(Disclaimer: I am not a Pokemon nerd in the slightest, so apologies if I get anything wrong!)
If you haven't heard of Pokemon Go by now, what rock have you been living under?
The app is an location based augumented reality game and allows players to capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, called Pokémon, who appear on device screens as though in the real world. It makes use of GPS and the camera of compatible devices.
It was released July 6 for both iOS and android and its popularity has dramatically escalated since.
However Pokémon Go has had mixed reviews. The app is being praised for the overall experience of the game and the incentive to explore the real world, although there are obvious technical issues such as constant crashes and server issues.
The game quickly became one of the most used smart device apps after launching, surpassing the previous record held by Candy Crush Saga in the United States, and was a boon to the stock value of The Pokémon Company and Nintendo.
The game was credited with popularizing augmented reality, and was praised by some medical professionals for potentially improving the mental and physical health of players, (aka getting the nerds to leave their rooms) but has also attracted some controversy due to reports of causing accidents and being a public nuisance at some locations.
A driver in upstate New York has reportedly wrapped his car around a tree while playing the game, and in Orlando a man fired at two teenagers who were sitting in their car outside his house catching Pokemon, as the man had assumed they had robbed him upon hearing them say "did you get anything?". Thankfully his shots only hit the bodywork and tires.
Another incident occurred in Encinitas, California, where two men hunting for Pokemon were so engrossed in the Go app that they walked past a No Trespassing sign and then a Do Not Cross sign near a cliff edge. The inevitable happened: they both fell off. For the full article, click here.
And while these might be more extreme cases, there have been plenty of accidents and injuries caused by the app, but thankfully (to my knowledge) no one has died playing Pokemon -yet.
But as with any game, comes the 'hacks'. Paying walkers or hiring Uber drivers, enlisting the help of your dog or an all-out drone arsenal are just some of the ways people are cheating the system in Pokemon Go. Read more here.
US Telco company T-Mobile has decided to use this as a business opportunity, to lure customers by adding Pokemon Go to its list of apps that won’t eat into your monthly data allowance. Find out the details here.
Pokemon Go has also been the target of a hacking team called OurMine, essentially shitting on the game’s login servers leaving players frustrated and unable to log in to the game. The group posted on its website “No one will be able to play this game till Pokemon Go contact us on our website to teach them how to protect it!” however this was on the 17th and the issues seem to have subsided for now. Meanwhile, a group called Poodle Corp also claimed to have attacked Pokemon Go. It went on to say it would take down the Pokemon Go servers for an entire day on August 1. Click here for source.
Apart from being hit by hackers, the game itself have struggled to keep its servers up and running.
Here are some fast facts on the rapidly escalating popularity of the game:
* Upon 24 hours after its release, Pokémon Go topped the American App Store's "Top Grossing" and "Free" charts.
* The game has become the fastest game to top the App Store and Google Play, beating Clash Royale.
* Within two days of release, it was installed on more than 5% of Android devices in the United States, according to SimilarWeb.
* On July 12, the game became the most active mobile game in the United States ever with 21 million active users, eclipsing Candy Crush Saga's peak of 20 million.
* The average daily usage of the app on Android devices exceeded Snapchat, Tinder, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
* By July 15, approximately 1.3 million people were playing the game in the Netherlands, despite the app not being officially released in the country.
* In the week following the game's release, Australian servers had problems in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane due to the game's popularity.
It shall be very interesting to watch the progression of Pokemon Go and to see if the hype will die down in a few weeks. Let me know what you think will happen in the comments.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed this short-turned-long summary about Pokemon Go, and you're a champ for reading all of that!
Remember Pokemon hunters, stay alert and safe, and for god's sake, stay away from goddamn cliffs.
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