Phoenicians Go Wild For 'Pokemon Go'

"Pokemon Go" is probably your newest obsession or your two least favorite words.
 
The GPS-based mobile game was released less than a week ago, but is already a cultural phenomenon. It’s been downloaded millions of times, and brought Nintendo – which owns a stake in the Pokemon franchise – billions of dollars.

So, I went in search of Pokemon and the game’s impact on the Valley. The problem is, I don’t I know anything about "Pokemon Go," and don’t have the storage left on my phone to download it.

It seemed smart to jump in a car with a Pokemon ambassador.

“I got him! I got him!” said my coworker Sky Schaudt, excitedly, looking into her phone and smiling. “OK. Just letting you know."

Schaudt has been driving around town with her family searching for Pokemon, which are virtual creatures you can digitally capture and train.

It’s a good thing for the kids, except, “They don’t know anything about directions or where anything is,” Schaudt said before impersonating her children, “so they’ll say ‘Uh!’ And I’ll be like, ‘What do you want me to do?”

They probably would be totally overwhelmed at our first stop, the Phoenix Zoo, with a Pokemon population of more than 30.

“Yeah, it’s sort of a hotbed or treasure trove of Pokemon,” said zoo spokeswoman Kerri Baumann.

Baumann, who calls herself “a bit of a geek,” downloaded the game shortly after it was released.

“I may have been a little enthusiastic about it,” she said, laughing.

That’s good, because she was told to scour the zoo to make sure all the Pokémon were in safe spots, after zoos in other cities have reported Pokemon in off-limits areas.

“At that point, I was kind of floored that I was asked to play the game at work, at the zoo,” Baumann said. “Doesn’t get any better than that.”

Not only did she find bunch of safely accessible Pokemon, but she met many fellow players. They’re easy to spot, she said, looking down intently into their phones, and making quick, occasionally swiping motions with their finger.

At our second stop, a Phoenix gas station, clerk Sam Reyes has been seeing this for days.

“Today?” he said. “Three people.”

Reyes said it’s strange to see people looking around the station’s store, and circling the gas pumps, phone in hand, as if they’ve lost something, especially since they all seem to be in their 20s and 30s.

“It’s weird,” he said. “You’re seeing adults, you know, playing. It’s like a kids game.”

He’s not the only flummoxed by this cultural phenomenon. A spokesman for an international aerospace company had never heard of the game – until something called a Pokestop, was placed on one of the company’s buildings in north Phoenix. It seems no one’s tried to jump the property’s fence yet, but the company beefed up its security, just in case.

Phoenix police Lt. Paul Taylor said he had to look up "Pokemon Go" on Wikipedia so he could handle the dozen or so media requests he’s received so far.

“Yeah, if you’d told me 10 years ago that you would need to talk to the police department about a video game, I would have thought you were funny,” he said. “But those are the times in which we live now.”

Taylor, who hasn’t been hooked on video games since the Atari era, said reporters like me have been asking constantly about possible crimes or safety concerns associated with the "Pokemon Go." Turns out, there have been reports of Pokemon-related misdeeds across the country, and there are big concerns about privacy because of how much personal data the game collects.

Taylor said it’s too soon to know how much nefarious activity "Pokemon Go" has generated in Phoenix. Valley police departments have issued a reminder to people not to trespass, and Taylor said to just be aware, especially when you’re outside playing the game.

“If you don’t feel safe there, follow that instinct, and always remember that a video game is not worth your health and safety,” he said.     

“So, follow your instinct instead of following a Pokémon?” I asked.

“Very well, succinctly put,” he said. “Yes, ma’am.”

And if your instinct takes you to the Phoenix Zoo, you’re in luck. Starting Sunday, the place will be open an hour early to accommodate "Pokemon Go" players and the general public through July 23.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been modified to clarify the days the Phoenix Zoo will open early. A photo in this story has also been modified to correctly identify the name of an animal at the Phoenix Zoo.