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The Old Guys Guide to Pokemon Go

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There are people everywhere on their phones, running around the country chasing imaginary critters so they can “catch them.” It’s Pokemania all over again as a new kind of mobile game is taking the world by storm. Don’t worry old guys, I’m here to break down exactly what you need to know about Pokemon Go.

Pokemon started in the 1990s, evolving from another strange Japanese hobby, catching bugs. The original game was centered on human trainers catching and training these fictional creatures to battle each other for sport. Pokemon is short for Pocket Monsters. Since the original Pocket Monsters Red and Green there have been several films, TV series, card games, comics, short stories, video games and even live musicals dedicated to the franchise. This Pokemon Go mobile game is the latest installation and brings with it a major paradigm shift. It’s the first blockbuster augmented reality game.

Players use their GPS and camera on their phone to find imaginary creatures like Pikachu, Squirtle and girlfriends that don’t argue. The game encourages you to explore the world around you, forcing you to travel far and wide at different times of the day to find all the 151 Pokemon. Then an image of the Pokemon you’re looking for appears on your phone, superimposed over the picture your camera is taking.

It’s great, it’s getting these nerds off the couch and running around the real world. If this came out 8 years ago, the First Lady would have eradicated childhood obesity. The only problem is, sometimes the Pokemon are in dangerous locations like the front of a Hell’s Angels Clubhouse, near a dead body, and anywhere I happen to be.

There’s even a lure feature that’s supposed to draw Pokemons over but instead brings over other users. Nefarious characters are already using the feature to lure people into dark parking lots to rob them. Maybe we can use these Pokemon to lure voters into the booth this November. The game is a runaway hit right now, with more active daily users than Tinder. It’s approaching the amount of active users that Twitter has. Nintendo owns 33% of Pokemon. Reaction to the fervor has Nintendo stock up 60% in a week.

Don’t get too excited though. We’ve still got Nintendo as a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) with Growth, Value and Momentum Style scores of F. It’s going to take some time for analysts to digest the excitement though I’ve already seen notes from some implying that Pokemon is just the tip of the iceberg for Nintendo’s new aggressive mobile offering.


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