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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGo, Pokemon Go ... game takes off, boosting listless Nintendo
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
(30,151 posts)CurtEastPoint
(18,656 posts)dorks with their noses stuck on a phone.
white_wolf
(6,238 posts)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
(17,865 posts)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
(22,308 posts)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
(17,865 posts)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
(22,298 posts)you don't have to look at your phone the entire time.
closeupready
(29,503 posts)Motown_Johnny
(22,308 posts)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
(29,503 posts)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
(4,959 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)Apparently the app gains access to your email.
TCJ70
(4,387 posts)...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
(37,748 posts)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
(4,387 posts)...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
(41,694 posts)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
(17,865 posts)They have to disable the screen when in motion (I think even walking speed) but definitely driving and biking speed.
TCJ70
(4,387 posts)...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
(41,694 posts)TCJ70
(4,387 posts)...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.
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
(41,694 posts)they're worried about battery life as they step off the curb without looking at anything except that little screen.
B2G
(9,766 posts)Don't play. If you have kids, don't let them either.
See how easy that was?
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)We don't have sabertooths any more to weed out the slow and unobservant.
B2G
(9,766 posts)guess the slow learners will get weeded out.
Oh well. Everything in life has risks.
exboyfil
(17,865 posts)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
(4,387 posts)...good grief, whatever brings people together is fine.
miyazaki
(2,248 posts)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
(30,481 posts)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
(100,099 posts)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
(22,457 posts)Act_of_Reparation
(9,116 posts)SquareSoft already did it with their early Final Fantasy titles.
0rganism
(23,967 posts)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
(269,157 posts)is good enough for me
B2G
(9,766 posts)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
(2,103 posts)Paladin
(28,271 posts)Fuck them, and the idiotic game with which they are enthralled.
yuiyoshida
(41,836 posts)at parties!
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)yuiyoshida
(41,836 posts)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
(53,339 posts)...of being a butt model.
yuiyoshida
(41,836 posts)Paladin
(28,271 posts)I trust you and I will never run into one another at any parties.
yuiyoshida
(41,836 posts)You have to go over to this one, and complain!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028007213
Paladin
(28,271 posts)yuiyoshida
(41,836 posts)i can barely stand!!!!
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)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
(61,697 posts)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.