Matt O’Connor
As the biggest media franchise on the planet, Pokémon has remained as one of the pillars of the entertainment industry. The franchise was originally first released in Japan back in 1996, with the rest of the world joining in on what was dubbed as “Pokémania” in the following years. While the franchise remained popular amongst fans for years, it wasn’t until the summer of 2016 where Pokémania made its resurgence. Developed by Game Freak in partnership with the mobile game company Niantic, “Pokémon Go” allows you to catch your favorite pocket monsters in the real world. Using augmented reality, players can travel anywhere from their local gas station to world landmarks to find Pokémon all over the world. When Pokémon Go first released, millions of people went crazy for the game’s innovative ability to immerse themselves in a world where Pokémon can be battled and caught while exploring local and foreign locations. However, the game was riddled with various controversies during its initial surge in popularity. During the game’s peak, Pokémon Go players experienced unfortunate Pokémon locations, poorly planned events, and even loss of life.
A Legendary Disaster
In July of 2017, Pokémon Go developer Niantic hosted the first official Pokémon Go Fest in Chicago’s Grant Park to celebrate the first anniversary of the now acclaimed mobile game. Niantic promised players a day of fun opportunities and a chance to connect with the game’s community and developers. But the main draw of the event was the chance to capture rare and sought after Pokémon, including the Legendary Pokémon Lugia. Unfortunately, the event didn’t go as planned. Players began complaining about difficulties logging in to the Pokémon Go app due to overloaded game servers, and people who had been waiting for hours in the event’s queue were furious. When the CEO of Niantic took to the stage to address the issues, he was met with an army of fans shouting “We can’t play” and was booed offstage. Once the event concluded, Niantic issued an apology and gave all registered participants the highly desired Lugia for free. Thankfully, Niantic’s future Pokémon Go Fests have gone much more smoothly, but many dedicated players will never forget the day when Niantic’s good graces went south.
Exploration Over Ethics
Real world locations are used as a basis for the game’s PokéStops, which are spots for players to collect items and encounter surrounding wild Pokémon. PokéStops are typically placed around landmarks and monuments. But the placement of these PokéStops in locations with an often historical background have often been met with confusion and disapproval. One example of this can be seen when players began catching Pokémon and visiting the PokéStop in the U.S Holocaust museum. Only a week after the game launched, the historic grounds in Washington D.C was appalled by the large number of visitors who were on their phones and catching Pokémon in such a somber and inappropriate environment. What was worse was some of the various Pokémon that would frequently appear near the museum’s PokéStop. Ghost and Poison type Pokémon would show up in or around the museum. One of these Pokémon, known as Koffing, is a sentient ball of gas. Many of the Holocaust Museum’s staff and contributors quickly assumed that the Pokémon’s frequent appearance was meant to be some sort of joke at the expense of the Holocaust victims that died via toxic inhalation. The museum soon put out a statement saying that “Playing Pokémon Go in a memorial dedicated to the victims of Nazism is extremely inappropriate,” Many players respected the museum’s wishes and avoided playing the game around the grounds.
Dangers And Death
Since Pokémon Go is all about traveling to different places in order to seek out and catch the iconic creatures within the game, there’s a number of dangers and threats that have popped up during the experiences of many players. Niantic themselves have issued multiple warnings to players to avoid playing the game while driving or in potentially hazardous areas. But sadly, players have encountered dangerous or even fatal situations surrounding the game. 20 year old college baseball player Calvin Riley was playing Pokémon Go with some friends just outside of Aquatic Park in San Francisco when he was suddenly shot in the torso. He later died from his injuries. Even many years after his death, this case has never been solved. Another player from Wyoming named Shayla Wiggins was exploring around the Big Wind River in her hometown of Riverton. While searching for Water type Pokémon, Wiggins accidentally discovered the dead body of a man who had seemingly fallen into and died in the river. There were even several instances of orchestrated robberies using the game. A group of teenagers in Missouri used the app to create a PokéStop to lure unsuspecting players into a trap and would rob them of their valuables. All of these events occurred in the first few months of the game’s immense success.
Moving Forward
Pokémon Go allowed players to experience the franchise in a whole new way, but with that surge in popularity came a number of issues. Thankfully, Niantic quickly caught wind of the controversies surrounding the game and did their best to modify the game and issue warnings to players to reduce similar events from happening. It’s now been more than eight years since Pokémon Go launched back in 2016, and the game is still hugely successful. But the difficulties, ignorance and fatalities associated with the game’s early life will never be forgotten by the community.
