Viral mobile game giving birth to virtual, physical communities in Pakistan.
KARACHI: Nostalgia is something not everyone can deal with. Back in the day, owning Pokémon cards and mulling over their trading was the real deal. Schools would ban them and yet students would continue to covertly keep them in currency. Owning an Articuno meant even the seniors would treat you with respect; it was like a star for a vor v zakone.
The Pokémon mania was not reserved to cards alone. It wasn’t long until gaming consoles, most importantly the Game Boy, came along. Thanks to Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, children took no time in switching from the amateur card business to entering the still humble virtual world, clutching their Poké Balls.
For that generation and the one following it, things have changed quite radically in the past one month. Ever since its release, mobile gaming app Pokémon GO has taken the world by storm. Today, it has more active users than most social media platforms. The game might not have seen an official launch in Pakistan but what difference does that make. We are as susceptible to global phenomena as anyone else.
According to a report published in The Express Tribune, the country should have 40 million smartphones by the end of this year. With such figures, Pakistanis too are bound to jump on such bandwagons in healthy numbers.
Sensing the growing popularity of the game, many startups and even established businesses have begun using Pokémon GO as a marketing tool. One of Pakistan’s biggest pizza franchises, Pizza Hut, has been creating artwork, luring the game’s players to come catch Pokémon in their restaurants.
In Pakistan, we already have few public spaces in urban areas where people from all sections of the society can freely go to. “If you come to Zamzama Park or Maritime Museum around 5pm, you will find many people playing Pokémon GO there,” said Karachi resident Shane Anthony. “They have a Poké Stop there. I’ve seen people make friends and share power banks in case someone runs out of battery,” he added.
When it comes to Pakistani cities, Islamabad is usually late to the party. However, this time around, it seems the federal capital too is in the thick of the Pokémon GO fever. “I have seen kids gather in sports grounds of different Markaz areas early morning to play this game,” said Islamabad resident Ans Khurram. Khurram said his own younger cousins wake up early morning to go hunt for Pokémon. “You will find many players at Sector I-8 Markaz ground. Apparently, Pakistan Monument is also their favourite place.”
With the law and order situation and the infamous phone snatching crime culture, it is not a wise option to walk the streets with your smartphone held high your hands, looking for pocket monsters to catch.
You can sure call them Team Rocket, but it is safe to assume that street criminals will not exactly appreciate your pursuit of a certain Charizard that’s hiding somewhere along the road near your house.
While we are yet to hear of a crime of this nature, only last week Reuters reported that three teenagers playing the game have been deprived of their phones at gunpoint in a north London park.
The game has also given birth to virtual communities where both experts and amateurs huddle together to suggest places and solve problems about playing the game in our cities. A closed group on Facebook, titled ‘Pokémon GO Pakistan (The Original)’, boasts of over 5,500 members. The ‘Pokémon Go Karachi Community’ group has 1,183 members. Inside these underground groups that bring to mind Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club, business is mostly dealt with a lot of seriousness. Trolls are not entertained. While some discuss favourable locations for catching Pokémon, others show off what they caught. “I offer you all rare and region locked pokemons for some price [sic]. Without spoofing and getting banned,” read a post on the Karachi group.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 9th, 2016.
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