Pokémon to release ‘sleep tech’ game
The Pokémon Company has announced the release of sleep tech game, Pokémon Sleep.
The game, anticipated for release in 2020, will track a player’s sleeping pattern and transform the data into gameplay, allowing their avatar to catch Pokémon during the night.
The aim is to “reward good sleep habits as part of a healthy lifestyle” and turn “sleeping into entertainment”.
It is being developed by Select Button which previously collaborated with the company on the smartphone app Magikarp Jump.
The game was announced during a press conference in Japan. Pokémon Go remains one of the world’s most successful smartphone games, with millions of active users still playing every month.
Alongside the game, the company will release a new device called the Pokémon Go Plus+ which can act as a pedometer, game interface and sleep tracker, and connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth.
According to a recent survey by Chemist4U, the average person in the UK sleeps between 5.78 hours and 6.83 hours a night – missing out on the recommended amount of sleep by at least 100 minutes.
In Japan, where the Pokémon Company is based, the country is consistently ranked as the country that manages the least amount of sleep per night, with adults averaging between 6.3 – 6.4 hours per night.