It’s no longer the FitBit that’s driving people to leave their homes and roam the streets on foot these days. Pokémon GO has gone viral in Australia, New Zealand and the USA, while everyone else eagerly awaits its global release.
Somehow, the notion of ‘virality’ doesn’t quite cut it when trying to describe the sheer popularity of the game. According to Forbes, Pokémon GO may have already surpassed Twitter in terms of daily active users. It is the fastest game to top the “most downloaded” charts for both Apple and Android in history, and that’s before its release in the largest smartphone games market in the world, Japan (Financial Times).
Coupling sophisticated augmented reality (AR) technology with a mobile gaming app based on one of the most popular Nintendo media franchises in the world, Pokémon GO has successfully managed to coax stereotypically sofa-bound gamers out into the open air.
Non-gamers are getting sucked in too, as executives in corporate offices begin spotting the colourful two-dimensional characters everywhere from the pantry to the boss’s office. I have visions of lunch breaks spent with formally dressed executives scampering around street corners and peeking behind trees with almost child-like glee, as they each try to ‘catch ‘em all’.
In its simplest terms, the game allows users to create a cartoon avatar and physically seek out the virtual creatures in real-life settings (the tech uses GPS and clock info to detect where the user is and the time of day they’re playing). Each time they encounter one, a simple swipe on the smartphone screen will launch a Poké Ball – the primary device used to catch and contain the magical beings.
Nintendo has dabbled in coupling video games with actual physical effort before (like the Nintendo Wii), but embracing mobile has meant that players can now venture far beyond the living room.
On the plus side, people are getting out more. One game feature that particularly lends itself to exploration is that the Pokémon creatures are quite widespread (geographically speaking) and the types seem to correspond with the niche/environment a player is in (e.g. a bug Pokémon in a park, versus an aquatic creature by the beach).
As Pokémon GO goes worldwide and the underlying technology gets more sophisticated, I reckon it won’t be too long before tour operators begin to offer Pokémon hunting expeditions in various cities (assuming the game is still in vogue). It could enable people to discover more about surrounding areas than ever before, whether it is a travel destination or even their very own back yard.
A comical image to say the least, however, it would be a travesty to see swarms of ‘Ash Ketchum’ wannabes trawling across and excavating historical landmarks and heritage sites like Angkor Wat or the pyramids, eyes glued to their screens in pursuit of a virtual cartoon instead of acknowledging the majesty of whatever place they’re in.
(Aggressively swiping a touch screen to capture a Charmander then yelping in either frustration or triumph, whilst in the acoustics of the Sistine Chapel, likely doesn’t fall within the realms of ‘chapel etiquette’.)
Once the game evolves to become even more interactive by allowing players to compete directly, it opens up possibilities of meeting and engaging with new people both online and offline. Who knows, Tinder could become obsolete as players interact over a shared love for the hunting and capturing of the cute, Japanese critters.
Love it or hate it, the game has demonstrated the impressive power of mobile and augmented reality in tandem. It might give developers in the travel industry a hint or two into the types of experience users seek when immersed in the limbo realm between tech and the physical world.
That being said, security measures would need to be properly evaluated before such things could occur. It is something Nintendo has seemingly neglected to consider, as users repetitively find themselves in increasingly bizarre scenarios, from traffic accidents to even armed robbery.
Lead photo courtesy of Yoshikazu Takada (via Flickr).
