Pokémon GO takes the world by storm

Other more light-hearted stories can be found all over social media regarding the effects of gameplay.

James Breakwell, twitter user and comedy writer, shared his experience while playing. Whether it’s a telephone pole, a tree, or a busy street, this scenario is not uncommon. It’s no secret that the sweeping sensation in entertainment right now is the newly released Pokémon game, Pokémon Go. In case you actually have been living under a rock, Pokémon Go is an application game based off of the video game experience for Game Boy, created in 1995. The app allows you to experience pokémon in a virtual reality setting that allows you to catch them in your house, neighborhood, or local churches and libraries.

While several formats of the video game have reached sales of over 200 million copies, recode.com estimates that there are 9.55 million daily U.S. users of Pokémon Go since it’s release on July 6th.

The app is all over social media including Snapchat and Instagram, and all over the news as well. Gamers on YouTube are chronicling their app experience in video blogs that feature their game play, what they have caught and how they are using the apps features.

There has been quite a bit of buzz around the pros and cons of the app, like the unintentional exercise that the app produces and it’s distracting nature.

San Diego saw one of the more devastating consequences of the app during the afternoon on July 14, when two men fell off a cliff while playing the game; the extent of their injuries is unfortunately unknown.

Wyoming’s disturbing experiences with the game include an incident in which a woman found a dead body. She had walked to a river in search of a water-type pokémon, and found a man lying face down in the river instead. The man appeared to have been a part of an accidental drowning.

The Toledo Zoo in Ohio experienced criminal trespassing on July 14, when two Pokémon Go players were seen on zoo security cameras. They hopped the zoo’s fence in search of Pokémon and were arrested when found.

Several other stories chronicle events in which players have been lured to certain spots to have their smartphones stolen.

While some businesses are discouraged by the fact that their building has been deemed a “Poké stop” or that people have been visiting only to find these fictional and virtual characters, The Doncaster Museum in South Yorkshire found a way to use it to their advantage.

Our very own University of Dayton has several Poké stops, including Roesch Library, ArtStreet, and the sculptures outside of the Science Center, to name a few. It will certainly be interesting to see what comes of gameplay on campus this fall.

Whatever your feeling about the app, if you are a player, be sure to be aware of your surroundings, don’t participate in criminal activity, and remember that not even a Ditto is worth your life. (Though, as far as I know, you would be the first to find one.)

You can’t “be the very best like no one ever was,” if you get hit by a car. Happy hunting!