Pok\u00e9mon Go is the long-awaited augmented-reality iPhone and Android counterpart to the original Game Boy series. The game has swept through the United States, New Zealand and Australia, and is prompting a mania that has already pushed its usage levels close to that of Twitter\u2019s, by some measures. It\u2019s an augmented-reality smartphone app that has captured the minds and playful spirits of millions worldwide.<\/p>\n
The objects are Japanese game characters, and the means by which they are seen is mobile phone screens in conjunction with geolocation technology. None of this is new: We have had augmented reality<\/strong>, geolocation and hit mobile games for several years. So, what is new in it? Millennial generation is getting old and Pok\u00e9mon Go is their first mass-consumption nostalgia product.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n A mania that has already pushed its usage levels close to that of Twitter\u2019s<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Concerns about the game have certainly crossed into the mainstream already. Because of the number of people who appear to be walking around distracted while playing the game, local law enforcement, health groups and city agencies have issued tips on how to safely play Pok\u00e9mon Go. Other groups are raising questions about the privacy risks that could be caused by the game, all of which underscore just how early we still are on augmented reality.<\/p>\n Unlike other viral games, Pok\u00e9mon Go has not kept players cooped up inside staring at their screens. Instead, it sends people out to streets, parks, beaches and beyond because the game uses augmented reality, a technology that fuses the digital world with the real world. To play Pok\u00e9mon Go, users need to walk around their neighborhoods or towns with their smartphones looking for Pok\u00e9mon characters to pop up on their screen and then capture those characters.<\/p>\n Pok\u00e9mon Go\u2019s popularity could mean a tipping point for augmented reality, particularly because the game is easy to download and play. It doesn\u2019t involve fancy new headsets or other equipment, which virtual reality typically requires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pok\u00e9mon Go is the long-awaited augmented-reality iPhone and Android counterpart to the original Game Boy series. The game has swept through the United States, New Zealand and Australia, and is prompting a mania that has already pushed its usage levels close to that of Twitter\u2019s, by some measures. It\u2019s an augmented-reality smartphone app that has\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_scj_primary_category_id":51,"_scj_featured":true,"_scj_featured_from":"","_scj_featured_until":"","_scj_featured_order":1712,"_scj_visibility_class":"current","_scj_layout_family":"standard","_scj_article_style":"","_scj_display_overrides":[],"_scj_intro_image_id":2701,"_scj_intro_alt":"Pok\u00e9mon Go","_scj_intro_caption":"","_scj_intro_class":"","_scj_intro_float":"","_scj_full_image_id":2701,"_scj_full_alt":"Pok\u00e9mon Go","_scj_full_caption":"Pok\u00e9mon Go","_scj_full_class":"","_scj_full_float":"","_scj_media_type":"","_scj_media_provider":"","_scj_media_external_id":"","_scj_media_url":"","_scj_media_poster_id":0,"_scj_media_width":0,"_scj_media_height":0,"_scj_media_aspect_ratio":"","_scj_media_description":"","_scj_gallery_items":[],"_scj_related_post_ids":[],"_scj_additional_authors":[],"scj_layout_family":"standard","scj_media_provider":"","scj_media_url":"","scj_full_caption":"Pok\u00e9mon Go","footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[4261,4181],"class_list":["post-2702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-3d","tag-app"],"yoast_head":"\n\n