Nicholas DiGregory
Do you think that the game development executives who created the Pocket Monsters in 1996 envisioned the craze that they’d create in the future with Pokémon Go? At the time, three Japanese companies—Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures Inc.—united to pursue an idea for a revolutionary video game where players could travel through a world inhabited by mythical creatures, befriending and battling alongside them in a quest to discover every one of the special monsters.
For the first time ever, on July 6, 2016, Pokémon fans were given a way to literally enter the Pokémon world, using their mobile device to “catch” Pokémon in their own backyard, when the Pokémon Company and their partner, the American-based software development company Niantic, Inc., released the mobile game Pokémon Go. Soon, people were noticing drivers slowing down while their passengers stared at their cell phones, or kids stopping on the sidewalk to point their phones at something.
The Pokémon Company, an independent business co-founded by the original three Japanese parent companies, now manages the Pokémon brand, which has become almost universally recognized with an animated television series, a competitive trading card game, and a seemingly endless line of merchandise. More than 280 million units of the various video games have been shipped worldwide, and over 100 countries have tuned in to the animated television series or played the trading card game. For more than twenty years, loving fans across the globe have played through the world of Pokémon on their gaming systems and watched it on their television screens.
Now Pokémon can be found, literally, in our own backyards! By downloading the augmented-reality game to their mobile device, users are prompted to create an in-game avatar, through which their progress in the game is measured. After this, Pokémon Go then maps the player’s geographical area and generates a real-time GPS interface that the player can use to traverse the game world and the real world at the same time. Deb Spalding, The Catoctin Banner’s publisher, downloaded the game while working in her home office. She said, “I created my avatar and stood up from my chair. The first thing I noticed was a Squirtle right there in my office! Somehow, I figured out how to capture it by throwing my first Poké Ball at it.”
As a player travels, the GPS interface alerts if Pokémon are nearby. If the player encounters a Pokémon in the game, he or she can tap on it to try and capture it. The game then brings up the mobile device’s camera, and superimposes the Pokémon into the image of the real world. Players can then attempt to capture the Pokémon in real time by throwing Poké Balls at it. If the player is successful, the Pokémon then becomes part of their permanent team. Deb explained that later that day, “A friend and I were driving on Harbaugh Valley Road while playing the game when out of nowhere, some kind of Poke bird monster started flapping on my phone. I didn’t catch that one.”
In addition to allowing players to catch Pokémon wherever they go, the game also generates points of interest that are linked to real-life locations; the players can then interact with these locations in the game to win prizes or battle other users. Within the game exist two types of these points of interest.
The first type, known as PokéStops, are usually linked to historical landmarks or small businesses. When within range of a PokéStop, a user can tap the location on the in-game GPS interface to win items that can be used to catch, train, or heal Pokémon.
The second group of points of interest that exist in the game are called gyms. These usually correspond to major landmarks, churches, or large businesses in the real world. St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Utica has posted on their sign that they’re a PokéGym. At these locations, players can battle each other for control. Heather Plunkard of Thurmont said, “There are definitely some interesting PokéStops throughout the town [Thurmont]. The painted caboose is one, the town square, and several churches throughout town. The fire station is a PokéGym and there’s even one, I believe, in the cemetery behind it off Altamont Avenue!”
When a player has gained enough experience in the game, they are prompted to pick one of three teams. Once on a team, a player can battle alongside other members of their team for control of the Gyms. Austin Freshy of Thurmont said, “I was walking in the [Thurmont] town park trying to catch some eveie, and I saw a guy with his sons walking and playing. We struck a conversation. I found out he was a Team Mystic member and I was an Instinct One. A little bit later, another guy showed up and said he’s from Valor.” Austin explained that all three teams have a grudge match and added, “There we were, three strangers, chatting like we’ve known each other for years. That’s the beauty of this game. It brings a community together through a common ground.”
By uniting the video game world and the real world in this revolutionary way, Pokémon Go has exploded into the most popular mobile game of all time. Apple confirmed on July 22 that in the first week after its release, Pokémon Go was downloaded more times from the App Store than any other app. Two weeks after its release, Pokémon Go had been downloaded 30 million times worldwide, with roughly 18 million unique users logging in to play at any given time, eclipsing the combined user numbers of the popular apps, Facebook, Snapchat, and Tinder. As of July 22, the game had grossed over $35 million, representing half of all revenue generated by mobile games.
While the numbers show that Pokémon Go has been a huge success for the Pokémon Company and their partners, the app has also benefited small businesses across the country. Small and local businesses that exist in historic cities across the United States, where PokéStops are plentiful, have started using an in-game bonus known as a “lure” to boost their own business. By purchasing a lure in the game for a few cents and applying it to a nearby PokéStop, a business can bring additional rare Pokémon to their real-life doorstep, which in turn drives players to frequent the business. Many businesses have utilized this method, in addition to Pokémon-based advertising and social media efforts, to increase their profits.
While Pokémon Go has greatly benefited businesses and encouraged users to get outside and explore the world around them, the game has also contributed to several unfortunate events. On July 16, two distracted men in their early twenties fell nearly eighty feet when their Pokémon Go adventure led them off a cliff in Encinitas, California. Although both men survived the fall, their injuries were deemed “very serious” by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.
A similar occurrence of poor judgment brought about by Pokémon Go occurred on July 18, when a Baltimore native drove his SUV into the back of a parked police car. While no one was injured, body cameras worn by police that were standing nearby show the driver staring at his phone right before ramming the police vehicle. The unidentified man later admitted to having been playing Pokémon Go during the accident.
These and other instances have driven local police departments to release statements warning Pokémon Go players to use common sense and to never allow the game to lead them to danger. Along with these statements, some inner-city police departments have cautioned Pokémon Go users to avoid playing at night, citing that some gangs are targeting distracted and unsuspecting players for violent crimes.
Despite the negative publicity caused by distracted or careless users, Pokémon Go continues to grow rapidly. Now released across Europe and Japan, value projections indicate that Pokémon Go could net $10 billion for its first year. And with millions of players interacting both in the game and in the real world, Pokémon Go is quickly building a networked community that shows no signs of dwindling any time soon.
A Poké monster called a Rattata is detected at the Thurmont square.
