Grey nomads who enjoy the peace and quiet of Australia’s magnificent national parks may soon have to get used to having throngs of mainly youthful company … the Pokémon Go players are coming!
Since its release in Australia a couple of weeks ago, the smartphone game is breaking download and revenue records on iTunes and Googleplay. For the uninitiated, the game basically superimposes the Pokémon anime creatures into the real world using the phone’s camera, which players are then meant to ‘catch’. It effectively transforms the player’s immediate surroundings into monster-filled playgrounds.
Using GPS to pinpoint exact locations, players are alerted to virtual Pokémon ‘gyms’ and, certainly in the US, this is already bringing crowds of players into the national parks.
“In the last few weeks, we’ve noticed visitors coming to national parks using their phones to look for elusive digital creatures,” said Director Jon Jarvis of the US National Park Service. “Just make sure you keep your eyes open and stay safe … we don’t want you stumbling off the path or running into some of our real wildlife while you’re looking for the flying, swimming and crawling creatures in your screens.”
And the phenomenon is having a huge impact in Australia, as well. Last week, as many as 2,000 Pokémon Go players descended on Kings Park in Perth to catch virtual creatures and to do battle with other enthusiasts.
In the US, the National Park Service has decided to embrace the game as a way of potentially increasing visitor levels.
“One of our goals as part of the National Park Service Centennial is to connect with and create the next generation of park visitors, supporters, and advocates and games that use geolocation are a new and emerging opportunity to bring new audiences to the park,” said Tim Rains, a public affairs specialist at America’s Glacier National Park. “There’s always a push-pull between how we experience our parks virtually and how we experience our parks in real time … here is this combination of the two.”
According to a report in National Geographic magazine, Pokémon Go also has an educational component to it. For example, Great Smoky Mountains National Park has three Pokéstops. When found, historical text will pop up on screen, and players can tap an icon to learn more before returning to the game.
Pokémons have already popped up in iconic destinations such as Yosemite National Park and Grand Canyon National Park … and this is just the start. Where next? Uluru? Kakadu? Katherine Gorge?
