Disclaimer: This is only the perspective of the FIU MMC campus. Next week we will explore the BBC campus.
On the night of July 10, on campus, an estimated 200 individuals walked together through the Green Library in hopes of finding a “Squirtle”. The video posted by Twitter user @lynchetaa has gone viral with over 3,000 retweets overnight.
This past July 6, 2016, The Pokémon Company, in association with Nintendo and Niantic Labs, released the application Pokémon Go in the United States. The app, first released June 7 in Australia and New Zealand, according to eurogamer.com, features the Japanese-created pocket monsters in a new gaming experience for its fans.
“Travel between the real world and the virtual world of Pokémon with Pokémon GO for iPhone and Android devices.” as the Pokémon Company website says, in their article reporting on the game’s features and release dates.
The objective of this game is to explore your neighborhood and surrounding areas in order to track down virtual creatures and, as the Pokémon, add them to your pokedex. The ultimate goal is to “catch ‘em all”, as the catchphrase of the popular TV show states.
“Pokémon GO is built on Niantic’s Real World Gaming Platform and will use real locations to encourage players to search far and wide in the real world to discover Pokémon.” says the Pokémon Company on their site. “Pokémon GO allows you to find and catch more than a hundred species of Pokémon as you explore your surroundings.”
There are 5 known pokemon gyms on campus. (screen shots as of 7/11/2016)
Omar Morillo, a senior English student at FIU comments, “I play partly for nostalgia and partly because it’s a fun bonding experience. There has been a surprisingly large amount of community building over this game and seeing people go and walk around at all hours is really cool.”
“I must have made 20 new friends since playing this game,” says Adin Greenstein, a senior studying liberal science, “[we were] crowded around in the uncut grass before GC, just so everyone can catch the Pikachu someone found there. That was when it hit me: we, those of us playing this game, spending countless hours walking out in the sun, have been given a gift we never really thought we would.”
The popularity of this application has spread to the FIU community in large numbers. Within the past few days, FIU has been the hangout spot for gamers, both FIU students and non-students. People come from all around just for a chance to catch a Pokémon.
“I just love how suddenly everyone found this one and they’re all over it. This game is literally everywhere,” Morillo says. “Especially on campus. There are a lot of moments where I’ll see people playing and we’ll all just coyly smile to each other because we know. I play basically every day.”
Ana Briz, an art history senior, expresses concern albeit enjoying the game.
“It gets people outside and essentially breaks up the sedentary lifestyle, I enjoy the fact that it brings people together,” she says, “ but I’m worried about others’ safety. People are driving around and playing the game, which is really serious. Texting and driving is already a huge problem, so I hope the game builds regulations around travel speed limit.”
English freshman, Aaron Rodriguez-Pupo, also expresses concern over developments that have been in the news since the game’s release less than a week ago.
“I’ve already seen several news reports of people getting into accidents with the game, or using Pokemon GO to rob others, so I know there is controversy surrounding whether or not it’s safe.”
Rodriguez-Pupo does however comment on the physical benefits to the game.
“Honestly, it encourages physical activity in a way that nothing else ever has, at least for me.” He says, “I have a rather sedentary lifestyle, but in the past four days I’ve walked five kilometers I would otherwise not have walked. It also encourages social interaction.”
Other than the benefits to the consumers, Nintendo’s stocks have benefited enormously from the game’s release. In an article for The Verge, James Vincent headlines “Pokémon GO’s success adds $7.5 billion to Nintendo’s market value.”
The Pokémon Company believes the app has been at a high point since its release and will only continue growing with new features to be released in the near future. The fans are the ones who will continue fueling the so-called “Pokémon Fever”.
“In the realest sense of the term, we’re all actually partaking of the magical quest that some part of our brains refused to stop believing in. For anyone who plays the game, brow covered in sweat and smile almost painfully large, this realization brings almost incomparable joy.” Greenstein says, “We’re heros on a quest, walking towards the horizon for greater finds, playfully battling to become stronger, and making new friends and new experiences along the way.”
The most popular meeting spots within the past few days on MMC’s campus
More to come!
Stay tuned for next week when we explore the BBC Campus and it’s relation with the Pokémon Go experience.
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