Over the past week, the new Pokemon Go application has been gaining rapid popularity around the world, becoming available for download on App Store and Play Market on July 6. In addition to reviving interest in the anime cartoons of the early 2000s, dedicated to the battles of pocket monsters with each other, the application drew attention to augmented reality technologies: players need to look for Pokemon in real-life locations around them, challenge them to fights and try to catch them if the virtual monster will be defeated.
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Mass hysteria has not yet gripped Russia: the release of the application in our country is only expected. But during the week of the game’s existence, a lot of ridiculous, funny and simply strange incidents happened to fanatical Pokemon catchers. We present a selection of such stories in this material.
Things have gone too far. More precisely, 19-year-old Wyoming resident Shyla Wiggins went too far: while going down to the river in search of Poliwag or some other water Pokemon, she discovered the corpse of a man on the shore.
In Wellington, a couple of Pokemon Go players found a Pokemon training ground in the middle of the ocean by renting a kayak. Among other things, they found out that the man who gave them the kayak not only plays Pokemon Go, but is also part of the team that controls the training area located in the middle of the ocean.
The Pokemon Go app has also helped boost the ride-sharing industry: In Portland, Oregon, USA, drivers agree to take players around for a fee so they don't have to walk to find monsters. Moreover, snacks and drinks are included in the price.
Further more. The startup PokeWalk offers its services: employees can “walk” players’ smartphones to train existing Pokemon and search for new ones. If the trainers return the smartphone without adding new monsters to the collection, they promise to return the money.
For some players, the app has caused an existential crisis. A video blog was created on YouTube, the owner of which first talked about how tired she was of these damn Pokemon trainers that kept appearing near her workplace, and then she became addicted to the game when she tried to catch all the Pokemon in the building. "Now I'm wandering around shouting, 'Oh no, go back, a little to the left, there's Zubat sitting there!' I want to catch them all, but I feel so stupid! This is not what I expected to be doing at 27.”
Reddit user Jonathan Theriot probably didn't think he'd be catching Pokémon when his wife went into labor. But it happened: he ran around the ward and tried to catch Pidgey, hiding under the bed on which his wife was lying about to give birth.
Let's move on to dark side question. Armed robbers are using the app's geolocation to lure unsuspecting players to secluded areas in search of rare Pokémon, according to police reports.
The game's mechanisms accidentally placed some Pokémon in places where catching them would simply be unacceptable for moral and ethical reasons. For example, on the territory of the Ground Zero memorial, located on the site of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
Another location of the game was accidentally placed on the territory of Auschwitz. Yes, players are wandering around a former concentration camp in search of the Pokémon Rattata.
An Australian man has been fired from his job at a property company after he wrote an angry Facebook rant about being unable to download an app in the country. In the post, he argued that Singapore is full of stupid people and that the nation's IQ would decrease if he left the state.
Soldiers serving at the Lewis-McChord military base near Tacoma (Washington State, USA) were seen sneaking into a closed area in search of Pokemon. “Since the release of Pokemon Go about a week ago, there have been several cases of serious injuries and damage while playing the game. Don't chase Pokemon into the territory office buildings, restricted areas and houses located on the base,” according to the base’s Facebook page.
The game mechanism also located one of the Pokemon training grounds on the grounds of the Westboro Baptist Church (Topeka, Kansas), known for its homophobic, anti-Islamic, anti-Catholic, and other "anti-" views. One of the players took control of the training ground located in the church with the help of the pink Pokémon Clefairy under the nickname Love Is Love. However, the cult ministers were not at a loss: they began to train the Pokémon Jigglypuff in order to arrange a duel against Love Is Love. “No more sin!” - they wrote on the church's Twitter account. “We try to speak in every language available to us,” said church leader Steve Drain.
The New Yorker said that the girl revealed the fact of his betrayal thanks to Pokemon Go. The fact is that Evan Scribner saw his ex-girlfriend last week, and after the party he decided to catch some Pokemon nearby. But when Evan returned home, his current lover saw that he had recently caught a Pokemon near his house ex-girlfriend. Guys, be careful with such stupid failures.
If you are interested in the question of who are pokemon and why they are caught, or you just want to know the facts related to this phenomenon, then this article is definitely for you.
The word “Pokemon” itself comes from the English Pocket Monster - “pocket monster”. This is one of the most popular gaming images all over the world. But how did it all start, and why did mass hysteria occur in 2016 amid the craze for this game?
Where did Pokemon start?
In 1996, a Japanese game designer named Satoshi Tajiri created a character he called Pokémon. In the late nineties, this hero gained such popularity that he almost overtook Mario himself.
At the end of the nineties, in almost all schools, children collected chips with images of these creatures.
Pokemon Go game
But 20 years have passed, and in July 2016 the game Pokemon Go was released. In just two days, it overtook in popularity almost all applications existing in the App Store. This was due to two things.
Firstly, Pokemon Go is free, and secondly, it is based on augmented reality. In other words, if you have this game installed on your smartphone, you should turn on the camera and just walk down the street.
The camera captures objects that exist in reality. However, from time to time a Pokemon will appear in one place or another on the screen. If you look only at the screen, then you will begin to get the impression that this game monster is really located near the object that the camera is filming. Of course, this is not actually the case, but the effect is truly impressive.
Why catch Pokemon?
Now that you know what Pokemon are, you can tell one more interesting fact: on this moment time they are divided into 721 varieties!
Some Pokemon The main goal of the game is to collect several characters to start training them. Then they will be able to take part in battles with monsters of other trainers. The battle continues until one of the participants loses consciousness, or the trainer gives up.
However, catching Pokemon is not that easy. They are located on real objects around the world. Therefore, sometimes, in order to catch your character, you need to go to the other end of the city. Fans don’t even make such sacrifices.
Criticism of the game Pokemon Go
It must be said that the game Pokemon Go caused a serious public outcry all over the world. After all, people who are passionate about this application are completely immersed in the world of virtual or augmented reality.
Of course, this not only leads to the fact that people, watching the screen and looking for mysterious creatures there, often crash into poles and trees, but also get into accidents. In many parts of Europe, after such a crazy hype around the game Pokemon GO, various signs began to appear, such as: “Driver, park first and then look for Pokemon.”. Jokes are jokes, and this often ends extremely badly.
Despite the fact that the first games with the participation of Pokemon had relatively good reviews from various organizations, including the religious structure of the Vatican, subsequently the number of scandals and incidents increased noticeably.
Protestant organizations criticize various products of the Japanese brand, arguing that they promote the occult and violence.
In Arab countries, “Pokemon” is generally prohibited, since Islamic theologians came to the conclusion that it is extremely gambling, and this is strictly prohibited in Islam.
In 2002, Turkey's Supreme Council also did not allow a demonstration of Pokemon. The Ministry of Health cited that such information products promote violence and “false heroism.”
Undoubtedly, any game of this kind takes a person away from reality, but where is the limit of what is permitted? This is the eternal question.
Although the Turks cited as an example the case where two teenagers jumped out of a window to fly like Pokemon.
Episode 38 of "Pokemon"
In 1997, the 38th episode of Pokemon was released. However, after watching it, more than 700 Japanese children aged 3 years and above ended up in hospital beds. An interesting fact is that they all had symptoms of epilepsy.
The Japanese press labeled this phenomenon as "Pokémon Shock". It is believed that this happened due to the powerful light and sound effect on the fragile psyche of children watching the most popular Japanese series at that time.
After the investigation, 4 months after this incident, the broadcast of the series resumed. Despite the fact that the 38th episode was no longer shown anywhere in the world, it provoked a colossal resonance in many of the world's media.
After the wild success of the first games featuring Pokemon, the authors created an anime film adaptation based on them. This happened back in 1997, and to date more than 800 episodes have been filmed. The film adaptation was also an incredible success.
Cinematography also did not stand aside. From 1998 to the present time, about 20 Pokemon films have been released.
The idea of creating the character as we know him today came to the mind of Satoshi Tajiri in his youth. As a young man, he was interested in collecting various insects. This was a very popular activity in Japan. Schoolchildren collected insects and then exchanged them at will. It was at this time that Satoshi, observing the bizarre forms of small beetles, came up with the idea of creating a game with a monster in leading role. This is how Pokemon was born.
Augmented reality game Today it is not just a trademark, but a real part of world culture. In most countries of the world, games, cartoons, anime adaptations and films of this brand are sold in millions of copies.
It's been a month since the release of Pokemon GO, the game that turned the mobile world upside down. The hype died down a bit, the game's audience began to decline as the peak was reached. It's time to figure out where Pokémon Go suddenly came from and who is behind it. We tried to tell this in our article.
Who are Pokemon?
The creator of the Pokemon universe is the Japanese company Nintendo. How she came to this - read in ours. The concept of Pokemon was invented by game designer Satoshi Tajiri, who as a child often collected various insects into his collection (this was a very popular activity among Japanese children). The first Pokemon game was created in 1996 for the Game Boy portable console. main feature which was a joint game. Consoles could be connected to each other by wire and interact in one game.Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokemon
Co-op play was a big part of Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Green, both released in 1996 on the Game Boy. Players could connect their consoles and fight in battles using their Pokémon. The name Pokemon itself is an abbreviation for Pocket Monsters. Initially, the developers generally wanted to take the name Capsule Monsters (capsule monsters), but it was problematic in legal terms.
Covers of the first two Pokemon games for the Game Boy
It was in 1996 that the basic principles and features of the games and the Pokemon universe were laid down: searching for Pokemon, collecting, battles between players, as well as the unique design of the “pocket monsters” themselves. It is worth noting that in the first games there were exactly 151 Pokemon - initially there were the same number in Pokemon GO.
Covers of the first and last Pokemon series
Pokemon gained real popularity after the release of the series in 1997. The first season of the series, entitled “Pokemon: Indigo League,” reached Russian television screens only in 2001. In total, 5 more series with several seasons have been released since then. The last season, called Pokemon XY&Z, was released in 2015 and is still shown on some channels.
Where did Pokemon GO start?
It's funny, but Pokemon Go was originally an April Fool's joke. On April 1, 2014, a video was released allegedly telling about a new function in the service Google Maps. Essentially this video showed the main concept of Pokemon GO - searching for Pokemon on the map and catching them.By April Fool's joke was Satoru Iwata, former CEO Nintendo, who died on July 11, 2015. The management of the Japanese company really liked the concept of the game Ingress from the Niantic studio, which ultimately developed Pokemon GO. They decided to apply the gameplay with interaction with real objects on the map to the Pokemon universe. Development of Pokemon GO started sometime in late 2014 or early 2015. On September 10, 2015, the official announcement of this mobile game took place. On March 4, 2016, a beta test started in Japan and ended on June 30.
As already mentioned, the game developer was Niantic Labs, which already had experience working with augmented reality. At the Pokemon Go announcement event, the guys from Nintendo and Niantic said that mobile gamers will have a truly unique experience. For development, Niantic studio received $35 million from Google, Nintendo and the Pokemon Company.
Who are these Niantic Labs
After Pokemon GO gained immense popularity, various conspiracy theories began to appear online. Allegedly, mobile Pokemon are a fiend created by the CIA. And they are all watching us. The Niantic Labs studio itself is a former startup that grew up at Google. The startup later became its own company, but Google still owns a large stake in Niantic. Initially, the guys from Niantic were involved in augmented reality and navigation. By the way, Niantic is the name of the ship that brought wealth seekers to the West Coast of the United States during the gold rush.
John Hanke, founder of Niantic Labs
All conspiracy theories have a logical basis. In 2010, Niantic was founded by Keyhole, Inc. Its head is John Hanke, CEO of Niantic Labs. Notably, the Keyhole Foundation is funded by non-profit organization In-Q-Tel, and it belongs to the CIA - the US intelligence agency. The goal of the In-Q-Tel Foundation is to finance technologies that may be of interest and application to the Central intelligence agency USA. It is worth noting that the CIA fund invested money in great amount companies that deal software, science, biotechnology, electricity, electronics and others.
Thus, it can be assumed that the CIA is interested in the development of Pokemon GO. And indeed. Location, camera and other data may be transmitted and stored on the servers of Pokemon developers - Niantic. And they can provide data to whomever they want. However, the camera in Pokemon GO can be turned off, and the movements of millions of players are unlikely to be of interest to intelligence services - there are probably more advanced tools for this (tracking).
Basis for Pokemon GO
In November 2012, Niantic released its first successful project - Ingress. This augmented reality game would later become the basis for Pokemon Go. The concept of Ingress was that players were divided into two constantly warring factions. Battles consisted of capturing points on the map. Ingress gathered a large community that itself added points to the map even in the smallest cities. Even in Russia, events were held for fans of the game. All basic mapping data for Ingress was provided by Google.
It is worth noting that the concept of Ingress was much more interesting and complex than in Pokemon GO. Firstly, it had more details and lore. Secondly, the gameplay itself was more developed and polished. A good foundation has already been created for Pokemon in the form of all geolocation data, but in the end Pokemon GO came out very unfinished. However, the developers are going to bring the game to mind. At the time of release, the game had approximately 10% of the features that it will have after a ton of updates.
Ingress is still running and has active users. One can always appreciate the game that became the basis for Pokemon Go.
What happened in the end
After lengthy development and long beta testing, Pokemon GO was released on Android and iOS only on July 6, 2016. At the time of writing the news, the game is available in Northern and South America, in most European countries, as well as in the Oceania region. In some countries the game was banned, for example in Iran. In Russia, some political figures also spoke out in favor of a ban.
Revenue from popular games: Pokemon GO, Clash Royale and Candy Crush Saga
Despite the fact that the game has not yet been officially released in Russia, it is very popular in this country. In the US, Pokemon GO has become the most popular game in history. Moreover, Pokemon earns $200 million a month - it is the most profitable game on mobile phones. Pokemon GO is truly a unique phenomenon. The game's massive popularity has subsided, but it still has a large audience.
Pokemon Caterpie's design is inspired by the tiger swallowtail caterpillar.
The Pokémon Poliwag resembles translucent tadpoles with its spiral on its stomach. And it is no coincidence - it was created in their image and likeness.
Magikarp is a Pokemon whose design was created in the style of an orange sea bass.
The design of Zapdos, the bird that is the symbol of Team Instinct, is based on a myth North American Indians about the thunderbird.
The firebird Moltres, the symbol of Team Courage, is taken from Slavic myths about the Firebird.
The Pokémon Ninetales (an evolved Vulpix) is taken from the Japanese myth of a wolf with multiple tails - Kitsune.
Angry Birds, Flappy Bird, Prisma, Pokemon GO. What will happen in the future on mobile platforms?
Who are Pokemon? Learn more about this phenomenon in my article. For 20 years, the Pokémon games have brought joy to millions of fans of all ages and have become one of the most successful entertainment brands in the world. Since 1996, when it was first released in Japan Pokémon Red And Pokémon Green for Game Boy, more than 279 million video games of this legendary series have been sold.
Who are Pokemon?
Pokémon are creatures of all shapes and sizes that live in nature alongside humans. Most Pokémon cannot speak and can only say their name. Currently, the Pokemon universe is inhabited by more than 700 creatures.
Pokémon are cared for by their owners and are called "trainers." As you play, Pokémon grow, gain experience, and sometimes even evolve into stronger Pokémon.
There are over a dozen different types of Pokemon: Fire type, Psychic type, Dragon type, etc. When battling other types of Pokemon, each Pokemon has both advantages and disadvantages. For example, a Fire-type Pokemon will have an advantage over a Grass-type Pokemon, but at the same time it will be weaker than a Water-type Pokemon. Therefore, an important component of battles is strategic thinking and right choice Pokemon from your team.
Gameplay Basics (Video Games)
In Europe, the first Pokémon video games were released for the Game Boy handheld gaming system in 1999. This series marked the beginning of the popularity of Pokemon. Pokémon games have been released on many Nintendo consoles, including Nintendo 3DS And Wii U.
In most games, the player takes on the role of a young trainer who travels to different cities, catching and training Pokemon, and battles other trainers' Pokemon for the title of Pokemon League champion. An additional goal is to catch and catalog all the Pokémon in the game world. Despite the combat aspect, the Pokémon games are not overtly violent; Pokemon do not die during the game. Trainers are invited to participate in many additional events throughout the game: talent and beauty contests, competitions and fishing (for Pokemon, of course!).
Players can exchange Pokémon with other players or have Pokémon battles, which develops generosity and sportsmanship in children. With the latest gaming systems, players can play online and trade Pokemon with other trainers around the world.
The developer's opinion on the success of the series
Junichi Masuda is the director of the Pokémon series from the Japanese video game development company Game Freak.
“We believed strongly in our idea from the very beginning. We wanted to give children the joy of discovering and collecting special creatures - Pokemon. This became our dream. But back then we could only hope that people would be enthusiastic about the concept. When the game gained popularity, it was a happy surprise for us... You could say our dream came true.”
“I think the reason for its success lies in the Pokémon themselves and the connection that develops between players and the creatures they discover as they play. Fans love choosing their favorite Pokémon and setting up battles. With each new generation, new Pokemon appear that players love. Rich multiplayer features bring people together from all over the world.” We hope you enjoyed taking a look at the 20-year history of Pokémon games.
"...Today we know a lot about Pokemon.
But we still have more to learn.
And every time we count,
that we all know, Pokemon will definitely present us with a new riddle..."
Professor Oak
When people first met Pokémon, it is now impossible to say for sure. There are mentions of Pokemon even in the oldest records. Our ancestors first worshiped them as forces of nature. Many people died from attacks from wild Pokémon. Mostly children, but often adults too. This was the case until the first Pokemasters or Pokemon Owners appeared. These were people who, due to various circumstances, tamed wild Pokémon. They became protectors of villages and cities. Gradually, Pokemasters began to be trained from childhood, but even here, very often, children died before they could grow up, but those who survived acquired much-needed knowledge, and, oddly enough, some immunity to strong blows, lightning, fire, cold, electricity and poisons. But one fine day, one discovery, one accident changed our world.
One man, history has not preserved his name, was attacked by a wild Pokemon. It was autumn, and the ripe Apricorn fruit fell on the Pokemon that attacked it. And, the Pokemon... disappeared. Only the Apricorn fruit remained on the ground. The man brought the fruit home and told the village chief about what had happened. After the fruit was broken, a Pokemon emerged from it. He was so dumbfounded and frightened by what happened that he allowed himself to be petted, and from then on he became like a tame. So one accident changed our World. Gradually, research led to the fact that we learned how to make Pokeballs from Apricorns. Thanks to chemical reactions, occurring inside a ripened fruit, it can turn a Pokémon into a ball of energy and store long time. It turned out that this plant is a predator. For its seeds to germinate, they require a lot of heat. Gradually evolution did its job, and individual species Plants began to catch unwary Pokemon and, turning them into energy to feed on it, producing heat. Gradually the Pokemon died, and when this happened, the shell of the fruit cracked and it sprouted. As was noted, Pokémon preferred to avoid the Apricorn thickets.
At first, people used Apricorns to catch wild Pokémon. Gradually, we learned to produce real Pokeballs from Apricorns; unlike the old ones, they were reusable. When the turn of technological progress came, fully mechanical Pokeballs appeared; they can change their size and work for quite a long time without recharging. When treated at the Poke Center, the Poke Ball is automatically recharged.
Thanks to the invention of the Pokeball, people's lives have become easier and safer. Now in each country there were a sufficient number of Pokemasters who were engaged in protecting people from wild Pokemon and actually studying the Pokemon themselves. Of course, Pokémon were used for more than just defense. Many people used Pokemon for wars, robberies and crimes. The Poke Police was created, and included Pokemon: Growley and Arcanine. They helped catch criminals and saved people's lives more than once.
As time passed, the state began to pay attention to the problem of Pokemon research. Pokémon have been used in many industries. Fiery - melted steel in foundries. Electrical - worked at power plants producing electricity. In general, Pokemon have found their place in our world. But not only as servants and helpers.
For many, Pokemon have become friends. One of the Pokémon's traits is loyalty to its owner, until the owner does something that causes the Pokémon to lose faith in it. Pokemon are very intelligent, they have almost human intelligence.
Pokemon Centers were created in all countries where Pokemon could get help.
A program for supporting and educating Pokemasters and Pokemon trainers was created. It provided comprehensive assistance to young coaches. At Pokemon centers they could get free overnight stays, food and treatment, and food for their Pokemon.
For each Pokemon caught and victory over another trainer, which is recorded by the Pokédex, the trainer receives a certain amount in his account, which he can spend at his discretion, including buying supplies in stores. In this case, the Pokédex acts as a bank card.
By that time, genetics had stepped far forward, and it became possible to create a serum that, when injected into a person, made his skin and body as a whole weakly susceptible to strong shocks, lightning, fire, cold, electricity and poisons. For example, an open flame only caused severe pain and redness of the skin. This has made people's lives even safer.
At the age of 10, anyone could receive their first Pokémon, 6 Pokeballs, a Pokédex and travel around the country in order to collect a set in training halls, usually of 6-8 badges, these badges were a pass to the annual Pokémon League Championship, which was held in every country. Participation in the competition, regardless of the result, automatically confirmed the trainer's status as an official Pokemon trainer, and he was thereby accepted into the League of that country. Although the path of Pokemon trainer is open to anyone, however, not many dare to take this difficult and sometimes dangerous path. Moreover, no one forbids you to have one or more Pokemon.
There are several tens of thousands of various types Pokemon. Such luminaries as Professor Oak and Professor Troy study Pokemon every day, they learn a lot, but there is even more to learn...
"...Pokémon are not only our partners or pets,
they are still intelligent beings and our friends.
We shouldn't forget this
if we want to live in peace with them.
We must respect them
then they will respect us..."
Professor Troy
"...Pokémon are our friends,
if you are ready to do anything for them,
then they will do everything for you..."
Pokemon Trainer - Ash Ketchum