Pokémon Go was an all-ages breakout mobile game hit in the summer of 2016, and it kept on existing even after it was no longer in the headlines. This morning, there was good news for lapsed and loyal players: The game is introducing more than 80 new species of critters, adding more in-game boosts, wardrobe options for players’ avatars, and items that will help players direct the evolution of their Pokémon. [More]
Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go, Iron Man Play-Doh, Game Of Life: Empire Among 2016 Tasteless Toys Nominees
By 11.21.16
Many of us will be out shopping (or at least rolling over in bed to shop on our phones) this holiday weekend, and more than a few of us will be picking up toys for the youngsters we love (or are obligated to be near at least twice each year). In advance of this retail rush, the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood has put out its list of kids’ toys that will warm the cockles of marketing executives around the world, and make other folks long for the days of wooden trains on pull strings. [More]
Town Wants To Ban Pokémon Go After People Actually Use Public Parks
By 9.2.16
Businesses, museums, and homeowners have asked to be removed from the augmented, monster-filled reality of the game Pokémon Go. The city of Des Moines in Washington State is taking it even further, though: the government is tired of sending police to manage the swarms of Pokémon trainers in its waterfront park, and wants to ban the game. [More]
Niantic Writes Back To Sen. Al Franken, Says Privacy Concerns Are All Fixed Now
By 9.1.16
Back in July, when the Pokémon Go fad first hit and users had serious questions about the types of personal data that the location-based game was gobbling, Senator Al Franken of Minnesota decided to step in and add some gravitas to the proceedings. Franken is concerned about privacy and technology and how they intersect in new products like the Oculus Rift or Apple Music. His office sent game-maker Niantic a letter back in mid-July. The company responded, and their response, predictably, is that users shouldn’t have any privacy concerns. [More]
Has Pokémon Go Run Its Course?
By 8.23.16
And just like that, the uber-popular Pokémon Go game has begun to fizzle out. Or at least, that’s the takeaway from a new report that found usage of the app has dropped by tens of millions of users. [More]
French Mayor Seeks Ban On “Anarchical Settlement” Of Pokémon Go Characters
By 8.17.16
Wherever Pokémon Go players roam, it seems there’s bound to be someone who doesn’t want anything to do with the virtual creatures. Like in France, where the mayor of one village wants to banish the “anarchical settlement” of Pokémon Go characters that have taken up residence in his “territory.” [More]
Couple’s Lawsuit Claims Pokémon Go Has Made Their Neighborhood Unsafe
By 8.11.16
Pokémon Go has changed not only the way the game’s players see the world — a virtual landscape filled with collectible monsters — but it’s also changed the way other people experience it, as well. Like the couple suing Niantic and Nintendo, claiming that their formerly quiet neighborhood has been made unsafe with all the rampaging hordes of Pokémon Go players. [More]
Pesticide Workers Finding It Tricky To Spray For Mosquitoes Amid Swarms Of Pokémon Go Players
By 8.4.16
Pokémon Go players have basically one job: catch Pokémon. Pesticide workers also have a job to do: kill bugs. Those two occupations are getting a bit tangled up in Texas, where truck drivers trying to spray for mosquitoes are happening upon swarms of Pokémon Go fans at all hours of the day and night. [More]
Daycare Gets Itself Removed From Pokémon Go After Too Many Strangers Show Up
By 8.2.16
Add daycare businesses to the list of places that would rather not have swarms of Pokémon Go players showing up every day: a New Hampshire child care center successfully got removed from the game after its status as a “gym” prompted strangers to pop up in the parking lot a bit too often. [More]
New York Will Bar Sex Offenders On Parole From Playing Pokémon Go
By 8.1.16
In an effort to keep sex offenders on parole from taking advantage of games like Pokémon Go to gain access to children, New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo says that population won’t be allowed to play the mobile game. [More]
Pokémon Go Creators Removing Some Locations In Effort To Be “Respectful” Of Reality
By 7.29.16
Since Pokémon Go launched earlier this month, the mobile game has sent out into the world in droves, seeking Pokemon, as well as “Pokéstops,” where they can stock up on Pokéballs. But those stops and gyms are all real life locations — and some of the people who live or work there aren’t exactly pleased with the new crowds. [More]
Nintendo Delays Pokémon Go Wearable Release Until September
By 7.27.16
Pokémon Go fever is now global, but the frenzy over the game will eventually fizzle out a bit. That’s inevitable. That’s why it’s a bad sign that Nintendo has announced that a new wearable device that goes with the game has been delayed by two months. [More]
Pokémon Go Shouldn’t Be Used To Sell Fast Food To Kids, Say Advocates
By 7.25.16
Last week, Niantic, the company behind the wildly popular Pokémon Go app, unveiled its first sponsored partnership with McDonald’s in Japan, turning the country’s fast food restaurants into PokéStops where players can purchase items for their characters. While there currently aren’t any sponsored stops stateside, one group is trying to get ahead of the Poké-ball, urging the game maker not to deliver personalized ads to kids based on PokéStops and gyms at retail locations. [More]
Driver Who Sideswiped Police Cruiser While Playing Pokémon Go: “That’s What I Get”
By 7.20.16
Police in Baltimore are adding to the chorus of law enforcement everywhere, urging folks to put down Pokémon Go while they’re driving after a man distracted by the game sideswiped an empty police cruiser. [More]
Nintendo Is Now Worth More Than Sony And Has Pokémon Go To Thank
By 7.20.16
It’s been quite a good month for Nintendo, all because of this game you may have heard of, Pokémon Go. The company’s worth has more than doubled since the mobile game launched on July 6, sending its worth climbing past that of its fellow Japanese company, Sony, in short order. [More]
GameStop Says Pokémon Go Has Boosted Some Stores’ Sales By 100%
By 7.18.16
As we know, some businesses have embraced the Pokémon Go craze as a way to drum up business. That became more evident over the weekend as GameStop used its status in the game to increase sales at some stores by 100%. [More]
Reminder: Selling Or Buying A Pokémon Go Account Counts As Cheating
By 7.18.16
Although it might be tempting to make a few bucks off the stable of rare or valuable Pokémon you’ve collected so far in Pokémon Go by selling your account, according to game maker Niantic’s player guidelines, that’s cheating. [More]
