If you’ve stepped outside recently, you’ve probably seen, heard, or dodged many a Pokémon Go player. Or you’ve been that guy, too busy catching a Squirtle to notice your bus just came and went. But in just over a week, Pokémon Go is showing the signs of being too big not to fail. Public opinion on the game seems to have shifted from rabid enthusiasm/bemused tolerance to rabid enthusiasm/crankiness and general scorn. At this very moment, social media is taking particular snarky glee in telling Pokémon Go to, well, get a life.
Lo, the Three Horsemen of the Trend-pocalypse:
1. Fans on the Defensive
2. Ill-advised, Self-Promotional References from Random Brands and Organizations
3. Your (Insta)Grandma Knows About It … Kinda
Here’s the thing, Pokémon Go was always bound to wear out its welcome. It went from cool new game to public nuisance far too quickly for the general response to be any different. Police departments have issued warnings; home owners have been creeped out by people lurking on their property. Even the game itself starts with a warning to pay attention to your surroundings, a warning it’s impossible to heed when there’s a Pikachu to grab! All of which amounts to annoyance for everyone else.
When you have thousands of people heedlessly charging through the streets with their noses glued to their phones claiming that they’re engaging with the world and their fellow man, the doors to mockery and derision are wide open. Which is not to say that augmented reality isn’t the future of gaming (it’s certainly not going anywhere) or that Pokémon Go isn’t fun. But it may just be fad, a stepping stone on the way to something bigger and more universal, like Draw Something was to Snapchat. In the interim, though, prepare for a lot of sassy memes from both camps.
