Friday, July 15, 2016
It may not surprise you to learn that the Pokémon Go phenomenon continues to grow. As such, here are a few more items that may interest readers of this blog:
- Some players have gone so far as to break into an Ohio zoo in order to round up pokémons after hours. The two were collected by authorities and entered a plea of not guilty to trespassing charges.
- Such incidents have raised legal questions about the pursuit. For example, you do not have a right to the virtual space around your property. That is, the Pikachu virtually in your backyard is not yours, nor is it trespassing. Actual interlopers, however, may be guilty of trespass, as noted in the item above. The game's creators, Niantic, may be liable to accusations of negligence if their game places people in peril unreasonably. My guess is that it is only a matter of time before such lawsuits are launched.
- That being said, Pokémongolians seem to be pretty hardy. Michael Baker of Forest Grove, Oregon, for example, was playing the game at 1am when he was stabbed by a stranger on the street. He did not immediately seek medical aid because, "Right after I was stabbed, I continued my mission to Plaid Pantry for my mission for chips and beer."
- The San Diego Sheriff's office reports that two men fell off a cliff while pursuing the virtual critters. The men crossed a barrier at the crest of the cliff while hunting for more pokémons to collect and went a step too far. One fell over 50 feet, the other 100. Both were taken to a local hospital with actual but minor injuries.
If you have found Pokémon Go annoying now, wait until the game is ported to Microsoft's Hololens system. These are virtual reality goggles worn over the face. Then, players might be running around the streets engaged in virtual battles, running into and of off all sort of things! (Happily this system is in a "pre-alpha" phase right now.)