THE CONVERSATION ABOUT
POKÉMON GO
When game developer Niantic released the smartphone game
Pokémon Go
in the summer of 2016, the response was intense. It was
the first popular augmented reality (AR) video game.
Pokémon Go
uses smartphones’ location services and cameras to display images
of Pokémon in the real world around the players. Players move from
place to place to find, capture, and train the adorable creatures.
It quickly became the most downloaded app of 2016, achieving more
than 100 million downloads within a month of the game’s release.
People credited
Pokémon Go
for a wealth of positive
developments in the future of video game technology. Tech journalist
Sarah Jeong wrote,
“[
Pokémon Go
] gave
me new eyes with
which to look at my
city. It pushed me to
enjoy the sunshine and
fresh air, and to strike
up conversations with
strangers.”
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Health-care
worker Kay Collins,
interviewed by a
reporter after playing the
game for hours in San
Francisco, California,
said, “My pedometer
says I’ve taken way, way more steps throughout the day than I used
to before I started playing this game.”
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Student Brad Ensworth found
“
[
Pokémon Go
] gave me new eyes
with which to look at my city. It
pushed me to enjoy the sunshine
and fresh air, and to strike up
conversations with strangers.
”
9
–Sarah Jeong, tech journalist
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