Pokemon fans must watch their step in Dubai’s parks
ENDANGERING PUBLIC SAFETY, OR INVADING PRIVACY, WILL ATTRACT SEVERE PENALTIES
P okemon fans should use their civic sense and obey safety and privacy rules while playing the game in Dubai’s public parks, a senior official said.
Fears about the new gaming craze risking public safety and privacy have mounted across the world and Dubai is no exception. While parks and other open areas are touted as the best places to chase the virtual Pokemon characters, players will not be allowed to cross their limits in parks, the Dubai Municipality has warned.
The municipality imposes a fine of Dh500 for damaging or plucking flowers.
In the wake of reports of players endangering the safety of others and themselves and invading the privacy of others, Pokemon fans are being asked to “go” with caution.
Mohammad Al Fardan, the head of Parks at the Dubai Municipality, told Gulf News that existing rules about safety and privacy are applicable to Pokemon Go players as well.
“They should use their civic sense,” he said. “Parks are safe for people to run and walk around, whether to chase Pokemon or not, but safety rules should not be ignored.”
People should not misuse the game to take photos or videos of others in the guise of playing the game either, he added.
Taking pictures of other people without their permission while playing a game or doing anything else is not allowed in public places especially in parks and beaches where people are relaxing and enjoying, he noted.
Parental responsibility
“People should not misuse the game to invade the privacy of others,” he said and urged parents to take responsibility for their kids and supervise them while they play.
“If things go out of control, we have to take action. If there is any misbehaviour, it doesn’t matter if they are playing Pokemon or football … our supervisors [at the parks] will take action. All our rules and regulations are very clear and we expect people to follow them.”
Sultan Al Suwaidi, the head of the Public Safety Section at the Public Health and Safety Department, said safety concerns about the game are perceived more when it is played on the streets rather than in parks.
“I saw some videos [on social media] where some people were acting like they were playing [this game], but they were actually filming others. People can also knock on your doors to learn about your family on the pretext of playing. The game that has become a new rage among the youngsters could pose privacy concerns here as well … I think all relevant authorities should take note of it,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents in The Greens community have complained that security men have banned people from playing the game in public areas. An Emirati resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he was dropping a friend off at his community roundabout where residents had gathered to play Pokemon Go. “I saw the security asking our friends to leave,” he said.
The community’s developer told Gulf News there are no restrictions on playing the game in the community, as long as it does not interfere with the safety of others.
I n his former office at Google, overlooking the San Francisco waterfront, John Hanke kept the shelves well stocked with games. Computer games, obviously befitting a man obsessed with technology, but proper old-fashioned board games too. Prominent among them were Risk, Settlers of Catan and Stratego. All three have the same simple aim: to take over the world.
Today the 49-year-old floppyhaired Hanke can lean back in his new office chair a few blocks down along the city’s Embarcadero and put his feet up. With the help of a small group of visionaries that includes a Japanese computer game wizard and a British advertising guru, Hanke’s digital start-up Niantic has given the world the phenomenon that is Pokemon Go. Global domination is complete.
Briefly, for those few readers still unfamiliar with the smartphone game, Pokemon Go involves users walking around streets chasing and capturing cartoon monsters that appear in real locations on their phones. In the first week of release it became the fastest-growing mobile game of all time, and has now hit more than 30 million downloads.
Nintendo, the Japanese-based game maker which has an unquantified stake in Niantic and owns one third of the Pokemon series, has seen its market value more than double to £32 billion (Dh154.7 billion) in a week. Already, the game feels like a sizeable part of life. Since its release, rescue teams in Britain have been called out for teenagers stumbling across train lines, into caves and even into a lake in pursuit of these rare virtual characters. Servers have also crumpled under the demand of millions of players logging on at once.
The spark of genius behind this success story is to be found in Japan, where the famously reclusive computer developer Satoshi Tajiri invented Pokemon back in 1990. Originally launched on the Nintendo Game Boy, Pokemon became a huge gaming, television and film franchise — even before this latest incarnation it had notched up 200 million sales, making it one of the biggestgaming series of all time. In one of his rare interviews, given in 1999, Tajiri said he came up with the idea after obsessively catching insects when he was a child growing up in the western Tokyo suburb of Machida.
“I think a lot about kids and what they need and want to make their lives better.” Now aged 50 and worth an estimated $5.1 billion (£3.89 billion), Tajiri continues to work on Pokemon in Japan and retains his boyish looks despite a punishing schedule of 24 hours work and 12 hours sleep.
True innovator
John Hanke enjoys a more public persona in Silicon Valley, though he too values his privacy. He is married with three young children but keeps his family well out of the limelight. Those who know him speak of the man who hails from Texas as a true innovator. Perhaps, even, the next digital entrepreneur to follow in the footsteps of Apple founder Steve Jobs.
“John Hanke is an absolute genius,” says David Jones, the only British investor with a stake in Niantic. Last November, Jones joined a few other select Silicon Valley investors who backed the company as part of its first $5 million funding round. While he won’t say how much he has invested or how much he stands to gain, he adds: “It’s pretty fair to say, anybody who invested would have done well.”
A high-flying entrepreneur, Jones says he was attracted to invest by Pokemon Go’s fusion of the real and digital world — and its potential for businesses.
“The opportunity for brands is enormous,” he enthuses, “but both Niantic and Pokemon are going to be incredibly discerning and selective about what brands are allowed to do in the game.” For Jones, Hanke “is a visionary in that he understands not just where the future is going but creates the things that will change that future. We’re all talking about Pokemon Go but in reality a whole new world has just been created.”
Pokemon Go is not the first time Hanke has reinvented our reality. At the turn of the millennium, the former United States government worker founded the digital mapping firm Keyhole, which was bought by Google and turned into the gamechanging Google Maps, released in 2005. Hanke remained at Google for another decade, initially launching Niantic within its fold before setting up as an independent company in October 2015 with $30 million investment from the Pokemon Company, Google and Nintendo.
“He’s one of those really smart guys who can be quite hard to speak to,” says Steve Peters, a 55-year-old designer who worked with Hanke at Niantic prior to the split from Google.
The opportunity for brands is enormous, but both Niantic and Pokemon are going to be incredibly discerning and selective about what brands are allowed to do in the game.” David Jones | Investor