Anyone on here caught up in the craze? My son loaded it on the Android he shares with his mother but doesn't actually play much. He rode to downtown London (Ontario, Canada) yesterday and says Victoria Park, our big downtown green space was full of players. That may change this weekend since our Pride festival takes over that park tonight and it will be rather crowded even without Pokemon hunters.
Doesn't really appeal to me that much, though I'll concede the use of augmented reality for a Pokemon game is a clever idea.
My kids have it and were very interested the first few days. However, the game constantly lags and is already becoming a bit boring.
You need to really travel to find other Pokemon. We still have not figured out how to battle because the system always crashes.
The game requires a lot of battery life.
My kids are slowly losing interest. Not sure this fad will be as hot as it was the first week. It's slowly loosing appeal.
Hugs,
Mysteria
xo
I don't play (wouldn't be able to in my rural village), but I am a big fan for several reasons.
Although it is not the first augmented reality game, it's the first to become hugely popular and "mainstream". This can be an impetus for this kind of technology to gain more ground and be implemented in more and varied contexts. In particular, I'm interested in the implications for education.
It has been a phenomenal social experiment of sorts, which has had some amazing, unforeseen consequences. Pretty much overnight, millions of people have engaged in it in a myriad ways, from sole traders producing clothing and merchandise (particular around the Team Valour/Instinct/Mystic thing), to marketing companies targeting "Poke-stops" and gyms, to coffee shops setting up rewards-based promotions based on the game. I've even heard of dog shelters encouraging players to 'hire' the dogs to take them for walks while they're hunting form Pokemon, which has been hugely successful.
The Pokemon franchise is already cross-generational, because it's been around for so long, but this new game has brought people back to Pokemon out of nostalgia for their childhood. Young people are encouraging their parents and grandparents to get involved, and I think it's actually bringing people together, which is definitely a good thing.
I reckon this kind of game, where internet connectivity is essential, will strengthen the call for internet equality in terms of 3G coverage, too. Maybe not Pokemon GO in particular, but as the medium expands, demand will grow.
There are, of course, drawbacks and dangers, like potential road accidents and targeted crime. These are being highlighted pretty quickly though, and both Niantic and local authorities seem to be pretty good at getting out information and advice. Hopefully we won't see too many ill consequences.
I think it is a fad, and enthusiasm will die down in the coming months. However, people still play Pokemon Red and Blue on Gameboys, so I think Pokemon GO will have some staying power.
I honestly have friends that are into this, and they've said it's not only addicting, regardless of age, but socially it actually helps bring people out into society and meet others. What I have not yet seen is that it hasn't quite turned deadly (except people finding dead bodies), but so far, I haven't heard much of people running into issues with bad things.
I have friends that have done it, and they love it. I haven't gone down that road. Quite honestly, I'm waiting to see how long it lasts. "if" it continues, I may make an attempt.
I damn near ran over a woman on her mobile two days ago. She stepped straight out in front of me and when I abused her she seemed oblivious to how close to death she was. All she said was " I found one".
I hope she survives this craze.
I collected the cards when I was a kid, played the gameboy games and watched the videos too. I stopped over 15 years ago and I'd rather not go back to pokemon. Of course the biggest crock of shit is: not too long ago I saw a used merchandise place selling the cards for 50 cents a piece. Even the cards that should have been supposedly worth hundreds, if not thousands by now. Damn, I'm so glad I didn't bother trying to preserve them all these years. Bottom line, they just wanted to go back to pokemon so they could make a little more green off it.
Pokemon go away please more like..
I work in a location that's supposed to be secure and keeping it secure is part of my job. So I had the joy of having to pen a general e-mail to Ph.D. educated researchers, warning them that they can't play Pokémon Go in my building.
Responses ranged from sympathetic (I'll bet you never thought you'd write a professional email like THAT) to hilarious (Damn, I was looking for pikachu!).
My kids played for a week and now have deleted the game. That was very short lived.
Giggles,
Mysteria
xo
Oooooh. Do you know the 'cheat' to get the one you want? (tis an Easter Egg built into the code).
If not, you can nickname your Eevee before evolution to manipulate. Close the app and reopen after is a tip I read.
The success rate is pretty high but it only works once for each type.
Pyro for Flareon. Sparky for Jolteon. Rainer for Vaporeon.
Does anyone else play it now?
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