By Brady Sheaffer ’18

On July 6th, 2015 a relatively unknown company named Niantic released one of the most revolutionary apps in history, Pokémon Go, which changed the way we look at handheld virtual gaming and opened up countless opportunities for future projects. As many of you are familiar with this addicting app, Pokémon Go users must physically navigate the settings around them in order to find and capture virtual monsters hidden in the real world. Other unique features include an augmented reality allowing players to see Pokémon in surroundings around them through phones and the use of popular locations as PokéStops and PokéGyms. Additionally, Pokémon Go has smashed previous records on the Apple Store because of its free access and popular branding. Within the first week, despite only being available to Australia and the United States, it has amassed a staggering 7.2 million downloads. Over time as the game got released to Europe, South America, and Asia the CEO of Niantic John Hanke confirmed that Pokémon Go had accumulated 500 million downloads as of September 7th with upcoming plans to make it available for the Apple Watch. The average cell phone user will play Pokémon Go for around 30 minutes a day, which has skyrocketed past social media giants such as Facebook, who are at 22 minutes per day.

With the release of the app came many unpredictable benefits such as the dynamic, interactive culture that formed. Pokémon Go has the ability to get people, especially youth, to go outside and exercise. There have been accounts of people recording upwards of 17,000 steps in a day playing the game or going on mad hunts for rare Pokémon, running 20 blocks through the city. Since the app’s release, players have walked a net 3 billion miles, showing how much this game has impacted people’s lives and health. With aforementioned 500 million downloads worldwide it is almost impossible not to run into someone playing the game; over the summer, I encountered groups of random strangers who were fellow players with whom I enjoyed the afternoons. As our local expert and Pokémon Go Connoisseur Danny Lifson recounts, “Over the summer, I was living on 72nd and Broadway, and every day I saw 3,000-4,000 people at a time gathered at Central Park South to all play this game together. It was spectacular; people would be selling Pokémon Art, you would have the chance to meet and interact with interesting people, and it was a way to remove barriers and just have fun.”

This idea of breaking barriers is one of the most profound benefits of this truly amazing game that  has brought so many people together in a way no one had thought possible. There are many cases of complete strangers who go on to have a great time playing together regardless of racial, religious, or cultural differences, including meeting police officers and getting them hooked on the game or having people rediscover their neighborhood with a group of new friends. Even stores and restaurants are joining in on the all-inclusive fun, offering discounts for players of a certain team (Valor, Mystic, or Instinct) or for reaching a certain level. With so many positives surrounding Pokémon Go, it was even promoted at school by our recent convocation speaker, Tim Hwang, Class of ‘04, who stated its popularity and importance of bringing a community together. As a concluding note I once again refer to our awe-inspiring leader in all things Pokémon, Danny Lifson: “The game is incredible, the community is awesome, and the environment that it created is nothing less than spectacular.”

~If interested in joining a Pokémon Go Club please contact bsheaffer18@newarka.edu or dlifson18@newarka.edu~

Sources:

http://fusion.net/story/323694/pokemon-go-making-a-difference/

http://fortune.com/2016/07/22/pokemon-go-apple-app-store/

Picture Sources:

http://pokegosu.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/pokemongo-cp.jpg

Caption: Danny Lifson’s impressive Pokémon Go squad Caption: Kids at Central Park enjoying an afternoon of Pokémon Go

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