The Rio 2016 Olympics are Over but is the App?

The Olympics in Rio 2016 finished on August 21, 2016, leaving most people wondering what else the summer had in store.

For those with a high Olympics fever, a variety of apps have been available: The Rio 2016 Olympic Games, The Olympics – Official App, and the Rio 2016: Quiz are just a few.

Although these apps will still be available to download, will anyone actually use them?

3.6 billion viewers worldwide tuned in to watch the London Olympics in 2012. If Rio is recorded to have even half that number then that’s a huge potential audience for an app. This is most likely the reason why the International Olympic committee created an official licensed game.

Although the Rio 2016 Olympic Games app was not marketed, the game was featured on the Google Play Store home page.

It claims players can, ‘Experience the magic of the Olympic Games in the palm of your hand’, in the same style as Wii Sports. The app is also free, with only a small number of in-app purchases.

Despite this, the app has not generated a great deal of interest. With only 5 million installs so far the app has not hit its mark. Clearly most Olympic viewers do not take their fandom to the next level. This only proves that the Olympics is an experience that can’t be imitated.

It is a common argument that sports as a whole do not work as apps. However some of the top game apps are sports based, such as Archery Master and Score Hero. These apps have billions of installs between them, and do well despite the season.

The International Olympic committee could benefit with creating something that players can use in the long term. The game also suffers from a lack of content and various bugs, giving the impression that the app is not very well made.

Many games created for events suffer from this issue and are deleted from phones as a result. This is unavoidable in the case of The Rio 2016 Olympic Games app.

However, as technology advances, perhaps future Olympics can create a game that stands the test of time. Or at least longer than three weeks.