That Pokemon thing
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<p>I resist this sort of shit at all costs and Pokémon is no exception. I'll be interested to see if the boys come back from school next week talking about it ( school holidays at the moment as all fellow parents will know ).</p>
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<p>My view is that there's enough interesting stuff out there already without adding stupid fucken imaginary shit. I take my boys to the Wellington windmill, Wrights Hill ( where they are fascinated in the cannons that were to protect us from Japanese invaders in WW2 ), Kaitoke Park etc. Pro Pokémon ( fuck even the name gives me the shits ) folk will say it gives you an excuse to visit places but why need an excuse ? My view is to go out, experience nature and get the lungs working then come home and blob out and play with electronics/DVDs etc if that's what they want. </p> -
<p>Someone telling others on the internet why he's a better parent than you is always awesome</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="mariner4life" data-cid="597998" data-time="1468885949">
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<p>Someone telling others on the internet why he's a better parent than you is always awesome</p>
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<p>It's not unlike threads on driving, we're all awesome as individuals and the rest of the world is shit.</p> -
My boys haven't gotten into this yet but only one has a phone and he doesn't have the data to catch imaginary Japanese cartoons. <br><br>
I heard people were also going into a holocaust museum looking for these things. Have there been any deaths recorded yet? -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Rancid Schnitzel" data-cid="598011" data-time="1468890644">
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<p>My boys haven't gotten into this yet but only one has a phone and he doesn't have the data to catch imaginary Japanese cartoons.<br><br>
I heard people were also going into a holocaust museum looking for these things. Have there been any deaths recorded yet?</p>
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<p>Headhunters Gang HQ as well apparently....</p> -
<p>I've been playing it with my kids, i find their excitement to be quite infectious. I typically don't let the kids play video games for more than 10 minutes each per day (after they've done their Reading Eggs lessons) but this one is slightly better in that it has them running around outside. We've actually learnt a bit about our neighbourhood that we otherwise would not have (like how many churches of various christian denominations there are !). </p>
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<p>I had lunch at the Opera Bar near the Sydney Opera House today - lots of cops around because Joe Biden is in town but whats amazing is how many people are playing PokemonGo around there. Hundreds of people and everyone seems really friendly about it too.</p>
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<p>The way Niantech have monetized PokemonGo is whats most interesting for me. Niantech are reportedly pulling in $1.6m a day, many businesses are buying lures for pokestops nearby and seeing an immediate uptick in foot traffic for what is approximately only $2.60 per hour.</p>
<p>I read somewhere that Niantechs next move is to have sponsored Pokestops which will cost businesses on a per visit basis. </p> -
I know very little about Pokemon Go apart from some kids in US have already been shot at as they were in a car late at night "acting suspicious" <br><br>
Does anyone know what the business model is behind it - do you pay for an app to play or is there advertising involved? -
<p>the NSA developed it so they can collect the data of millions of people wandering around looking at shit...</p>
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<p>A girl at work who is SUPER EXCITED about it tried to explain, but I couldnae do it.</p>
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<p>Look, if it was finding a Hemsworth or Henry Cavill, I'd be all over that shit, but Pokemon? Fucking nope.</p>
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<p>(Great for kiddies though, good on them.)</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Donsteppa" data-cid="598121" data-time="1468917786">
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<p>Too many grumpy old bastards on this thread. I have the barest clue as to what the whole Pokemon thing is all about, but it's keeping a lot of people happy and getting them off the couch, so good luck to them.</p>
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<p>Yeah, I'm a fan too (of it existing, not of playing it), if people want to scamper about catching them good luck to them. Even better if it gets the odd dad to go for a walk round a park with his kids while they catch some.</p>
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<p>It does amaze me that people talk about how sad it is for adults to do this, but will happily play Championship Manager or GTA for an entire weekend. Or rewatch a Super game to see what they missed first time round. Or spend a day at the golf watching a blokes swing. I watched a solid hour of 2 & Half Men last night. That I'd already seen before. Going for a walk & bagging a Pokemon would have been a huge step up from that. Even tho' Megan Fox was in it.</p>
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<p>Almost all pastimes are sad to someone. </p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="gollum" data-cid="598196" data-time="1468938625">
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<p>Yeah, I'm a fan too (of it existing, not of playing it), if people want to scamper about catching them good luck to them. Even better if it gets the odd dad to go for a walk round a park with his kids while they catch some.</p>
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<p>It does amaze me that people talk about how sad it is for adults to do this, but will happily play Championship Manager or GTA for an entire weekend. Or rewatch a Super game to see what they missed first time round. Or spend a day at the golf watching a blokes swing. I watched a solid hour of 2 & Half Men last night. That I'd already seen before. Going for a walk & bagging a Pokemon would have been a huge step up from that. Even tho' Megan Fox was in it.</p>
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<p>Almost all pastimes are sad to someone. </p>
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<p>Or post tens of thousands of times on a "rugby" forum</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="dogmeat" data-cid="598204" data-time="1468959779">
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<p>Or post tens of thousands of times on a "rugby" forum</p>
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<p><img src="http://img.pandawhale.com/80618-you-are-very-good-you-gif-Robe-4mBR.gif" alt="80618-you-are-very-good-you-gif-Robe-4mB"></p> -
<p>It's the visibility that makes this trend different.</p>
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<p>Normally a video game/app will come out and be massively popular, but people will be playing it behind closed doors so it's not really noticeable. But with Pokemon people are out and about, crowding public spaces, parks etc. </p>
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<p>One of the reasons why IMO this has been more frenzied than most gaming trends, inspiring stronger reactions both for and against.</p> -
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Cookie" data-cid="598105" data-time="1468915049">
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<p>I know very little about Pokemon Go apart from some kids in US have already been shot at as they were in a car late at night "acting suspicious"<br><br>
Does anyone know what the business model is behind it - do you pay for an app to play or is there advertising involved?</p>
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<p>The game is free and theres no advertising.</p>
<p>Theres an ingame shop where its possible to purchase coins that can be exchanged for items that expedite progress.</p>
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<p>Most of the stuff for purchase are pretty standard however the AR aspect brings a different element.</p>
<p>The aim of the game is to collect Pokemon. Tracking them down in the wild takes a long time as it requires the player to physically navigate the real world however its possible to buy lures that can be inserted into a pokestop which attracts Pokemons to a fixed real world location for 30 minutes. </p>
<p>Everyone in the game can see a pokestop as having a lure so people go flocking to that location in the real world so they can nab some pokemon in the augmented world.</p>
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<p>At present, its not just players who are buying the lures - businesses are buying them too because it attracts lots of people to their location.</p>
<p>Its this characteristic coupled with the Pokemon franchise that differentiates it from all that have come before it. </p>
<p>As I mentioned earlier, the next step is for Niantech to offer pokestops for purchase to businesses and charge on a per visit basis. </p>
