Pokemon Go is the latest video game craze. In case you have never heard of it, Pokemon Go is a augmented reality game that allow players use smartphones to catch digital creatures out in the real world.
Pokemon Go spread to the world like a disease. That’s probably why some people say, “Pokemon Go is taking over the world!” However, you can't deny its success. In terms of daily active users, Pokemon Go has exceeded Pandora, Netflix and Spotify. The game is installed on more devices than Candy Crush, Linkedin, and Tinder. There is no topic that is more popular than Pokemon Go right now, even Brexit. On the business side, Nintendo’s shares have raised to about 50% and the market value has reached $34 billion dollars since Pokemon Go release.
One thing that history has taught us is every time when something goes trending, it will go wrong. Pokemon Go is just another example. Since it came out, people are apparently way too into this game. This fanatic attitude causes some serious damages. Here is a list of bizarre incidents that are caused by the game.
1. Pokemon Go caused car accidents
On July 12, a 28-year-old driver crashed into a tree in Auburn, New York. According to the report from Police Department, the driver was distracted by Pokemon Go. Fortunately, he didn’t have serious injury, though the accident should not have happened if the driver was not distracted.
There is another car accident that is caused by people getting distracted from Pokemon Go in Massachusetts. 26-year-old Lamar Hickson has been accused of causing one of the worst highway accidents in history. He stopped in the middle of the highway just to catch a Pikachu. Apparently, he believes it is worth it. He said, “If you wanna catch them all you gotta risk it all.”
2. Pokemon Go players trespassed restricted areas
Pokemon Go players have been encouraged to go to some restricted areas. For example, it has been reported that there are Pokemons in Ontario Power Generation, Canada. The spokesperson Neal Kelly said that “Nuclear power plants are no game. There are real world consequences for trying to enter them without permission."
3. Armed robbers used Pokemon Go to commit crimes
Missouri police have reported an armed robbery incident that was Pokemon Go related. The suspects used the lure (Lure can be virtually placed at a Pokemon stop so that there will be a higher chance to catch a wild Pokemon) and geo-location functions of the game to attract players to a specific location.
In essence, Pokemon Go is a revolutionary augmented reality game. It successfully responds the criticism that augmented reality doesn't have a future. However, people often forget the warning in the beginning when they play the game. Thus, the game causes damages. To be clear, I'm not discouraging people playing this game. Yet, I want to remind everyone that Pokemon Go should not take up your entire life. Pokemon Go is supposed to be a tool for people to interact with each other and to go outside. But players take it so serious that they forget the current surroundings and their relationships with people.
There is one thing we need to remember: true happiness comes from spending time with friends and family.
