Pokemon rage round the world
Pictorial captures the craze for the mobile video game that has become a global phenomenon |
F rom the US to Australia and our very own Dubai, those virtual Pokemon characters have sent the world on a wild wild chase.
Since its release in the United States, Australia and New Zealand last week, the free Pokemon Go smartphone game has triggered a craze tinged with obsession.
Across Egypt, local TV stations broadcast footage showing Egyptians walking as though in a trance on the streets trying to find and catch virtual Pokémon characters.
Celebrated Egyptian TV host Lamees Al Hadeedi appeared this week on her talk show with a mobile phone in her hand. She joined thousands of her compatriots in trying her hand at the popular mobile game.
The craze has sent legions of players around the world hiking around cities and battling with “pocket monsters” on their smartphones. It marks a turning point for augmented reality, or technology that superimposes a digital facade on the real world.
The app was adapted to the mobile internet age by Niantic Labs, a company spun out of Google last year. It uses GPS and mapping capabilities in mobile phones to let players roam the real world to find “PokeStops” stocked with supplies, and hunt cartoon monsters to capture and train for battles.
But the game’s popularity has created unintended consequences in everyday life, from annoyed property owners dealing with hordes of monster hunters to store owners using the game to attract customers.
Across the US, there have been reports of people wandering into yards, driveways, cemeteries and even an off-limits police parking lot, prompting warnings that trespassers could get arrested or worse, especially if they cross paths with an armed property owner.
Meanwhile, the seaside South Korean city of Sokcho is enjoying a surge of visitors roaming the streets at all hours, as it appears to be the only place in the country where Pokemon Go players can chase the mobile game’s virtual monsters. South Korean Pokemon Go players, like others around the world, have been going crazy over the game.