If you’ve noticed noticed people staring at their phones even more than usual while strolling down the sidewalk lately, there’s probably a good reason for that — chances are they’re absorbed in Pokémon Go, a new game app for your smart phone that seems to have taken half the developed world by storm within the course of the past week. Unlike the average video game that typically involves countless hours spent planted in front of a TV or computer, the premise here requires the gamer to get up and actually leave their couch and get out into the world.
The object of the game is to collect cute animated critters called “Pokémons,” and the city in which the player lives becomes the game’s grid, so in order to effectively play, getting out and exploring is actually necessary. It’s kind of brilliant in its execution, and the public is certainly responding, even though the “exploring” aspect is debatable since people’s eyes are still glued to their phones rather than actually taking in the world around them (and check out that warning screen above — the developers are clearly aware of this). In fact, Nintendo, who is an investor in both the Pokémon Company and the game’s producer, Niantic, is reaping the benefits. Because of the app’s skyrocketing popularity, Nintendo’s stock experienced its largest single-day spike since 1983 — take THAT, Super Mario Bros.
All the press the game has received hasn’t hurt, either. There was one story making the rounds of a girl being inadvertently led to a dead body as she played the game. And another story about some poor soul whose home became a Pokémon Go hotspot that suddenly began attracting dozens of players from all around his community. Stories like these have made the game somewhat infamous, and that’s the kind of attention no amount of advertising dollars can buy. As a result, the game is experiencing a veritable perfect storm of public interest.
Now, Pokémon is something that’s always kind of been on my radar, mostly because some of the character designs appeal to me, but it always existed in the “background” for me, more or less. In the ‘90s I picked up a couple toys here and there at Toys R Us just as novelities, but I never really delved into the property at all; I never had any cards or watched the cartoon or experienced whatever the property’s key platform was. Basically, I have nothing against the property at all, but it was never going to be, say, a “Marvel” or a “Star Wars” for me. I’ve been perfectly happy quietly ignoring Pikachu and Jigglypuff while indulging in this golden age of Marvel Cinema. Then my wife downloaded the game this past weekend.
And she was hooked — QUICK.
She had the app open everywhere we went. Everywhere. We live in downtown Philadelphia, so we have the luxury of being able to walk to most places we need to go, and suddenly she needed to stop every couple yards in order to catch a Pokémon or to acquire some items to keep playing. It was kinda nuts. And like many players who are now obsessed, I have no memory of her ever even mentioning “Pokémon” before this app, but now it was literally occupying every free moment she had.
And then I noticed more and more people who were doing the exact same thing she was. We would see people staring at their phones as we passed them on the street. We’d take a peak, and, sure enough, the app was open on their phones. We’d see couples sitting on benches in parks helping each other acquire more Pokémons. And my friends on Facebook and Instagram started posting updates reporting their progress or to complain about the game’s servers being down. The game was suddenly EVERYWHERE. It became a legit phenomenon.
So, being a seasoned man of the world, I had to find out for myself what the appeal was. I downloaded the app to my own phone, and my wife and I took off to the streets of Philadelphia yesterday afternoon to collect all the Pokémons we could find. It was slow-going for me at first. My game would keep freezing, and at several points there were server issues — growing pains from half the world trying to play all at the same time, no doubt. But I eventually got into it and I started to have fun.
Being a collector myself (comics, records, figures, etc.), I totally get this. People are racing all over their cities to capture Pokémons or to complete tasks, whereas I would race from Target to Target in hopes of finding Star Wars figures. The difference here is everything is virtual in the game, but the thrill of capturing a new Pokémon is definitely real and observable. But, being a collector and now ensconced in this game, I can’t help but wonder what is on the horizon for tangible Pokémon toys, and, as luck would have it, several high-end figures have been released, and more are on the way.
Now, it remains to be seen whether or not Pokémon Go will be able to captivate the public’s attention for a meaningful amount of time, but considering how successful some other game apps have been, like Angry Birds, the Pokémon phenomenon very may experience its biggest boom ever thanks to this app, and if this intense interest from new participants can be spread to other formats, like action figures, then more than just Nintendo will benefit. But, as it is at the moment, it’s awesome to see something like Pokémon garner so much attention.
And I’m now starting to slowly put together a small wishlist of Pokémon figures I’d like to see.
So are you playing the game? What do you think? Sound off below!