So for my first blog post on the site I’ve decided to start things off with the biggest thing going on: Pokémon Go. To say this thing is everywhere is an understatement.

At first it seemed to just be taking over my own social media, which at college age makes sense. But next thing I know, Serious, non-tech sites like CNN, TIME, and the freaking Today Show have extensive coverage of the Pokepocalypse. People are playing this thing at the strip club/graveyard, at the Westboro Baptist Church, and Fighting ISIS in Iraq.

But not all is well in the Poke-verse (yes I'm gonna keep making these dumb puns)

Go has some fundamental problems that cant be fixed overnight. first off, the game has created an environment where there are legions of people are roaming around to set coordinates that:

A. Anybody with the app can see.

while you cant actually see other players, you can see where they are going. because of this, its incredibly easy to predict human behavior. (which, unless you happen to be the NSA or ESPN, isn't easy) I know I like to joke about the fact that Miitomo is Nintendo doing Market Research, one dumb quiz at a time, but the analysis one could do with this stuff is astounding. GO's developer, Niantic Labs, is an offshoot of google. it developed its first AR game, Ingress, to help map footpaths and other pedestrian locations. (more on that in a sec.). Already people have been straight up mugged because people are staking out Pokemon to Poke-Rob you.

B. Aren't always the most public places.

I've seen multiple social media posts where people have claimed to see non starter Pokemon (who all spawn when you start) in backyards and houses. i personally am not able to see for sure, but it seems that the game doesn't have any real strict guidelines for the exact locations of Pokemon. speaking of which, is ISIS still the weirdest place people have played GO?

Now as far as Landmarks, like the gyms, we have a way to see those on a larger scale. as i mentioned earlier, GO is built on the foundations of ingress. most of the locations in the two seem to be shared, and there is a map of ingress' world. all of the dots are individual landmarks. As you can see, its very easy for GO to be luring you somewhere you never would be before. that may sound great, but if it means going to Shadyville, count my white, skinny, frail ass out.

But What Does It mean?

In the Cyberscurity World, there's a theoretical nightmare on the cusp of reality. the world where because some idiot thought he should make a Wi-Fi Microwave, toaster, and oven 3-in-1 combo, a hacker burns down your house. we like to joke about Watch Dogs as being kind of absurd, but when i play it, i get reminded how painstakingly close we are to it being reality. except the skills needed isnt gonna limit it to one douche in a trenchcoat, but thousands of random people on the Internet

In conclusion, we are doomed.

I think people will stop talking about this game in a week.

It's made the front page of BBC news* explaining what it is - clearly we're all doomed!

*Currently In the "Explainers" section after "Features" but before "Sport"

Oh no! People can tell where players in general are going to congregate. How is this any worse than someone being mugged outside of a bar or litterally anywhere else? Is it because it's a game?

On the issue of Pokemon appearing within buildings and homes, making it impossible to catch them, all you have to do is tap on the pokemon and as long as they're within a set radius of you, you're able to catch them. I've found a few that were indoors and I just needed to be on the sidewalk to get them. It's pretty generous with range.

That's not to say nobody is ever going to trespass to get their stupid digital monsters, though. To me, the more serious issue is how distracting it can be. The app needs to be actively opened on your phone for it to notify you of Pokemon sightings, having it in lock mode won't notify you. I've seen a LOT of people so glued to their phone that I worry they'll step out into traffic or stumble off a path or something.

TIL before Pokemon Go, people didn't wander around obliviously with their cell phones out.

I think that's a technical issue they couldn't get around. Instead they've created this secondary arm-band Pokéball thing that lights up which you can use to try to catch Pokémon with a single click without needing your phone out. Their primary market is for runners/those out exercising who can't check screens, but it's also a pretty great safety device for keeping aware of your surroundings (even if it's annoying to add something to your wrist/ clip on your person.

@dixavd: I can't imagine the majority of people playing this will use one of those, so I'd hope that people keep their wits about them. I kind of know where the hot spots are in my town and plan to be fair more cautious (than usual) when driving through them.

I personally give it 2 - 3 weeks, judging by the passion my friends/entire city play this "game" with. But I agree, it strikes me as something that'll burn out relatively quickly (after making like a few hundred million dollars, of course).

I haven't actually played the game, but I thought the locations of pokemon and other stuff was based on the data the developers got from another game. Do players current location have an impact on the game?

Regarding the phones, pretty much everyone under 60 has an expensive smartphone now anyway, I don't think it matters that much.

Probably

"is ISIS still the weirdest place people have played GO?"

I hear the weather in ISIS is lovely this time of year.

For a start, you can download the app outside of the US/UK/AU from an app store in one of those countries or, if abroad, using the APK, but it won't be populated by any data. So no wild pokemon, no pokestops, no gyms. Which means that dude out on the Mosul frontline caught a squirtle and then sat around staring at an empty satellite map until he got bored. And I know that's the case, because I did exactly the same thing here in Asia.

Secondly, just because the app tells you that there's a gym or pokestop in a certain area doesn't mean you're obligated to wander over there at 3am and investigate it, and if you're letting your kids do it without supervision then I'd argue that's the parents fault, not the app. Also I'm prepared to bet that "Shadyville" has just as many families as everywhere else, and that the people living there appreciate being able to play this dumb app just as much as their neighbors on the other side of the city.

Penultimately, thieves being able to observe and react to human location data is hardly revolutionary. Every time you step outside you're putting yourself at risk of interaction with other human beings which will always have the potential to cause problems, but if you apply the same common sense as you do the rest of the time, you're not putting yourself in any more danger than any other point in your life.

Lastly, and most importantly, the game has brought together millions of people. People are exploring, walking instead of driving, taking their kids out on adventures, meeting and talking with like-minded people and making new friends. It's free, and wholesome. It's a giant middle-finger to everyone who still thinks that videogames are for anti-social shut-ins, and it's introducing Pokemon to an entire new generation of kids.

When you consider all that, I think the pros massively outweigh the cons.

I give maybe a month before all the casuals find the next shitty phone game craze to pass the time on their comutes and this thing is forgotten.

Do I need to explain why this post is hilarious

You make some very valid points, but my fears are far greater. This game is Nintendo's largest release in a LONG time, and what makes money drives content. We're going to be looking at a watered down derrivitive mobile nintendo focus, and they'll release even FEWER first party games now. sad face, crying sad face, mad face.

@frostyryan said:

Seems apt? Most people who play phone games exclusively (or pretty close) are by definition casuals for whom gaming is not a major hobby.