Richmond police are sounding a special warning to local Pokemon Go players who may be so immersed in the game that they put themselves in danger specific to Lulu Island — such as falling into ditches, or walking off docks.
The light-hearted safety reminder for players of the popular augmented reality game did come with a serious message, after tales of gamers being injured or causing public safety concerns emerged across North America this week.
“We are most concerned with the safety of potential players. This type of gaming is novel and its early adoption is rather unprecedented. It can be very easy to get so caught up in something and ignore safety entirely. We really wish to get the safety message out as early as possible,” said Cpl Dennis Hwang, via email.
“We are also very concerned about the deployment of valuable police resources . . . We do not wish to be spoilsports, as many of our officers enjoy gaming too, but we want to make sure that our resources are not tied up investigating Pokémon players . . . Hopefully, our tips will help. Pika Pika!” said Hwang.
Pokemon Go is a smartphone application that uses location services to explore neighbourhoods for Pokemon monsters that show up on the phone’s video screen, as if they are there in reality. Akin to geocaching, gamers attempt to collect the monsters by visiting specific locations.
“There are positive aspects to this game. It requires players to explore the community by travelling to different places, usually by walking, which in turn, promotes physical exercise,” said Hwang.
That said, there have been numerous reports of injuries, as gamers do anything in their power to acquire the monsters.
Feel thankful that Pokemon GO hasn’t launched in Richmond yet. https://t.co/6x3dulNBC5
— Richmond Drivers (@RichmondDrivers) July 10, 2016
Hwang said gamers should play with at least one other friend and be mindful of property.
In less than a week, the mobile app became so popular Google data showed on Monday that searches for Pokemon Go overtook those for pornography.
The app isn’t even available in Canada yet but a reported six per cent of Canadians have bypassed the restriction by signing into an American Apple itunes or Google Play account.
Monsters have shown up at various Richmond locations, most notably in Steveston and at Minoru Park.
The @Marriott hotels in #RichmondBC has a Gym. Lol #Vancouver #PokemonGO
— Chris Tsang (@onlychristsang1) July 11, 2016
On Craigslist.ca, one Richmond resident offered to be a PokemonGo chauffer for those without the means to drive around the city.
The driver offered his “Poke Hack” services for $25 per hour, or $30 with an additional passenger.
Hwang warned of the potential for distracted driving.
On Thursday USAToday.com reported downloads had reached 15 million and gamers were spending, on average, 33 minutes per day on the game.
Concerns have been raised over Pokemon Go’s lack of security settings, allowing developer Nintendo to access everything in one's Google account, via an iphone.
Nintendo can earn money from in-game purchases and data collection on gamers.
