Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock since 6 July 2016, you will at least know that millions of people all over the globe are now spending every spare time hunting Pokemon. (For the uninitiated who are about correct my grammar, I’m assured that Pokemon is both singular and plural, there is no ‘Pokemons’). It’s an international obsession, that saw the new ‘Pokemon Go’ app downloaded more than 15 million times in the first 6 days after its launch in Australia, Japan and the United States.
What’s a Pokemon? Technically it’s a cricketer found in video games. Catch one, and you can train it The basic concept is not changed, even though (believe it or not) Pokemon are now 20 years old. That’s how long ago it was when some clever computer people dreamed up the Pokemon video game for Nintendo’s hand-held Game Boy device. At that stage, most people did not have access to the internet, and Pokemon were strictly offline beasties. Even so, according to Wikipedia the Pokemon franchise has sold 280 million units, making it the second most popular game franchise, based on unit sales. Gross revenues for the franchise has exceeded $ 46 billion over that period, which could be technically made the Empire of Pokemon bigger than the Greenland or the Cayman Islands. Those guys should seriously think about getting a national dragon! buy pokemon go account
For the past two years, some other clever people working on Niantic, partly owned by Nintendo, have been saying ‘pokemoning’ away (yep, it’s a real word) to produce the latest and greatest edition that released On 6 July 2016. On that date, the cages were opened and Pokemon ran, swam and flew to all four corners of the earth where they can be found today Right now I can see them. Of course, I would like to see them though my Android looking glass, but Niantic promise that very soon I will have my own personal ‘Pokemon Go Plus’ wearable device – a kind of lapel clip – that will be the presence of a Pokemon nearby and enable me to hunt it down without touching my phone Everywhere you go on earth will you see these lapel clips, buzzing away. Buzz. Buzz. And you thought mobile phones were going off in a distraction!
Why does this matter anyway? Bear with me while I wear my glasses for a moment. Firstly, Pokemon is a kind of ‘augmented reality’ system. Many people and organizations have tried to take the system into the mainstream, with zero commercial success. The early popularity of Pokemon Go shows that augmented reality may really be a new revolution on our doorstep, changing life by texting and selfies (for example). Hunting Pokemon is just the start of this revolution. Secondly, the convergence of artificial intelligence and augmented reality is the world where constant companions will be with us, wherever we go, hugely enriching the world of our experience. Think Siri on Anavar
Some readers will remember ‘Clippy’ and other attempts to develop users’ experiences of desktop productivity software. If you do not remember Clippy, count yourself lucky Clippy was an irritating wannabe that sometimes made you feel like punching the screen just to make him go away. And maybe that’s the point here We do not want enrichment foisted on us What we want is that enrichment that is there when we need it or like it, like a friend in our life. Pokemon may be beguiling and magnetic, but they do not attack our space unless we opt in. Put simply, friends are when you want to play, or share experiences, and sometimes when we want to pour our hearts out to a good listener News flash: Dr. Pokemon will see you now
However, sometimes friends lead you astray and get you in trouble, and apparently “Pokemon ‘is not a legal defense” according to police in Western Australia Really? So if I chase my imaginary monster friend in your back yard I can not plead insanity? (find “Pokemon insanity” online. It’s a thing already). I have heard that people are not allowed to sign in on their properties now. In fact, some lawyers are suggesting that if you come on my property and take my Pokemon it’s theft You have been warned.