Robberies. Dead bodies. Friendships. This sounds like it could be the starting point for some new crime TV show or movie. However, this is no show that you can binge-watch. It is part of the part of the Pokémon Go craze, the biggest mobile game in US history. For anyone who has yet to discover this game, or doesn’t understand what this game is, it is an “augmented reality multiplayer smartphone game.” Basically, it is the ever popular game on the smartphone. Users use their mobile device to find and catch Pokémon around them in the real world. It is a smart way to get users out and about in the real world, even if they are staring at their smartphone. Users with mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, who struggle with leaving their house, have reported leaving their house to catch Pokémon. Users are even going into restricted areas, such as backstage areas at theme parks, because they “gotta catch ‘em all.”
Once users figure out the game, they can use it to manipulate other users, such as in the case of the robberies. The robbers lure other players to their location, under the guise of having Pokémon, and rob the player. Another user was out and about searching for Pokémon around their neighborhood. They were searching along a riverbank and saw something in the water. That something ended up being a body. I’m pretty sure that isn’t one of the Pokémon she was looking for.
Personally, I have not jumped on the Pokémon Go bandwagon yet. I think it is a creative concept and I have seen pictures all over the internet of just how popular this game is and how it brings so many people together. My brother and mom play and they will go out to Disney just to find Pokémon. Busch Gardens Tampa is having an event at their park, in hopes of bringing more guests by enticing them with the chance to catch more Pokémon. From a marketing/PR standpoint, that is a really great strategy to get more visitors. And Busch Gardens isn’t the only business utilizing the popularity of the game to increase visitors. The Orlando Eye is having a promotion; if users show they have they game, they get 25 percent off their ticket to ride the Eye, which also has a Pokémon Gym stop.
I think the idea for this game and how businesses and local players are using the game is very smart (except in the case of people using it to rob others), but I just cannot jump on this bandwagon. I already spend more time than necessary staring at my iPhone and I have been trying to limit my screen time. I just have this feeling that I would be the person who ends up walking into a pole because I was too focused on the game. So for now, I will just observe and try to further understand this game as it continues to grow in popularity.
