The whole world is going crazy over Pokemons. The little pocket monsters have made it to real world by using our smartphones through the power of maps and the magic of augmented reality. It doesn't matter whether you are a Pokemon fan or not, because you just cannot escape the madness of the world's most popular smartphone game.
However, if you are still wondering, what's all this fuss about the Pokemon's plague that has overshadowed the entire world, here are 10 facts that will help you understand the things better. These facts and figures will help you keep up with the humans roaming around with smartphones in their hands looking for their next catch.
1) Pokemon Go is a free location-based game developed by Niantic, which uses augmented reality combined with the GPS functionality and camera sensor of your smartphone. The game demands players to travel outside in order to find the Pokemons.
When you come across a Pokemon, the game utilises smartphone's camera and the Pokemons appears on the smartphone's display as a real-life 3D object.
2) Pokemon Go was released in some countries (USA, Australia, New Zealand) in July 2016 for iOS and Android devices. It is free-to-play game, but it also supports in-app purchases of additional game play items that help in catching the Pokemons.
3) The first step is to sign up and create your avatar-your digital self that will catch the Pokemons in the virtual world. Once you create your avatar, your current location along with a map of your immediate surroundings will be displayed on your smartphone's display.
Create your avatar - Pokemon GO character
The game-screen will also display PokeStops and Pokemon gyms. The PokeStops provide players with items that include such as eggs, Poke Balls, which helps you catch the Pokemons once they appear on your smartphone screen.
Besides, you will be offered a starter Pokemon and you can choose among the given three options that features Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur.
4) The popularity of the game can be measured in a way that it surpassed Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tinder and other popular mediums in terms of daily usage in just first weeks of its launch. Pokemon Go topped the American iOS App Store's 'Top Grossing' and 'Free' charts and become the fastest game to top the App Store and Google Play, beating Clash Royale. More so, within just two days of its launch, it was installed on more than 5% of Android devices in the United States.
5) The game was an instant hit and made Nintendo the talk of the town once again. The stock price of Japanese game maker doubled since the launch of the game on July 6. Moreover, Nintendo accounted for nearly one in four shares that changed hands on the Tokyo Stock Exchange main board.
6) As we mentioned that Pokemon Go is now officially out in US, UK, Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, the game is still yet to be officially launched in many other parts of the world. However that does not mean you cannot play the game if your country is not in the list.
You need to download the Pokémon Go APK file. Visit the Pokémon Go APK webpage from your smartphone and tap on 'Download APK'. Select 'OK' to overlook the warning message and Voila.. Pokemon Go will now download on your smartphone. Once it's downloaded, install the game to be a Pokemon catcher.
7) A number of users faced frequent crashes and authentication errors. Some players were unable to access the game through their Pokémon Trainer Club accounts; and only Gmail-based accounts were able to gain access to the game. This is because a hacking group called 'PoodleCorp' used a DDOS attack to take them down. The company noticed the attack and quickly fixed the problems on that very day.
8) As the game encourages players to walk around in the real world with their eyes hooked on their smartphone displays, Pokemon Go resulted in a number of mis-happenings from around the world. For example, a man in New York slammed his vehicle on a tree as he was driving and looking for Pokemons. Later he was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. A 15-year-old girl in Pennsylvania was hit by a car as she walked onto a busy highway while looking for Pikachu. These are just two examples of the growing rage of Pokemon Go.
9) But there's a bright side too. The health experts from around the globe have suggested that Pokemon Go can potentially improve the mental and physical health of players suffering from depression and social anxiety. Pokemon Go players also reported increased motivation to exercise and improved moods. Some experts say that this is an encouraging trend in a type of technology that has historically kept people confined to their chairs. Do read - 8 Must Have Android Apps for Your Smartphone
10) Last but not the least, the ever so popular Pikachu, Pokemon the world is looking for is not that hard to catch. You will need to sign out of your Google account and create a brand new one if you have already started playing the game with the three Pokemons offered to you when you sign up for the game. Or you can just register with a new Pokemon Trainer Club account.
Now when you restart the game, you need ignore the first three Pokemons offered to you. Just don't walk towards them even if they keep on re appearing on your smartphone's screen. Now this is where things get exciting. After they have appeared for the fifth or sixth time, you'll see start seeing another Pokemons appear near you, and that's where you get the Pikachu.
Now you just need to throw the ball catch the little monster king- Pikachu.
Hope the given tips and tricks to play Pokemon go will help you to catch the Pikachu.
