If you have been wondering why you are seeing a far larger number of teenagers out and about in Oakville, their increased desire to be outside has to do with Nintendo’s release of Pokemon Go.
Pokemon Go had released in the US and other European countries, but only formally released in Canada on Sunday, July 17, 2016. There were work-a-rounds for the very diligent players, but officially Nintendo announced the Canadian launch on twitter at 3:17 PM. Within the hour the site had crashed due to the volume of downloads, but was back online a couple of hours later.
Pokemon, a popular first generation digital game launched in 1996, and took off. Pokemon Go allows players to collect various Pokemon characters, by walking around communities trying to find them via their smartphones. The program uses Google maps and gives the game’s players a sense of being inside the game. Locations tend to be parks, public buildings, and landmarks. After collecting as many characters as possible players can add the Pokemon to their team.
Halton Regional Police did put out a statement that players need to keep close attention to their surroundings to avoid walking out into traffic. Many times Pokemon will show up at a location late at night, and have caused concern among community members regarding suspicious activity, as teenagers search to increase their numbers.
To download the game, players must go through the app and create an account or through a Google account; however, that means that the Nintendo can read gmail, and know exactly where the players are at any given time. On the positive side, teenagers are crawling out of their basements and bedrooms, and getting outside while having fun. If you are lucky enough to have bought stock before the release you would have realized an increase in value of plus 100%. Nintendo stock on the NASDAQ at close was $37.37 up from $16.81 on June 27, 2016.
So as the craze continues, you'll start seeing more and more young people walking around town staring at their smartphones. It definitively is a new way to get people outside.