Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock since July 6, 2016, you’ll at least know that millions of people around the world now spend every free moment hunting Pokémon. (For the uninitiated about to correct my grammar, I assure you that Pokémon is singular and plural, there is no ‘Pokémon’). It’s an international obsession, with the new ‘Pokemon Go’ app being downloaded more than 15 million times in the first 6 days of its release in Australia, Japan and the US.
What is a Pokémon? It is technically a small creature found in video games. Catch one and you can train it to help you fight others. The basic concept hasn’t changed, though (believe it or not) Pokémon are now 20 years old. It’s been so long since some ingenious computer scientists devised the Pokémon video game for Nintendo’s Game Boy handheld device. At that stage, most people didn’t have access to the internet and Pokémon were strictly offline beasts. Still, according to Wikipedia, the Pokémon franchise has sold around 280 million units, making it the second most popular game franchise in history, based on unit sales. The franchise’s gross revenue topped $46 billion during that period, which could technically make the Pokemon empire bigger than Greenland or the Cayman Islands. Those guys should seriously think about getting a national dragon!
For the past couple of years, some other smart folks working at Niantic, part-owned by Nintendo, have gone to great lengths, or should I say “pokemoning” (yes, that’s a real word) to produce the latest and greatest edition ever released. on July 6, 2016. On that date, the cages were opened and Pokémon ran, swam, and flew to the four corners of the earth where they can be found today. Right now. Can I see them. Of course, I can only see them through my Android mirror, but Niantic promises that very soon I’ll have my own personal ‘Pokemon Go Plus’ wearable device, a kind of lapel clip, that will alert me to the presence of a nearby Pokémon. and allow me to hunt it down without touching my phone. Wherever you go on earth, you’ll see these tag clips, buzzing. buzz. buzz. And you thought mobile phones ringing in theaters were a distraction!
Why does this matter anyway? Bear with me while I wear my geek boy glasses for a bit. First of all, Pokemon Go is a kind of ‘augmented reality’ system. Many people and organizations have tried to bring these systems into the mainstream, without any commercial success. The early popularity of Pokemon Go shows that augmented reality could truly be a new revolution on our doorstep, changing our lives more than text messages and selfies (for example). Hunting Pokemon is just the beginning of this revolution. Second, the convergence of artificial intelligence and augmented reality opens the door to a world where constant companions will be with us wherever we go, greatly enriching our experience of the world. Think Siri on Anavar.
Some readers will remember ‘Clippy’ and other attempts to supposedly enrich users’ experiences with desktop productivity software. If you don’t remember Clippy, consider yourself lucky. Clippy was an irritating wannabe who sometimes made you want to punch the screen just to get him to go away. And maybe that’s the point here. We don’t want them to make us rich. What we want is an enrichment that is there when we need or choose it, like a friend in our life whom we invite to come places with us. Pokémon can be alluring and magnetic, but they don’t invade our space unless we opt in. Simply put, friends are for when we want to play games or share experiences and sometimes when we want to open our hearts to a good listener. Newsflash: Dr. Pokémon will see you now.
However, sometimes friends lead you astray and get you into trouble, and apparently “‘I was collecting Pokémon’ is not a legal defence,” according to Western Australia police. Really? So if I chase my imaginary monster friend into your backyard, I can’t plead insanity? (Search “Pokémon madness” online. It’s already a thing.) I hear people are putting up signs on their properties now, telling Pokemon trainers not to trespass. In fact, some lawyers are suggesting that if you come onto my property and take my Pokémon it’s theft. You have been warned.