Unless you’ve been living in the proverbial cave, you’ve certainly heard about the new Pokemon Go App. You may have little clue about what it is or how it works or why anyone likes it, but you’ve most likely at least heard about it. In less than a few days, Pokemon Go has gotten more users than Twitter. The app is so huge, it commonly crashes from the ginormous user base all coming on at once.
I downloaded the app. It’s not my cup of tea, to be honest, but I did want to see what all the hype was about.
Pokemon Go is an app available on iPhone and Android phones. The app is free to install. You simply go to the Google store or iTunes store and search “pokemon go,” once you see it, click to install. It is only available in the United States and Australia (and a couple of other places). So far, the game has no real up charge or upgrade system, but it does sell merchandise (seriously). I’d anticipate that at some juncture, they are going to charge people and make a killing. The stocks for owner Nintendo’s shares surged beyond $7 billion, so it is likely someone thinks it can make money. And it likely can.
The game is simple. It uses Google Maps to locate the user (yourself). It creates a fantasy, cartoon looking land out of your actual streets and buildings. To move your character throughout the game, you must actually walk. Your goal is to locate Pokemon characters and capture them. Once you locate a Pokemon, the game uses your phone’s camera to augment the game into your actual settings. This has been a large part of the appeal with millions of users posting screen grabs of Pokemon characters in their homes, offices, at sports games and in malls. This has created a huge social media splash (maybe the largest ever).
The game is under scrutiny for not being safe. The game requires that the user follow the map on their phone. This means lots of people staring down at their phones in pedestrian situations. And of course, this means an increased risk of being hit by a moving automobile. In addition, upon the original launch, people were forced to sign up using their Google account. That’s a pretty normal protocol for many apps, but in this case, you, the user, granted Pokemon Go FULL ACCESS to your Google account. They’ve since corrected this issue. People have been led to their own demise tracking the Pokemons, including being robbed and injured.
The game is simple to understand, which likely adds to its appeal. There is not much of a learning curve once you sign up. It is also being touted as a healthy gaming option due to people being forced to walk around to locate the Pokemons.
The game is the first step in augmented reality gaming. That’s the big business narrative that everyone is talking about. Many think that Pokemon Go is just the start of much larger undertakings.
All the same, if you do use it, be careful out there!
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