'Pokémon Go' Launch Faces String of Robberies, Crimes, and Car Accidents

[MacRumors]

Although Nintendo, Niantic, and The Pokémon Company have a few good reasons to celebrate the launch of their new augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go, a couple of incidents related to the game have already begun sprouting up over the past few days, bringing to light a few cautionary tales for everyone delving into the game.

Because it requires players to travel to real-world destinations in order to stock up on Poké Balls, eggs, and potions, and compete at gyms, some individuals have been capitalizing on the game's mechanics to trap and rob its players. According to a Facebook post from the O'Fallon Police Department in Missouri, four people were arrested over the weekend after using a Lure Module at a PokéStop to draw in unsuspecting players and rob them at gunpoint.

"Many of you have asked how the app was used to rob victims, the way we believe it was used is you can add a beacon to a pokestop to lure more players," the police department said in a statement on Facebook. "Apparently they were using the app to locate [people] standing around in the middle of a parking lot or whatever other location they were in."

The Lure Modules work as ways to bait more Pokémon into showing up to any PokéStop for 30 minutes, and enhances the Stop's visibility to a glowing pink color when in use, so it's easy for other players nearby to notice. Due to this, other cities across the United States have reported Pokémon Go-related thefts since the game launched last week, including a few in Philadelphia.

Other users playing the game have been lead to a few scary discoveries, including one woman who found a corpse while traveling to a PokéStop in Wyoming. Nineteen-year-old Shayla Wiggins jumped a fence to capture a nearby Pokémon, but instead discovered the dead body of a man who is believed to have drowned in the Big Wind River. According to the local police department, "There is no evidence at this time that would indicate foul play."

Nintendo reminds users to be aware of their surroundings every time the app is opened, and a few states have issued specific warnings as well, but there have also been some driving-related incidents since the game launched. While Pokémon Go encourages players to strike off the beaten path to discover wild Pokémon nearby, most have discovered -- especially in cities where walking is inhibited -- that it's easy to idle past nearby PokéStops and Gyms, already leading to more than a handful of Pokémon Go-influenced accidents.

Pokémon Go is still in its early stages, with Niantic promising continuous updates down the line to enhance player interactivity with the game thanks to the addition of social aspects like Pokémon trading. The company hasn't yet divulged when the first update will be hitting, however, since the app has yet to launch worldwide. Pokémon Go isn't considered one of Nintendo's official smartphone games, but it does appear to hint at a more popular staying power than Miitomo, which launched earlier in the year. Next up the company plans to debut apps related to the Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing franchises.

In the United States, Australia, and New Zealand Pokémon Go can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: 'Pokémon Go' Launch Faces String of Robberies, Crimes, and Car Accidents

 

[macpeach55]

It was difficult enough already to get kids to look up from their phones and avoid being run over or walk off a cliff. Now we have car drivers adding to the chaos.

 

[CapucheNoir]

Wow, didn't expect Team Rocket to be part of this game!

 

[iLoveDeveloping]

LOL And all people wanted was mario.....

 

[MH01]

bring it to UK / Europe already .

Well done Nintendo , looks like a global hit.

 

[nfl46]

I am not surprised. No joke, I was on my balcony yesterday and I see this guy walking all over the lot with his phone inches from his face...my guess is, he was playing Pokemon. Ridiculous.

 

[Klae17]

I am not surprised. No joke, I was on my balcony yesterday and I see this guy walking all over the lot with his phone in this inches from his face...my guess is, he was playing Pokemon. Ridiculous.

One guy? There are thousands of us playing. It's a great community. Stay safe everyone!

 

[oneMadRssn]

I think it should be socially acceptable and encouraged, when approached by someone staring into their phone and being totally oblivious to their surrounding (not seeing you to politely move to the side so you can each pass each other), to slap the phone out of their hands and straight onto the pavement.

 

[Waxhead138]

Yesterday afternoon a kid walked through my front lawn....and continued to walk through other peoples front lawns as well. It was odd....all of our lawns parallel the street we live on, like any other suburbia street. I wonder if this game had something to do with it. Personally doesn't bother me as long as people don't get destructive or steal my trashcans (yep that happened once lol...karma for stuff I did as a teen is that way I saw it).

On a serious note though...and I haven't played it....I'm guessing GPS is required to be on? If so, at the very least the game should be aware of what is private property and not guide people into those areas, specifically peoples lawns. While the majority of people will not be bothered by a passerby, we all know there will be exceptions. No one wants to see anyone (and in all probability it would be a kid) get hurt over wandering somewhere they shouldn't. There need to be some safety measures built in...whether people ignore them is another issue...but they need to be in the app.

 

[AtariMac]

Game seems goofy to me, but my 16 year old son has gotten more exercise chasing Pokemon all over town than he has in a long time. He told me that the running joke is that Pokemon Go has done more to get kids moving in 24 hours than Michele Obama was able to in the last eight years.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

One guy? There are thousands of us playing. It's a great community. Stay safe everyone!

Thousands is an understatement.

Approximately 1 in 100 people who download a free app will review it. Pokemon Go has 42K US reviews, which suggests they have over 4M downloads in the US alone.

 

[allenvanhellen]

It doesn't face those things, it coincides with the stupidity.

 

[hungx]

It was difficult enough already to get kids to look up from their phones and avoid being run over or walk off a cliff. Now we have car drivers adding to the chaos.

It doesn't work while driving. Hatching is disabled when the player is traveling faster than a pre-specified speed.

 

[keysofanxiety]

It doesn't face those things, it coincides with the stupidity.

Somebody's jelly about not being a Pokémon master. Bug Catcher Allenvanhellen sent out Metapod!

 

[kingofwale]

One guy? There are thousands of us playing. It's a great community. Stay safe everyone!

thousands?? try millions

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Yesterday afternoon a kid walked through my front lawn....and continued to walk through other peoples front lawns as well. It was odd....all of our lawns parallel the street we live on, like any other suburbia street. I wonder if this game had something to do with it. Personally doesn't bother me as long as people don't get destructive or steal my trashcans (yep that happened once lol...karma for stuff I did as a teen is that way I saw it).

Yes, they were probably playing. I was doing the same thing. The game vaguely lets you know when you're getting closer or further from Pokemon, and they tend to be in more grassy areas rather than right on the road/sidewalk.

On a serious note though...and I haven't played it....I'm guessing GPS is required to be on? If so, at the very least the game should be aware of what is private property and not guide people into those areas, specifically peoples lawns.

I don't think there's any easy way to determine what is and isn't private property. Private property is normally determined at a city/town level, and a lot of cities/towns don't publish that kind of information anywhere on the internet. If they do publish it on the internet at all, there's no systematic way of finding it, and once you do find it, it's likely just some kind of PDF map with a legend, not in a format that would be super easy for developers to extract the data from.

 

[bigjnyc]

This beats out world of warcraft for the geekiest thing to do. But on the bright side this gets kids outside and out of their parents basement, so some progress there.

 

[sfobear]

I am not surprised. No joke, I was on my balcony yesterday and I see this guy walking all over the lot with his phone inches from his face...my guess is, he was playing Pokemon. Ridiculous.

Or he could have been playing Ingress...I've done some pretty silly things trying to get access to a portal.

 

[macpeach55]

This beats out world of warcraft for the geekiest thing to do. But on the bright side this gets kids outside and out of their parents basement, so some progress there.

I love your signature! Next time I delete an app on my iPad I will actually feel bad!

 

[Waxhead138]

Yes, they were probably playing. I was doing the same thing. The game vaguely lets you know when you're getting closer or further from Pokemon, and they tend to be in more grassy areas rather than right on the road/sidewalk.



I don't think there's any easy way to determine what is and isn't private property. Private property is normally determined at a city/town level, and a lot of cities/towns don't publish that kind of information anywhere on the internet. If they do publish it on the internet at all, there's no systematic way of finding it, and once you do find it, it's likely just some kind of PDF map with a legend, not in a format that would be super easy for developers to extract the data from.

You make a valid point. If that info were easily publicly accessible, that would probably in some way bring with it more headaches than the occasional walker, now that I think about it.
[doublepost=1468248615][/doublepost]

I think it should be socially acceptable and encouraged, when approached by someone staring into their phone and being totally oblivious to their surrounding (not seeing you to politely move to the side so you can each pass each other), to slap the phone out of their hands and straight onto the pavement.

Off Topic.....but that would have made an awesome Fight Club "Homework Assignment."

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I will break your jaw if you even tried to assault me or my property.

This is escalating quickly...

1. You're walking and glancing at your phone periodically.
2. During a periodic glance you bump into someone.
3. That person then slaps your phone out of your hands.
4. And then you break their jaw.

We went from playing a game to breaking a face in a fraction of a second.

Edit: To be clear, both 3 and 4 mark major escalations. I didn't mean to imply that only 4 was a major escalation, as many people seem to have thought I meant.

 

[Kaibelf]

I am not surprised. No joke, I was on my balcony yesterday and I see this guy walking all over the lot with his phone inches from his face...my guess is, he was playing Pokemon. Ridiculous.

I was walking yesterday and saw no less than 20 other people playing in a city park. Ridiculous? No. They were having loads of fun and were talking. I personally walked almost 4 miles before I went home around lunchtime. My feet hurt, but I had gotten more morning sun, fresh air, and exercise than I had in probably a good year.

 

[macpeach55]

I will break wind if you even tried to assault me or my property.

Fixed it for you - both of you should not stoop to physical threats, however nebulous, on a Public Forum.

 

[slapppy]

If you walk all over my property, I will let you know that you need to get the H out of my property. If you don't I'll call the cops. Idiots like these who do not respect anyones property of space needs some serious psychological help.

 

[Kaibelf]

I think it should be socially acceptable and encouraged, when approached by someone staring into their phone and being totally oblivious to their surrounding (not seeing you to politely move to the side so you can each pass each other), to slap the phone out of their hands and straight onto the pavement.

So suppose someone is having a text conversation where they are asking directions. You advocate attacking them and destroying their property? If you did that to me, I guarantee you'd end up in handcuffs.