Despite everything else going on in the United States (election, mass murders, etc.) and the World (lack of elections, mass murders, etc.), Pokemon Go has been one of the most prominent staples in news feeds, Facebook posts, and gossip. Whether you’re a player discussing your experience with other players or a critic, everyone wants to, or at least is talking about Pokemon as if it was 1998 again. The mobile game released on July 6th by Niantic and The Pokemon Company has led to Nintendo’s most significant stock growth in years and millions of dollars of in-app purchases.
Hungry & Fit both started playing the game on July 7th and while neither of us have spent a considerable amount of time outside of our daily routines to play, we’ve had enough experience with it to write this “review” about the product. The Pokemon Company came up with a great concept to integrate their Pokemon world and reality, months before the release of Pokemon Sun and Moon. Unfortunately, Niantic had far from flawless execution of the project and despite multiples patches, there are still some major issues that haven’t yet been explained. While you’re playing, it’s a blast but you’re either frozen, crashing, or rebooting far too often to get the full experience.
Over the course of the next few weeks and months, there will be more changes to improve the game-play and as the craze dies down and servers have less traffic, the experience will become smooth for those who plan on continuing. So, who do we want to see continue? Nearly everyone. Why? Because Pokemon Go has motivated certain people to be more active than they’ve been in years, or their entire life. I tweeted this a few days ago but PokemonGo:Gaming::CrossFit:Exercise. Let me explain before you try to figure that one out SAT-style.
Critics of Pokemon GO and CrossFit share one major commonality… safety. While we might not ‘like’ CrossFit (or P90X, etc.) it has made a positive change in the lives of many more than it has injured. It also hasn’t actually injured anyone because it’s just a name and the participants are ultimately responsible for their own health. The same applies to Pokemon GO. For the few car accidents that have been caused (blame the people involved, not an inanimate object), millions and millions of people have moved more in the past week or so. I saw a morbidly obese and tremendously pale man walking through our local park while it was light out last week.
I’d never seen him there before. I can’t even imagine how intimidated he might be just trying to exercise to get in the shape to feel comfortable to exercise in front of people. You know that exists? People go to one gym just to be able to go to another gym without being embarrassed? I’m not necessarily saying this is the case with this man or any individual, but these people are so fixated on their games that they are finally outdoors moving and breathing fresh air. (Not so fresh in LA but it’s the thought that counts.) Some of the people who hate on Pokemon GO players are like that girl who recently took that video of another girl in the women’s locker room to shame her. Shame on her. Supporting the health of others will help you get hungry and fit!
*Disclaimer: Hungry & Fit do not encourage playing Pokemon Go while riding a bicycle, driving a car, walking a dog, risking job security, or walking across bridges into the mouth of a hungry Gyrados.
BONUS KITTY PIC
Great point! I think Pokemon Go really shows the potential of technology to get people to take positive steps in their life
Definitely