OK…I just can’t avoid the topic for this week’s blog: Pokémon Go. Yikes!!!!
Everywhere I turn from Facebook to the TV to the internet, there are stories about this smartphone game that everyone is supposedly playing. Well, almost everyone: I have yet to download Pokémon Go, and I don’t think I am really planning to do so anytime soon. One key reason is at the heart of this—I am a klutz and know that I cannot walk and play a game at the same time. Disaster will surely follow! I was curious about how Pokémon Go is affecting the Albany, NY, area, so I Googled “Albany NY and Pokémon Go” to find over 2,310,000 search results! What?! Googling “Pokémon Go” itself yielded over 36,000,000 results! (I know I am using a lot of explanation points, but wow! This game has only been available since July 6!).
Back to Albany, NY: since Pokémon like noteworthy public and historical places, I figured Albany would be filled with the little creatures, and I was right. Pokémon are being caught at places such as the Empire State Plaza, Washington Park, the State Capitol building, and if you go to other Capital Region cities, you can find Pokémon in places such as the Stockade area of Schenectady and in historic downtown Troy. You can also find Poké Stops in some of these locations where you can collect the Poké Balls needed to catch Pokémon. Whoa!
The University at Albany is swarming with Pokémon, so I wanted to see what I could find out about Maria College and the craze. Well, online, I didn’t find any specific mention of Pokémon being found on the Maria College campus, but at nearby Buckingham Pond, a gamer noted on Reddit that he captured one, and nearby Delaware Avenue is supposedly loaded with the creatures too. The game is getting people out and about walking and talking to other gamers which is a positive effect, but there have been some physical mishaps including falls and car crashes too! Yikes! If you are enjoying the Pokémon craze, have fun, but please, watch where you are going, and if I ever start playing, I’m sure I will bump into you…literally!
Until next time,
Anne