On July 7th, 2016, America has witnessed and participated in one of the most viral and steeply rising “fitness” rages in history. And no, it is not P90x or CrossFit. Ironically enough, it is none other than Pokémon that’s causing everyone to step outside their houses and go for a walk or bike ride.
On this Thursday, the Japanese video game company, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company released an app for iPhones and Android Smartphone Devices titled ‘Pokémon Go.’ To those of you who have never heard of or experienced Pokémon on any level (which is surprising, given its massive multi-decade popularity), Pokémon is a huge franchise whose main premise is for the player to go around a fictional world, filled with creatures called Pokémon, so that they can collect, train, and battle other player with them.
Now Pokémon Go is a much more simplified version of the main game, but it does have augmented reality features which truly set it apart and have been a big factor in the game’s success. Basically, this turns the players’ real worlds into the streets and world of Pokémon. By utilizing the smartphone’s GPS and accelerometers, the game is able to display the players’ avatars, called trainers, in their real world, which is filled with different Pokémon locations, stops, and items. Once the player encounters a Pokémon in the wild, usually by walking around a lot in different areas, then the phone’s camera is activated revealing that Pokémon in the augment world presented on your phone as seen below.
This game has resulted in a very surprising increase in exercise around the country, as players are rewarding for traveling longer, exploring the outdoors more, and keeping them away from inactivity. Personally, just today, my friends and I went on a 6 mile hike just to level up our trainers by catching more and more Pokémon. In fact, the game is getting so popular now that it has passed Twitter in terms of daily active users on Android Devices, as it is installed on about 5.6% of all US Android devices, while Twitter is sitting at around 3.5%.
Now while this game may seem like it is super positive and a benefit to society, which overall I would say it is, there are some dangerous and weird things that can surround this game. First off, the fact that everyone is obsessing to find Pokémon scattered in sporadic locations means that they can and will find them in strange places. Reportedly many users have noticed clubs to be a very humorous location to spot certain Pokémon, as seen in the picture below.
While it pretty funny to see pics of a Magikarp at a Strip Club, some locations have been much more dangerous to spot Pokémon. The Duvall Police Department in Wyoming, for instance, had to release a statement warning players that are wandering around their headquarters in search of Pokémon need to stop and be mindful of where they are searching. The department released the following statement on their Twitter:
“We have had some people playing the game behind the PD, in the dark, popping out of bushes, etc. This is high on our list of things that are not cool right now. Please remember that these are especially tense times as of the last few days.”
While the majority of players are knowledgeable enough to understand these pretty common sense rules, some people will of course take things too far.
But overall, Pokémon Go has really worked wonders for getting everyone active and excited about going outside, while also making a fun and unique experience for the die-hard fans. As long as we all stay responsible, have fun, and make friends, I hope that all of you trainers out there can catch them all!
