For the fear of sounding like a totally uncool Mum, I hadn’t got a clue about Pokémon Go. I didn’t even know what it was. I admit it. I am officially old. Sure, I’d heard of Pokémon and vaguely remember Pikachu as a cute yellow character, but that’s pretty much as far as my knowledge went. In case other Mums and Dads aren’t aware of the Pokémon craze that is sweeping the nation, I thought I’d share what I’ve managed to discover in the last 24 hours about the phenomenon that is Pokémon Go!
Pokémon stands for Pocket Monsters and started as a game for the Nintendo Gameboy almost 20 years ago – soon followed the cartoon series, and the loveable trading cards more recently in the year 2000, where playgrounds became covered with children trading cards and swapping to try and complete the full set.
Pokémon has now entered the world of augmented reality!! Launched on the 5th July and released in the UK today, the game enables players to search the real world using satellite locations and geocache on their mobile phones to find some 700 Pokémon characters in places near them and use augmented reality to see and capture them! This basically involves players walking around with phone in hand, following a map and trying to reach and secure the Pokémon in their location.
Since it was released on the 5th July it has been downloaded over 7.5 million times, making it more popular in its first week than Tinder has been in the entire 4 years since its release! If downloads continue at the projected rate, it is predicted that it will have more users than Twitter – pretty impressive stuff!!! Shares in Nintendo have also gone up by 50% since its release!
The game sounds fun, and many users are hailing it as a new way of computing – a social game that encourages other players to communicate and help each other find the Pokémon locations – far more engaging than gaming in a dark room with the curtains drawn. Some are even stating it could be the answer to America’s child obesity problem, by encouraging children to be out and about and active. However, there are some real concerns too – particularly from the NSPCC, who tried, and failed to delay the release of the game in the UK until their concerns were addressed.
The game is targeted at children (and adults) aged 9 and over although many younger players downloading it. There have inevitably been some injuries as a result of players not looking where they are going, and paying more attention to the phone than to their surroundings. People have been walking out into busy roads, and even into lakes because they have been desperate to catch that illusive character!
The app is free, but does have in app spending meaning that children could also be encouraged to spend money to get hints and clues.
The NSPCC is also concerned that the game could encourage children to chat to strangers whom they would otherwise not be tempted to speak to, on the basis that they have found a character – I guess the modern day equivalent of “come and see the puppies in my car’. The following element of the game could be an opportunity for predators to exploit innocent young players and lure them to a location of their choice. A worrying element I’m sure all parents would agree.
I think it’s disappointing that Nintendo didn’t respond to NSPCC’s concern, but for me, most disappointingly is that I don’t think we need something else that will result in a child being glued to technology even more than they already are. I understand that mobiles are a part of modern society (and my three year old can work an ipad better than me), but also frown at the prospect of children having no interaction with their family or friends due to being glued to their phone screens.
What are your thoughts on the game? Are you children playing it? Do you have any concerns for their safety whilst playing?
