YouSpeak: What’s Behind the Pokémon Go Craze
Students talk about app’s appeal, share strategies
From Argentina and Australia to Venezuela and Vietnam, Pokémon Go is the hit game of the year. Photo by iStock.com/adamkaz
Distracted walkers heading down sidewalks. Groups of strangers gathered together in parks. People slowing down in cars in front of bars, churches, shops, and homes. Welcome to the world of Pokémon Go.
Since its release on July 7, the free smartphone game, built on the classic 1990s video game series, has players capture and train Pokémon creatures and has sent millions across the globe out into their neighborhoods in search of pocket monsters that look like dragons, trees, swords, and rats, with names like Charmander, Pikachu, and Squirtle. From Argentina and Australia to Venezuela and Vietnam, it’s the hit game of the year, drawing more daily users than Twitter.
Even before its release in China, South Korea, and India—all major mobile and gaming markets—Pokémon Go has had an estimated 30 million daily users. It is the number one free game in the Google Play store and the second most popular free game in Apple’s App store. Players are reportedly spending $3 million a day on in-app purchases.
For the uninitiated, here’s how the free mobile app works: you download it for iOS or Android use, and it uses your phone’s GPS to find your real-world location. Using Google Maps data, Pokémon appears around you, including location-specific creatures—the fish Magikarp will appear near water while the worm Caterpie will appear in the grass. Players can earn in-game items, like Poké Balls and Potions, from visiting Pokéstops, real-world landmarks recognized in the game’s data, such as Marsh Chapel and Nickerson Field. The augmented reality (AR) feature takes a live view from the phone’s camera and places a Pokémon on screen to simulate seeing a real-life Pikachu. Players can collect 151 different Pokémon species and battle at local gyms (places of special interest or hubs of activity like malls and churches) for more in-game items and upgrades.
BU Today wanted to find out what’s behind the Pokémon Go craze. So for this special edition of “YouSpeak,” we asked students to talk about why they can’t get enough of the game and to share their tips for playing.
“I used to watch Pokémon a lot when I was younger. It was literally my favorite TV show, and I loved the movies. I actually didn’t play the games a lot as a kid, but how can you resist actually living Pokémon in real life? So when I heard the game was coming out I was like, ‘That’s crazy, they can’t do that, that’s amazing.’”Which Pokémon do you most want to catch?
“My favorite Pokémon is Raichu, so I want a Pikachu that I can evolve, because I don’t have one yet. Also, I don’t even know if they’re going to put them in the game, but when I was younger, I really loved Articuno.”What tips do you have for players at BU?
“If you go around to different areas, you find different things, so it’s nice to walk along the harbor to get more water types. If you stay within the city, you kind of just end up with a lot of Pidgeys. If you’re anywhere on BU’s campus, you can probably still use the WiFi, because otherwise the data usage is rough.”
“My older brothers had a Game Boy and Pokémon Red and Blue, and they introduced me to the game. I thought the new game was a fad at first, but once I downloaded it, it was a lot of fun. It requires minimal effort, because normally I am walking to my job out in Allston at WEEI—it’s like a 45- to 50-minute walk—and Pokémon Go breaks the monotony of just walking around.”Which Pokémon do you most want to catch?
“I was a big fan of the Dragonite family back in the old school games, so the second I catch a bunch of Dratini and level it up, I’ll be very happy.”What tips do you have for players at BU?
“There are so many things online that can help you. There are two maps that I’ve seen: one that I’ve made myself, which is a little tour of BU on a loop, and the second one is a crowdsourced map of confirmed locations showing where players have caught certain Pokémon. My one big tip is to go at your own pace.”
“Honestly, I always loved Pokémon as a kid, so my friends told me about it and I downloaded it. I actually spent all last night from like 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. going around playing it. I just started yesterday and it’s grown on me.”Which Pokémon do you most want to catch?
“People have been telling me there’s some Drowzees around. I saw one while on my way driving by, but it ran away from me so for now that’s what I’m looking for.”What tips do you have for players at BU?
“It’s more fun in a group, when you’re all catching Pokémon together. It’s a great way to meet new people. I met some guy who was an absolute guru; he gave me tips and everything. I swear he was about to start levitating. If you go to a park and there’s like 50 people playing, just start a conversation.”
“When I was younger I used to play a lot of the Pokémon games. My favorite was Ruby. I have a lot of friends that go to other schools around here, and they’re all really geeky engineers. They’re all playing Pokémon Go, so I got mixed up in the hype.”Which Pokémon do you most want to catch?
“A Tentacruel, because those are dope. But I have a Squirtle, and I want to eventually get it to a Blastiose.”What tips do you have for players at BU?
“If you turn off the augmented reality it’s a lot easier to catch Pokémon. If you set your phone to low power mode, it keeps your battery life running. Also, the Christian Science Plaza Reflecting Pool—it’s really far off campus, but in layman’s terms, it’s pretty lit over there when it comes to Pokémon.”
“I started playing Pokémon when I was a kid with my brother. It was basically our only way of interacting with each other, because I’m the youngest and he’s the oldest. So we used to play Pokémon cards all the time, and then when it was on Game Boy, we had all of the games and would play on that. And last summer I played Pokémon Showdown online. When Pokémon Go came out the other day, I had to get it. It was free. It was perfect.”Which Pokémon do you most want to catch?
“I just found a Meowth yesterday, which I really wanted to find. A Jynx was really hard to get. I’m looking to get extras of the Nidorans because they’re really hard to evolve, and I want the Nidoking and the Nidoqueen.”What tips do you have for players at BU?
“Go where all the Lure Modules are. Mass Ave has a lot of rare Pokémon that we don’t have in this little area. I like to set up Lure Modules and tell my friends so they can come use it too.”
“Actually my uncle. He’s like 26 years old and kind of likes this stuff, and he called me the other day and told me, ‘Hey, you’ve got to get this game.’ Pokémon apparently released something new for iPhone, and he explained everything to me.”Which Pokémon do you most want to catch?
“I don’t know because I’m tired of finding the same things. I mean I’ve found tons of Pidgeys, tons of Spearows, tons of Zubat. I’m hoping to find something new. Probably a legendary.”What tips do you have for players at BU?
“There’s lots of people playing around here, so that means there are lots of Pokéstops with lure on them, so take advantage of those.”
“We grew up playing this game, so basically in playing Pokémon Go we are kind of just reliving our childhood, but going out and becoming Pokémon masters ourselves. So it’s just an interesting experience: instead of just sitting there playing the game, you’re in the game.”Which Pokémon do you most want to catch?
“Is that a question? Everyone wants to find Mewtwo. But I hear that’s actually not in the game yet. They’re going to be implementing that later with special events and stuff.”What tips do you have for players at BU?
“Have someone drive you around to hit all the Pokéstops you can and collect all the Poké Balls you can because you’re going to need them: those run out pretty quickly if you keep missing Pokémon like I did when I first started playing.”
“I think the biggest part of it for a lot of people like me is the nostalgia factor. I played Pokémon a lot growing up. Pokémon Go is just a fun thing to do, especially because it was released during a great time—summer—when a lot of us have more free time and it’s nice outside. I’m sure I’ll be playing a lot less in the winter, when it’s cold and snowy. It’s a lot of fun, especially when you’re with friends and playing it.”Which Pokémon do you most want to catch?
“I guess more Charmanders, because I haven’t had a single one since I got my starter.”What tips do you have for players at BU?
“There are obviously lots of Pokéstops on campus, because of all the different spots here. Anywhere that’s grassy—the BU Beach, the Esplanade, the Boston Common—is a great place to go.”
“My parents got me a lot of Pokémon games, so I played the games religiously as a kid and have never quite lost my love for them. Now that I finally get to do the real life exploration, I’m shackled to my laptop because my phone keeps running out of battery. I stopped playing for a day because of the gmail access thing, and I lost an entire day of gameplay due to starting a new account. But then they patched it, so it’s fine.”Which Pokémon do you most want to catch?
“I have a Dratini, and I’m very close to having enough candy to evolve it. I want more Gastlys—I want a Gengar; I’m stuck with my Haunter—it’s going to take forever because it takes 100 candies to evolve.”What tips do you have for players at BU?
“Evolving all of those Pidgeys and Rattatas and Weedle and Caterpies will get you quite a bit of experience, especially if you only do the first half of it. If you’re not going to use it, if you evolve it the first time, it uses less candy and still gets you 500 experience points.”
A few things to note before you download the app: be aware that Pokémon Go can quickly drain both your phone’s battery and your cellular data plan (the game has a “Battery Saver” option in the Settings menu). It has also raised a number of privacy issues. A Boston Globe story that ran just after the app was released reported that for those signing up for the game on an Apple iOS device and logging in through their personal Google account, Google spin-off Niantic, one of the game’s developers, gets full access “to all your stored data” and “that gives the company the ability to read your emails of the files you’ve stored in Google Drive.” Niantic has since updated the game, clarifying that the terms listed were erroneous and have been removed, but many players are still treading lightly with their personal information.
The game has created some unexpected headaches. A few weeks ago, a video of a mob surging through the streets of Taipei surfaced; purportedly they were in search of a Snorlax (one of the rarer creatures in the Pokemon firmament). The game has caused so many accidents in Bangkok that police there have said they’ll arrest pedestrians and motorists playing it. In fact, reports of injuries are cropping up across the world as players, distracted by their phone screens, walk into stop signs, fall into potholes, and venture into traffic.
Karen Jacobs (SAR’79), a Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences clinical professor, says that while the game has been great for getting people moving, it’s also putting users at risk: holding your phone at a 30-degree angle puts an added 40 pounds of pressure on your cervical spine. She says users should take a break from the game as soon as they begin to feel any physical discomfort and should bring their iPhones up to eye level to take some pressure off their head and neck.
Thomas Robbins, BU police chief and executive director of public safety, cautions anyone using the Pokémon Go app: “While trekking to Pokéstops, be sure you use caution and common sense. In order to avoid walking into traffic, stationary objects, or other dangerous situations, don’t focus solely on the screen.” He urges students to avoid unfamiliar surroundings, especially if alone, and especially if playing the game after dark. “Make sure you trek with others so that you don’t put yourself in a potentially dangerous environment.”
Connor Lenahan (COM’17) contributed to this story; he can be reached at lenahan@bu.edu.
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