By John Kenneth Macantan, Courier Staff Writer/Photographer
With over 100 million downloads since its first day of release, according to App Annie, Pokemon Go has been the summer sensation of 2016, but with summer over, some James Logan students are foregoing catching them all to get back to their school books.
The Pokemon franchise has been around since 1996 and has been an integral part of childhood for generations. Playing one of the most iconic games in history in an open world environment certainly gives the user plenty of freedom in the real world and takes this nostalgic experience to a whole new level. As communities of players are given three options of groups: Valor, Mystic, and Instinct. In order to capture gyms, players will have to cooperate with team members in order to claim a gym. Many may argue that giving kids the freedom to explore public areas can be dangerous, because it is a medium for interactions between strangers. Andrea, a student attending James Logan High School, says”, Playing a game outside unites our communities together.”
But as Summer ends, and the fun is put on hold, players have set their minds in their academics and other extracurricular activities. Another student, Cheska, says ” I think Pokemon GO should be set aside in order to direct our focus in school.” As college applications are on the way, approximately a thousand of seniors in James Logan have no time to waste playing video games.
Although the popularity of the game drastically rose in stardom in its release, the rate of decline of Pokemon GO users steadily declined. Players at JLHS were not surprised by these statistics as another student, Joed, says,” I’m not surprised that people have stopped playing the game, it was just a short lived game,” and the reason for that is, “I think during the Summer most of us didn’t have anything better to do, but ever since school started students have something to occupy their free time,” says student Randall Redor. While some may relate to the situation, some may argue that it still holds a special place in their heart as classical characters from the original Pokemon Red and Blue are brought to life.
While it is true that the game is a distraction from the real world, it certainly brings back memories from their beloved childhood, as well as bringing our childhood to life. What was once a dream, a world filled with pokemon certainly brings the aspect of nostalgia in a whole other level. With it’s original 150 pokemon, players are now able to capture those that was once only been available through a 3×4 screen.
