By Garth Shanklin
Sun staff
In the mid-1990s, Pokémon was everywhere. The card game, the television show and the newly-released handheld game combined to capture the attention of children all over the world.
As most fads do, the furor died out over time, but Pokémon continued to maintain strong popularity throughout the world by continuing to appeal to a younger generation, thus cultivating new fans and ensuring continued support.
The generation of fans who grew up with the original games got a blast from the past last month with the release of Pokemon Go, a mobile app which uses augmented reality to bring Pokémon into the real world.
Using a smartphone camera, the app projects a two-dimensional image of a Pokémon into wherever the user is standing, which can make it look like the Pokémon is actually in front of the player.
For fans of the first generation of games, the release of the app has been a welcome throwback to their childhood. As of now, the app only allows players to catch the original 151 Pokémon, though developer Niantic has hinted more are on the way.
Jackie Faschner, of Union Township, began playing the game when it first came out. She said once the app was released, she knew she had to download it.
“The first generation was the best, that’s when I started playing,” Jackie Faschner “I collected all the cards and everything. I was a maniac. As soon as this came out, I was like ‘Oh my gosh, this is the greatest thing ever and I have to start playing.’”
Union Township’s Jason Brown agreed with Faschner, adding it helped bring back childhood memories.
“It was fun, something you can do with your friends and everyone talked about it,” Brown said. “It reminds me of grade school, and normally I like not to be reminded of grade school, but it’s a great memory.”
Since the app’s release in the United States on July 6, the app has amassed over 20 million users and earlier this week crossed the 100 million download threshold, according to TechCrunch.
However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Server issues plagued the app after release, as the lucky few fans who were actually able to log into the game encountered numerous glitches that usually resulted in the app freezing.
Over time, the server issues have gotten better, but within the last week issues with the in-game tracking feature again sparked anger amongst fans.
The app launched with a system that used three footprints to signify how close the player was to a Pokémon. The fewer the footprints, the closer the player was. However, a few weeks after release, the footprint feature began to show all Pokémon at a maximum distance, even when they weren’t. That sparked outside developers to create apps and websites like PokéVision to help players find Pokémon.
Those sites and apps were mostly rendered useless earlier this month, when instead of issuing a release to fix the problems with the game, Niantic removed the tracking feature entirely and began asking tracking websites to shut down, according to Forbes.
Since the update, the overall rating for the app on the Apple Store has plummeted below two stars.
At any rate, hardcore fans of the game can still enjoy catching Pokémon in the real world. That in itself comes with dangers, as the app has been linked to attempted robberies, car accidents and even caused two people to walk off a cliff.
Still, Faschner said she believes the good in the app outweighs the bad.
“I know there can be some negatives, like criminals doing the lures, but you get to go outside and walk around,” Faschner said. “It gets kids and people outside, and I can’t tell you how many people that I’ve just gone up and talked to. We’ve never met before, but we talked like we’re best friends. It gets people to socialize, and that’s awesome.”
According to Lt. Anthony Rees with the Union Township Police Department, his area has not seen any accidents or criminal activity linked to the app.
“I can’t think of any accidents we’ve had or incidents when someone was engaged in that when it happened,” Rees said. “I don’t know if it’s really causing a stir or if we’ve had any incidents related to it directly.”
However, he still has a few safety tips for would-be Pokémon masters on their quests to catch ‘em all.
“I would hope that you’re not doing this while driving,” Rees said. “It’d be very similar to texting while driving. Anything that diverts your attention away from the roads while you’re driving is not a good thing. If you’re walking across the crosswalk or across the street or anything else where there’s traffic, you don’t want to lead to accidents. No game is worth getting injured or losing your life, so I recommend anyone who’s engaged in it to pay attention and keep your wits about you.”