds incredible. But with details still slim on exactly how Pokemon is going to accomplish this, the masses are mostly reacting with skepticism and jokes, as you can see from the reactions on Twitter.
No one will make fun of me for going to bed early and getting 8 hours of sleep a night once Pokemon Sleep is out pic.twitter.com/vgbiSReIlq
— Ryan Letourneau (@Northernlion) May 29, 2019
Me: Watches Pokemon press conference announcing Pokemon Sleep, a Pokemon game that tracks sleep and rewards you for a goods night's rest
Also Me: Looks at clock and sees it's almost 3am when I know I have to be up at 7am
Me again: Finally a Pokemon game that'll be a challenge
— Matt Bragg (@Axialmatt) May 29, 2019
Can't wait for Pokémon Sleep to make my depression naps seem cute and intentional pic.twitter.com/0GMjOR1i8n
— allegra frank (@LegsFrank) May 29, 2019
https://twitter.com/Wow_no_inv/status/1133552079153324032
pokemon sleep please do not sell my data to insurance companies please i am begging you i just want jigglypuff to softly serenade me to sleep without ka*ser perm*nente knowing i spend all night every night on twitter
— natalie watson [KEYBLADE MASTER] (@nataliewatson) May 29, 2019
The Pokemon Sleep I want pic.twitter.com/X7wplv3sSq
— Bulbasaur Propaganda (@BulbaGanda) May 29, 2019
Pokemon Sleep will be the first Pokemon game that I will actually find challenging.
— Liam (@liamrobertson.bsky) (@Doctor_Cupcakes) May 29, 2019
Others had different takes on the same joke:
Pokemon Sleep
Pokemon Wake Up
Pokemon Grab a Brush and Put a Little Makeup
Pokemon Hide the Scars that Fade Away the Shakeup
Pokemon Why'd You Leave the Keys Upon the Table
Pokemon Here to Create Another Fable— Vic (@Garrts_) May 29, 2019
pokemon sleep huh? pokemon self care? pokemon drink water? pokemon remember your meds? pokemon wash your hands
— cogy in the wild (@pumpkinheadguy) May 29, 2019
2016: Pokemon Go
2020: Pokemon Sleep
2024: Pokemon Eat
2028: Pokemon Poop
2032: Pokemon Let’s Control Every Basic Human Function— JPR (@JPRPT98) May 29, 2019
From the creators of
"Pokémon Sleep"
comes
"Pokémon did you remember to drink your fucking water you dehydrated bitch"
— JJ 🌱 (@juanjimver) May 29, 2019
Pokemon Go
Pokemon Sleep
Pokemon Quit Smoking
Pokemon Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Pokemon Free and Accessible Birth Control
Pokemon Socialized Healthcare
Pokemon CO2 Emission Cap— MacIntyre Rath (@MacIntyreRath) May 29, 2019
2020 – Pokemon Sleep
2022 – Pokemon Eat
2024 – Pokemon Repeat pic.twitter.com/axZodaiPd5
— No Shigeru Miyamoto🔵 (@ShigeruMlyamoto) May 29, 2019
Pokémon Sleep is great now they just need to make Pokémon Eat and Pokémon Stop Falling in Love With Emotionally Unavailable People and i'll be set
— merritt k (@merrittk) May 29, 2019
In addition to Pokemon Sleep, the company will also be releasing a cloud service called “Pokemon Home,” which will provide a space for users to collect their monsters, and a game version of the upcoming Ryan Reynolds movie, Detective Pikachu. 2020 is gonna be Poke-lit.
(Via New York Times)