Go, Pokemon Go ... game takes off, boosting listless Nintendo

[yuiyoshida]

An image from the Pokemon Go app features Pikachu and his trainer. ((c) 2016 Niantic, Inc., (c) 2016 Pokemon, (c) 1995-2016 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.)

Nintendo Co. hopes Pokemon Go's global surge will help the Kyoto-based firm escape from years of stagnant corporate performances.

The excitement surrounding the new smartphone app has pushed up Nintendo's stock price by about 1.6 times over four trading days.

Before the app was made available in Australia and New Zealand on July 6, Japan time, and the United States on July 7, Nintendo's stock was trading at around 14,000 yen ($134). But the closing price July 12 was 22,840 yen.

Ironically, one reason for Nintendo's poor recent performances was its sluggish entry into the smartphone game market.

In a bid to catch up, Nintendo announced in March 2015 that it was entering into a partnership with the Tokyo-based smartphone game and information technology company DeNA Co.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201607130028.html

[snooper2]

1. I give it 2-3 months for this fad to wear off, probably after a couple Darwin awards

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Pet rocks, Beanie Babies, Cabbage Patch... I could go on...

dorks with their noses stuck on a phone.

[white_wolf]

9. Pokemon has been a thing since the 90s.

It's not as big as it once was, sure, but it definitely has staying power. The real question is, will Go still be popular when the next 3DS games come out? I suspect not.

[exboyfil]

3. Do you see the image in your phone while moving

If so it appears to be a safety issue. For example you are not allowed to look at your phone while walking at work. Also does the Pokemon lead you into potentially dangerous situations? Texting and the Snapchat application are already problems.

[Motown_Johnny]

15. You see an image of your avatar on a map...

I downloaded it yesterday just to see what all the fuss was about, then uninstalled it about an hour later.


It uses your GPS to show your avatar on a map of your real world location. Then it creates pokemon in the area and you need to move to that location to catch them (throwing pokeball). It also uses locations near you where you can go to pick up supplies. A public library was one I noticed, also the office for a local theater group.

It can easily cause a safety issue for kids riding their bikes. If you see a tween on a bike looking at his/her phone you can bet what is going on.

[exboyfil]

20. Sounds like it

Whenever you are moving you should be using your eyes and ears. Just another distraction in our modern world. A world were large hunks of metal drive by at high rates of speed (not to mention bicyclists, dogs, other people, skate boarders)

[WolverineDG]

30. it has sound & vibration cues

you don't have to look at your phone the entire time.

[closeupready]

4. Ah! THAT'S what this is all about - someone's doing a pump-and-dump, I'd wager.

[Motown_Johnny]

16. I doubt anyone saw this getting so big so quickly.

It seems to be a new twist on phone games. Using your real world location to create objectives near you that you must actually move to (in the real world) to achieve.


I could be wrong, but I am not aware of any other game that does this (although you can bet there will be plenty more soon).

[closeupready]

23. Of course not - and I realized the silliness of the idea after I posted it.

Still, I've been around long enough to know that most of the time, entities are working behind the scenes to profit, and most of those times, their workings are obscure. (muhuhahahaha! )

[proverbialwisdom]

5. Important safety tips via LASD Nixle alerts here.

http://local.nixle.com/alert/5680860/

[cwydro]

6. I've read several articles about this.

Apparently the app gains access to your email.

[TCJ70]

7. It's pretty basic at the moment, but still a ton of fun...

...especially if you have friends that are into it as well. Our whole office is playing so when we take breaks or go on walks it's something fun to do.

The best benefit, though, is that my entire family is getting out of the house more. Bike rides, family walks, Pokemon hunts...it's been a really great thing for us health wise and relationally.

[LanternWaste]

13. That's what I don't get...

That's what I don't get... conversations have for days been filled with with the more-clever-than-thou shtick criticizing the game which as far as I can tell, is no more nor no less silly than Monopoly, Dungeons & Dragons, Grand Theft Auto, and a host of other benign forms of commercial entertainment. You and your family and friends are having fun together-- which seems to be the point of games.

Is its own popularity the reason so many are willing to mock it, while knowing so very little of it? If so, I certainly hope the hipster, t-shirt-with-clever-branding, I'm-a-nihilist-because-I-wear-black, anything-but-alt-rock-sucks, nothing-means-anything, I'm-so-unique-because-I-dress-like-every-other-Hipster crowd becomes popular enough to warrant its own special mocking on HBO.

[TCJ70]

17. I think so...

...people generally don't equate video games with community (unless you're part of one). They equate them with people sitting in basements with no lights on. So that portion of this game can get lost in the idea of people just staring at their phones. There are also few mobile games that you can truly play with other people at the same time. This game breaks that mold and the more people look into it the more people will see that it is a different type of mobile game that really has the ability to bring people together.

[hobbit709]

21. There's a big difference between sitting around with others playing a game

and walking or driving with your eyes glued to a little screen instead of your surroundings.

situational awareness is a good survival mechanism. Being oblivious isn't

[exboyfil]

24. Driving good night

They have to disable the screen when in motion (I think even walking speed) but definitely driving and biking speed.

[TCJ70]

25. While you're walking there's a battery saver mode that can turn the screen off...

...yet allow the phone to vibrate if a Pokemon is nearby. That way you don't have to keep your eyes "glued to a little screen". So rest easy...they thought ahead.

[hobbit709]

26. Right! What are the odds of most people using that feature?

[TCJ70]

27. People value their battery life...

...every person I've showed it to turned it on. What would be nice would be if the app prompted people about it. It's not hidden, it's on the main options screen.

[B2G]

29. Very high

Unless you want to end the game after 30 minutes.

The screen is very hard to see in sunlight. You have to rely on the vibrate feature during daylight hours.

[hobbit709]

31. Judging from what I see around here with people on their phones I doubt

they're worried about battery life as they step off the curb without looking at anything except that little screen.

[B2G]

32. Oh whatever.

Don't play. If you have kids, don't let them either.

See how easy that was?

[hobbit709]

36. Step off a curb without looking and Newton's Laws win every time.

We don't have sabertooths any more to weed out the slow and unobservant.

[B2G]

37. Yep. And considering the app can work off of virbrations when you're walking

guess the slow learners will get weeded out.

Oh well. Everything in life has risks.

[exboyfil]

22. Funny I didn't need an animated animal

to walk with my girls. That is my time to talk to them.

So long as it is safe. I would like to see the application blank out while you are in motion.

[TCJ70]

33. The judgement is strong with this one...

...good grief, whatever brings people together is fine.

[miyazaki]

8. This concept could change marketing/advertising forevor

Some funny responses here. To think that this franchise began by essentially a high school drop-out and Nintendo initially balking on the idea but took a chance anyway.

[NCTraveler]

10. Not familiar with the game.

But my front yard turned into some kind of Pokemon attraction last night. First person to arrive was yelling to their buddy in the car "how do I capture it". The next dozen were talking about rocks among other things. I hope it is some kind of glitch because it's a really bad idea to send people onto private property in Florida.

I'm the more welcoming type and enjoyed watching them have fun. Might have a problem if it continues.

[Initech]

11. I've been saying for years that Nintendo should bring its legacy titles to Android and iOS.

They could make a ton of cash porting their legacy titles like Mario 64, Zelda: A Link To The Past, Metroid, Super Mario World, Mario Kart to Android and iOS. Maybe Pokemon Go will be a gateway to us seeing more Nintendo games on these platforms.

[Logical]

12. I agree, atari too! Nt

[Act_of_Reparation]

35. Agreed.

SquareSoft already did it with their early Final Fantasy titles.

[0rganism]

14. my teenage son took the dog on a 2.5km walk this morning to hatch a pokemon egg

he's been real sick lately, but he got rolling for this

ofc there are already some problems with this game, and i'm sure more will arise as time goes on, but so far it's a real gift to parents

i have never before seen a video game get people to walk around in their communities and visit with each other personally
Genius! thanks Nintendo!

[malaise]

18. Just the idea that young folks are going outside and walking

is good enough for me

[B2G]

19. My daughter went to a bar last night and set a lure.

It drew in so many customers, the manager picked up her tab.

She's coming over tomorrow to show me what the hell I'm doing. Lol.

[MowCowWhoHow III]

28. It's a game. Everyone here's playing it. It's fun!

[Paladin]

34. Gamers, fouling the National Holocaust Museum in D.C.?

Fuck them, and the idiotic game with which they are enthralled.

[yuiyoshida]

38. I bet you are a riot

at parties!

[pinboy3niner]

39. I do not game with you!

[yuiyoshida]

40. Yeah he got the evil game...

Since turning it on his stove set itself on fire, his own car tried to run him over, his dog ripped off his arm at the elbow, and people in the neighborhood turned into zombies and plants, trying to kill him. Stomping on his phone didn't help! It screamed out JUMANJI, AND then a big game hunter shot him in the ass!

[pinboy3niner]

43. Well, there go his dreams...

...of being a butt model.

[yuiyoshida]

44. quite!

[Paladin]

41. And Arlington National Cemetary, as well.

I trust you and I will never run into one another at any parties.

[yuiyoshida]

42. You are in the wrong post...

You have to go over to this one, and complain!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028007213

[Paladin]

45. I have already posted in that thread. Feeble effort on your part. (nt)

[yuiyoshida]

46. oohhhh sooo ffeeeble....

i can barely stand!!!!

[pinboy3niner]

47. I don't think anyone here would disagree with you on the disrespect issue

Places like the Holocaust Museum and Arlington National Cemetery obviously are inappropriate locations for the game and it's valid to slam the thoughtlessness of those who played there and the company for including those sites in the game.

But damning ALL of the players, including thousands who are not guilty of that behavior, is broad-brushing. And I'll bet there were some who were led to those locations but refused to play there.

P.S.--You wouldn't believe what I saw from some visitors when I worked at the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in D.C. But I limited my criticism to the bad acts and bad actors.

[Ilsa]

48. Also Arlington National Cemetery has requested the gamers stay out.

They feel it's inappropriate for the game to be played on hallowed ground. I think they are correct. There are some places that should be respected and should be allowed to maintain dignity, not be turned into a carnival.

I would be pissed if a gamer was nearby while Taps was being played.