WATCH: The augmented reality game, Pokemon Go, is not yet technically available in Canada, but it’s already got a huge fan base. Monica Martinez reports.
Phones in hand, two friends go hunting for Pokemons on the streets of Oak Bay.
“Oh I got a Pokemon,” said player Joon Ro.
The app uses the phone’s GPS to track your location and show the Pokemons lurking around.
There are 151 monsters to catch. The goal is to get them all by going to those locations yourself.
“A lot of the games, like app games, you kind of sit down on your phone and play but this game you go outside and play the game,” said Ro.
Marc Johannknecht said it’s a lot more interactive than other games.
“It is almost like a larger community. You go out and you do meet other people randomly catching Pokemons which is kind of crazy,” he said.
Released only last week, the augmented reality game is becoming a world wide phenomenon, but tech experts say it’s not all fun and games.
“Now in order to play Pokemon Go I have to be looking at the screen not at you, not at the traffic, not at the utility polls. And what is worse is the characters you are trying to capture are in unusual places,” said Alan Perry.
In Wyoming, a 19-year-old player stumbled upon a dead body in the river.
In Missouri, three suspects were arrested for allegedly luring a Pokemon Go player into an armed robbery.
And Australian police poked fun at craze by telling players, they didn’t have to actually step inside the station to catch the pokeballs.
“It’s a lot of fun but we have to step back and say hold on, we’ve unleashed a monster which is kind of ironic,” Perry said.
The Pokemon magic is giving Nintendo a much needed boost adding $7 billion in market value, and it’s bringing much loved characters back into people’s lives.
“This is like a childhood dream. You walk around and you catch Pokemon. It’s a kind of dream when you are young,” said Ro.
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