The players are easy to spot. Kids and adults roaming the city with their smartphones in hand. Sometimes they are alone and sometimes they are in groups. These are players in a smartphone-based game called Pokémon Go. But is it all just fun and games?
First, what is this game and why are so many attracted to it?
Pokémon Go is a map-based app for iPhone and Android smartphones from Niantic, The Pokémon Company and Nintendo. Players view a map of their immediate area on their phone. Scattered across the map are items and cartoon monsters that can be collected/captured by getting near to them and tapping and swiping on your phone’s screen just so. There are locations where players are likely to gather. These are known as PokeStops where people can catch their Pokémon and Gyms where Pokémon can battle to determine the champion of the gym (like becoming mayor on Foursquare).
This free-to-play game is enough to get people out wandering their neighborhoods and towns.
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Click for more informationShould parents be concerned? According to the many recent articles (and there are millions of them) related to this sudden insurgence of the game, the answer is a solid yes and no.
According to security experts, players on iPhones who use their Google accounts to sign into the game have granted the game publishers broad access to their Google mail and other accounts. While nothing actually nefarious has yet to be uncovered regarding this, it is troubling so many would grant such access (assumedly due to not bothering to read the details during the sign up process) and, also, that the publisher would overlook such overreaching settings in their programming.
It has to come as some relief for parents to see their kids becoming reacquainted with the world outside. This change in behavior is also responsible for finding things ranging from a loaded gun to a dead body in locations apparently void of human presence otherwise. Unfortunately, criminals have also used the game to attract victims to locations where they were then robbed.
But with this surge in outdoor activity comes reports of players, diligently studying their phone’s screen, walking into the path of oncoming traffic. And drivers have been reported to crash their cars while playing.
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People not in the know about this latest fad have called police when they see people taking a sudden interest in their home or a vehicle parked at the curb. These could be PokeStops or Gyms built into the game attracting a lot of attention and at all hours.
Currently, the way to deal with an unwanted PokeStop or gym is to fill out this form requesting it be removed. If that doesn’t work, you can make an appeal at this new Google Plus page specifically dedicated to Pokémon Go.
But for most businesses attracting attention and getting people to congregate is desirable and often very expensive to accomplish. So does this game hold a unique ability to draw a crowd near or into a business? At this early point in the game’s development, the answer is yes and no.
According to an interview with the Niantic CEO printed in the New York Times says the time will come for businesses to sponsor their locations so they would appear in the game. It is just not available now.
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Click for more informationFor now, the opportunity for businesses is to first check to see if their location or a nearby location is already designated a PokeStop or Gym and to leverage it (visible signage, player promotions, etc.) if it is. There is no easy way to currently do that other than installing Pokémon Go on a smartphone and check from within the game.
Also from within the game, a business (or anyone) can purchase a Lure Module which is something that attracts Pokémon to a spot for 30 minutes. After purchasing a Lure Module, players may migrate to wherever that module is located. Activating one at a PokeStop near your business can attract anybody nearby playing.