September 10, 2015
Dear Diary,
There鈥檚 a mobile phone Pok茅mon game coming out soon. It sounds gimmicky, like most adaptations of any franchise to the mobile platform. I probably won鈥檛 download it. I usually get sick of Pok茅mon when I try to replay the game鈥攊t鈥檚 too much of a time sink.
June 15, 2016
Dear Diary,
I guess that Pok茅mon go game is getting hyped up a lot. A lot of people are excited about it. To be frank, I get the impression it鈥檚 going to be an enormous cash cow.
July 10, 2016,
Dear Diary,
I now have one Squirtle in my custody. He will grow ever stronger under my ruthless tutelage.
The hype for Pok茅mon Go was inevitable. Nostalgia, and the the kind of novelty you feel during a good scavenger hunt cranked up to 11 are riding the popular vector of the smartphone to insane heights.
Many are now able to relive exciting moments from their childhoods, catching and training a menagerie of magical creatures. Everyone partaking in the hype is also probably looking forward to a fat phone bill at the end of the money, with the amount of data searching for Pok茅mon happily gobbles up.
People are already griping about burning through gigabytes of mobile data in the span of mere days. It鈥檚 safe to say big telecom companies are just as excited about the advent of Pok茅mon Go, but that鈥檚 none of my business.
Nintendo, one of the companies that made the game a reality, is also excited, watching shares in the company skyrocket. Pok茅mon Go has, in fact, added $7 billion in market听 value, and is poised by the time you鈥檙e reading this, to surpass Twitter on Android phones in the sheer number of people using it.
People are so excited about the game in Canada, they鈥檙e finding workarounds to install the onto their phones, before it鈥檚 official release here. While the companies that made the game are mum on the details, it鈥檚 generally recommended that you don鈥檛 download the game in Canada before it鈥檚 release.
Long story short; Niantic and Nintendo may be able to tell who has already been using the game, when it is officially released in Canada, because they can see who is accessing the server on which the game runs, because it鈥檚 on their phones. This could lead to consequences for people who have downloaded it before its release 鈥� like bans and blocks. Has that stopped a vast majority of people? No. I don鈥檛 entirely condone their decision, but I don鈥檛 blame them.
Where the game has been officially released, Pok茅mon Go places Pok茅mon virtually on a map that corresponds to a map of real streets and roads through GPS. If your phone is good enough, you can 鈥渟ee鈥� Pok茅mon in-game superimposed over your surroundings, through the phone鈥檚 camera. This is referred to as 鈥渁ugmented reality.鈥�
In some cases, people have gotten so caught up in their augmented reality, that they鈥檙e not paying attention to the 鈥渞eal reality,鈥� and their surroundings. This has led to people trespassing on private and federal property (and getting in a lot of crap), injuring themselves, and even finding a dead body. Police in Washington released a public announcement advising people stop 鈥渏umping out of bushes鈥� near their station, in pursuit of Pok茅mon.
Obviously, common sense and discretion are key with this game. There鈥檚 a lot of talk of 鈥渆volution鈥� with Pok茅mon, but these days people should be more concerned with natural selection, the way they鈥檙e wandering around, glued to a screen. If you鈥檙e on the prowl for Pok茅mon, watch where you鈥檙e going. As many have already said, 鈥淚 was caught up trying to catch them all鈥� is not a legal defence that will hold water in court. You鈥檙e welcome.
Despite the hazards, it鈥檚 a force for good. Novelty and nostalgia aside, a number of people I know, who鈥檝e spent a lot of time feeling bad about how sedentary they are, are now outside and moving, coaxed out by the excitement of adventuring and collecting the Pok茅mon. People are talking about how Pok茅mon go is helping them conquer things like agoraphobia and social anxiety.
Is it as significant a step as joining a spin class or getting a gym pass? No, but walking in front of a screen all day is better than sitting in front of a screen all day.
听
