Disturbing reports are coming in from all corners of the Nonahood. The Lake Nona area has recently become flooded with several new breeds of wild animals. Even more disturbing, it seems that this situation is not isolated to our community. It appears to have reached a global scale, and no one is quite sure what to make of it. The phenomenon has led many intrepid neighbors to take matters into their own hands. You may have noticed residents roaming the area in their attempt to locate and trap these creatures.
Luckily, none of these wild creatures exists in the real world – this new development is all the result of a game called Pokémon Go. Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise jumped from game consoles to mobile phones on June 6. The response has been staggering. Within 13 hours of the U.S. launch, the app topped the highest-grossing app charts. People are spending more time in the app than Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter or Instagram.
While the game is free to download and play, small optional purchases add up to more than $1 million in revenue per day. Five days after launch, Nintendo’s market value was up $9 billion. So, what is all the fuss about? Why has this game hit such a nerve?
The entire premise of the game is augmented reality (AR). AR isn’t a new idea, but Pokémon Go is what thrust it onto center stage. The idea behind AR is to overlay virtual objects (or creatures) over real-world locations. In stark contrast to most video games, you have to actually go outside to play Pokémon Go. The result is a far-reaching phenomenon. Will it be a fad or lead to a whole new paradigm of entertainment and interaction?
Things get even more interesting when one of the in-game locations matches up with a business. Donna Mazzarelli, a Laureate Park resident, owns Fishlips Waterfront, a restaurant in Port Canaveral. Fishlips happens to have two “Pokéstops” onsite. I asked Donna if the game has affected her business at all. “It’s been great. We had a group of 150 visit here last weekend. They came for Pokémon and stayed for dinner! New patrons are telling us they chose our restaurant over others because of the stops,” she said.
The in-game locations come from the game developer’s previous AR game. New submissions for locations went on hold in September 2015. As a result, newer construction areas like Lake Nona have fewer locations to visit. There are some spots, though: the Eagle Creek entrance, the Nemours Hospital area, and Crescent Park.
The people I spoke with had mixed opinions of the game. The spectrum goes from dumb fad to best game ever. Whatever you think of the game, you have to admit that it is impressive how everyone seems to be talking about it. Pokémon Go has planted the AR flag – who knows what’s next?
One final note: Always pay attention to where you are walking in the real world while you track down virtual beasties. Traffic, private property, and real wild animals should be avoided.
