The nerds have been released! Pokemon Go is the most popular app as of late and is changing gaming as we know it. Pokemon Go is a game where players can actually become Pokemon trainers in real life. They can catch, train, and fight other players with their Pokemon (although fighting other players can only happen at "gyms", which are designated locations for Pokemon battles). The app is popular among young people due to the previous video games and hit television show of the same name that has aired in the US since 1998. Many Millennials have downloaded the app to play because it is more or less a virtual reality come to life as players can become Pokemon trainers like they wanted to when they were children.
I've played the game and it is really simple to pick up. When you walk around you can find Pokemon on your screen. There really isn't too much to it. I find it to be a fun little distraction. However, it is much more than that. Millions have played it and it seems to be rather addictive. This game changes how games are made and truly blends the lines between reality and the virtual. With its popularity, it has become a form of social media as well. There is no messaging system within the game but when players are out and about, they run into each other and complete strangers can spark a conversation about a subject they find fascinating.
Now here is where things get out of control. I'm not talking about the highway signs that say not to catch Pokemon while driving or anything like that. It's the fact that nerds are outside. For years, nerds have kept their gaming behind closed doors and now they have been unleashed on the world. The worst part of this is the fact that the game makes the players glued to their phones. The stereotype of young people staring at their phones all day has truly become a reality. Wednesday night in Downtown Waukesha near the river, some friends and I decided to hang out while playing Pokemon Go and we saw dozens of teenagers and twenty-somethings staring at their phones. When I wasn't playing the game it was fascinating, fun, but also terrifying. Pokemon Go may become the game that takes us into a future from some Japanese anime about a mega social media game that connects everyone to it. That theme may become a reality. With dozens of teenagers walking in packs with their faces glowing by the lighted screens of their phones, it can seem quite unnerving to outsiders. Not to mention crowding one of my favorite places in Waukesha. The real issue I have with the game is the obsession with it and the herd-like mentality that is taken to the streets.
Part of me wants this to be a fad so that we can move on from it and people can walk through the streets without having to wade through the crowds of Pokemon fans. However, more and more companies are applying to become Poke stops to attract more customers. The app has a serious potential to be a game changer but the lifespan of most app games is about six months in its popularity, and the real test will not be how much players enjoy the game but how the game will fare in the Wisconsin winter.
