United In Pokémon

With over 7 million downloads and counting, Pokémon Go fever has gripped the nation, but what does this latest fad tells us about life in the modern age? It’s solving crimes, causing accidents and ruining relationships. It’s pushing couch potatoes onto city streets and careening across highways. Installed on 10% of all Android phones (15% internationally) and downloaded on more than 15 million iPhones and iPads, Pokémon Go now resides on more homescreens than Candy Crush, LinkedIn and Tinder. There’s no denying the popularity and reach of Pokémon Go. Within 13 hours of launching, the app grabbed the No. 1 spot in iPhone app store. Even more astounding, Pokémon Go has already generated $14 million in revenue within its first week of existence, pushing Nintendo’s stock up 24%. There’s no doubt Pokémon Go is a phenomenon. All that’s left is a deal with McDonalds (done), a cover on Rolling Stone and a skit on Saturday Night Live. But what exactly is Pokémon GO, and how does the mania reflect the increasing influence of mobile technology and the millennial bottleneck on modern society? Snapshot of Trend Pokémon Go plays upon the legacy of Nintendo’s original Pokémon franchise, which debuted in the late 1990s as a game designed for the Nintendo Gameboy. The basic premise involves collecting various Pokémon creatures and pitting them against each other in battle. Pokémon eventually evolved into a several spin-off games, movies and even a television show. While the original Pokémon restricted play to the gaming console, Pokémon Go users must now leave their house in order to play. The app uses an augmented reality via a gadget’s camera to combine gameplay with the real world, tracking user locations to reveal designated Pokéstops, Poké Balls and Pokémons ready for capture. Once...