As many of you know, Pokémon Go is practically the most popular game that is played within the past two months. For any of you who do not know what Pokémon Go is, I will just give you the gist of it. Pokémon Go is a game you can download on any smart phone device with a GPS installed on the phone. This game allows you to collect “pokeballs” using your location. After you collect enough “Pokeballs” you can use them to capture creatures and evolve the creatures and prepare them for battle. While this is a pretty neat idea to have an interactive game that enables movement, instead of the usual sitting down to play it, it has some disadvantages to it.

Although Pokémon Go is liked by many, there are still some people against it. I am not pulled to one side nor the other when it comes to this game, because I can see good points from both sides. Both sides have equal value in my opinion. First, I will talk about the advantages to playing this game. When we think about games what usual comes to mind? Is it a board game, card game, computer game, or maybe it’s even watching a game. Well whatever it is, they all have one thing in common, and that is that most of those you play while sitting down. There is little to no physical activity. One of the things that a lot of people complain about when someone is playing a game is that it restricts them from being active or going outside. This my friends, is where Pokémon Go does one up all the other games. This game allows you to play with friends in a group setting and be physically active as well. Pokémon allows you to hang out with friends and even explore new places to collect Pokeballs. It can be a fun way to enjoy being active and enjoy the game just about everyone loves.

Now on the other hand, here is where all the disadvantages of Pokémon Go comes into play. Even though it one-ups all the other games this one might be a little bit more dangerous. Think back to a few years ago, and even still today. Take notice of people walking and texting instead of paying attention to where they are walking. The Pokémon game has this same effect. A few repots have been expressed on the news about people getting into car accidents, people walking right into traffic because they were not paying attention, and even people entering into restricted places just to play this game. Another main point is that it takes away a person’s ability to put down the game. By having a game that requires you to be moving to achieve a higher level, it will make very difficult to not want to pull out the game and collect stuff at all these different places. Pokémon Go is an addicting game based on how fast it took off. Many people struggle to even socialize upon downloading this game because they constantly feel the need to play it. To gain some perspective, ask yourself this. You are hanging out with friends and every new place you go they are not even paying attention to you because they are so wrapped up in the game. Would this annoy you? I know that I may become annoyed, especially if I wanted to spend time with that person.

So here is my final statement. Yes, games are cool and all, but at the end of the day games are just games. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and everyone experiences things in a different way. So now that you are aware of both sides, you may chose for yourself. Since the name of this game is Pokémon Go, when all is said and done which direction do you go?