Since hitting the App Store shelves in the U.S. Thursday, Pokémon go has become an absolute phenomenon and overnight sensation that’s sweeping the nation.
If you see children, teens, and even adults walking through town with their eyes glued to their smartphones, chances are they’re not checking text messages or emails; they are looking for the cute little creatures that won the hearts of everyone when Pokémon was first released in 1996.
The concept of the game is beautiful and simple: Your smartphone camera works as the platform for catching pokémon in the real world. The game implements a GPS system that represents real world locations and spots, spots where you can collect pokémon and items. When you find a pokémon, the game opens up your smartphone's camera, giving you a view of Pokémon in the real world. Once you spot them, you flick a Poké Ball toward the creature to capture it.
Like any other game or app released into the world, there are pro’s and con’s. For experienced Pokémon Go players, this article will be easier to understand. For people who never played Pokémon as a kid or just never followed it, I’d suggest you do some research before reading this article, or else you’ll have no idea what the hell I’m talking about.
Pro’s
1. Pokémon Go gives the user real life exercise.
Walking around is a huge part of Pokémon Go. If you don’t walk, you don’t catch, simple as that. They made the game so people had to actually get outside and walk around in order to catch Pokémon and collect items. Gyms and Pokémon Stops are located throughout your city. This isn’t a game that you can just turn on from bed and win from your house. This game requires exercise.
2. Pokémon Go get’s people outside.
Like stated above, Pokémon Go requires you to walk around. Whether you go to your local park, busy street, around the block, Pokémon Go requires the user to be outside, which I think is pretty cool. This isn’t a game you play inside all day. This game gets you out into some sunlight and gets you some vitamin D from Mr. Sunshine.
3. Pokémon Go helps you meet people in real life.
No, seriously, I’m not making this up, Last night, me and my buddy Chris went to our local town searching for Pokémon at midnight. Since it was midnight and normal people are usually in bed by then, everyone we saw the street were people playing Pokémon Go. We stopped and chatted with a few us there people, showing each other our Pokémon that we collected, ect. Mind you that they were all complete strangers. It’s pretty freaking awesome that an APP is bringing so many people in the world together at a time when the world seems to be infatuated with chaos.
4. The game is for EVERYONE and is VERY EASY to learn/play.
I’m not going to lie to you guys, I just started playing Pokémon Go yesterday. I played Pokémon a little bit when I was a child, but never collected the cards or watched the show. In other words, my Pokémon knowledge was(and probably still is) very minimal. With that being said, the game doesn’t have a hard concept to understand. Have a friend explain it to you or read about it online. You’ll be a Poké master in no time. That's what makes this game so beautiful; the simplicity.Con's
1. People getting injured due to not being aware of their surroundings
I wish this one was a joke. There have been multiple reports within the days since Pokémon Go has been released stating cases of people being injured while playing the game. Catching Pokémon is fun and all, but people have to remember, IT’S JUST A GAME. Your real life is worth more(or at least I hope so). Please be careful and follow the disclaimer the app has posted when it is first loading up: BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS FOR YOUR SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF OTHERS.
2. Catching Pokémon can be dangerous for other reasons
Catching Pokémon is awesome! Finding a dead body while playing? Not so much. A woman in Riverton, Wyoming stumbled across a dead body while playing the game. There have been complaints from businesses and even Police Departments for trespassing and loitering while trying to catch Pokémon. There was also the case of the monsters who set up a Lure (feature in the game that allows Pokémon to come to you and other players can benefit off of it) in the game and then robbing fellow players. If you play the game, just remember the world still has bad people.
3. This game absolutely kills your battery
When you are Pokémon Go, make sure you bring your charger with you. This game absolutely kills your battery. It constantly needs to refresh and uses live GPS, so make sure you put your power save mode on in the game and on your phone.
4. Server issues
This game is fun and addicting but the server issues sometimes make it almost impossible to enjoy. Since it’s such a popular game, the servers get crowded and overloaded. Sometimes the game just crashes without warning, and it can be pretty frustrating, especially while catching a rare Pokémon (happened to me twice). Also, sometimes the game makes you log in 18 times before playing. All in all, just be patient. Remember, it’s a brand new game and skyrocketed Pokémon back into the spotlight, so just give the developers time for new updates.
All in all, I hope you guys take these pro’s and con’s and apply them to your repertoire while you’re on your way to becoming the next great Pokémon master! Have fun, and be safe.
