Shannon Flynn
Editor
Pokémon Go, an interactive Pokémon based iPhone and Android game was without a doubt the app of the summer. The game was released this summer on July seventh and uses a device’s GPS system to create a virtual Pokémon world for players that they can access from their iPhones. The game has been linked to freak accidents and addicting behaviors by its players, concerning parents to wonder if it is just another fade or the next iPhone phenomenon.
The app is based off of the Cartoon anime show written by Takeshi Shudo, and holding the place for the fifth longest running animated TV show. With so many fans of the show, the spin off app did insanely well for the Pokémon franchise and one of their shareholders Nintendo, accounting for 28 percent of market revenue for all mobile games according to GamingBolt.com.
The apps popularity spread through friends and social media to the original fans of the show, down to teenagers and younger children. Freshman Natalie Goncalves played the app frequently this summer and mentioned how the app is appreciated by the older generations, Goncalves said, “fanatics have been waiting for this game for so long.” She also said even if you don’t really know anything about Pokémon the game can still fun, and she plays at local parks and beaches with her friends who enjoy how it is, “interactive” and “mixes exercise with a game.” Ethan Skuches, junior, also mentioned he played and enjoyed the app this summer but doesn’t think it has him hooked.
Crazy stories of freak accidents came hand in hand with the apps worldwide popularity. This including an article reported by CBS.news about nineteen recent arrests and reports of car accidents, robberies, mugs, and even falls off of cliffs all linked to Pokémon Go. Freshman Alina Goorhigian commented on the accidents saying that is part of the reason why she doesn’t play Pokémon Go. Goorhigian said, “I don’t want to find anything murderous or creepy” also that she is “too lazy to play because you have to walk around.” However she does understand that people like the app because it’s fun catching the creatures and people can bond over video games, which she does with her friends who opt to play the original Game Boy version of Pokémon.
The app overall has gathered popularity from fans, and those just hearing about it in the news or seeing it firsthand. Just walking in downtown Milford, passerbyers can see players on the green and near stores catching Pokeballs and going to the local Pokestops. The summer may have ended along with the first burst of activity in regards to the app’s success but avid fans of the game still play and the true test will come in later months if the Pokémon trainers will be catching them all in the snow.
