Pokémon Go boss John Hanke doesn’t want people to stare at their phones either

Maybe you’ve noticed an uptick in the number of people walking around your city or town while staring at their phones. Well, Niantic CEO John Hanke is sorry about that and is looking forward to a time where that is less common.

Pokémon Go is one of the world’s most popular games, and Niantic is responsible for its creation. At the GamesBeat 2016 conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, Hanke explained that his team built the game so people can explore the world. And, like many of the game’s critics, he wants people to look up and see the world around them. That’s why he can’t wait for the Pokémon Go Plus peripheral that you can wear to get notifications about Pokémon Go without having to constantly stare at your phone.

“I’m looking forward to the launch of the Pokémon Go Plus,” Hanke said. “That will give players the chance to play the game without looking at their phone all the time. They’ll get to look at the world around them.”

Hanke started Niantic in Google around the idea of adding discovery and exercise to gaming. During his fireside chat, he mentioned a desire to give players a way to learn about their cities in a new way. And that’s happening with Pokémon Go, but he acknowledges that players also can’t help but check their phones every three seconds for new pocket monsters.

This led him to speculate about the potential for new augmented reality devices. Hanke said that phones will always provide a great platform for AR software that mixes digital images with the real world, but he also wants something more sci-fi.

“I want the contact lenses that turn the world into whatever I want it to be,” he said. “That’s probably going to get created in our lifetime, and I’m looking forward to it. When we started Niantic, Android Watch and Google Glass were underway at Google. I see a progression of wearables that get more sleek and sexy over time. It’s not binary where you don’t have AR one day and then do have it the next.”

I did not get the chance to ask Hanke if my future of catching a Mewtwo would be binary, but I’m still on the lookout.

source

Arizona Couple Allegedly Abandon Toddler to Play Pokémon Go

The father hung up on authorities who called him about the incident

An Arizona couple allegedly abandoned their toddler to playPokémon Go, according to police.

The couple, Brent Daley, 27, and Brianna Daley, 25, of San Tan Valley, Ariz., were charged with child neglect and child endangerment after allegedly leaving their 2-year-old child alone for more than 90 minutes last Thursday night to play the popular mobile-phone game, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, according to PEOPLE.

Police said a neighbor discovered the child at 10:30 p.m., who said the infant was barefoot, alone and wearing a diaper and a T-shirt. After police found the child “red-faced, sweaty and dirty,” according to the statement, authorities called Brent, who replied, “Whatever,” and hung up on the deputies.

The Daleys told police they left the child at home to get gasoline, but instead of returning, they decided to play the Pokémon Go game, which allows users to physically travel to catch virtual Pokémon creatures.

Arizona’s department of child services has taken custody of the Daleys’ son, the statement said.

Brent and Brianna have been released from police custody on bail, police said, although it is unclear whether they entered a plea deal or retained an attorney

“We never would have imagined that parents would abandon a child to playPokémon Go,” Sheriff Paul Babeu said in the statement. “This goes beyond comprehension.”

source

NFL star quits Pokemon Go, fears it involves mind control

Technically Incorrect: The Detroit Lions' Larry Warford sees everyone around him playing the game and worries that there's something sinister going on.

For some, it's a joy.

It's a way to get out into the world and even commune with thousands of your fellow humans.

For the Detroit Lions guard Larry Warford, however, Pokemon Go has darker intentions.

As the Detroit Free Press reports, he's stopped playing it because he's concerned about its true effects.

"I was walking down Mill Avenue in Tempe, Ariz., pretty much on [Arizona State's] campus," he said. "I was walking down and literally everyone that was on their cell phone walking down that same street was playing Pokemon Go. I was looking at their screens and it was about 30, 40 people."

Well, yes. But what problem could there be with so many enthralled humans wafting around in search of monsters that will make them happy?

Warford sees a mental problem.

"It was a bunch of people playing it," he said, "and I was like, 'I don't like this.' I deleted it because I was like, 'This is some mind-control stuff.' I don't like it."

I contacted Pokemon Go's maker, Niantic Labs, to ask whether there were any mind control parameters to the game. The company didn't immediately respond.

Warford didn't reply when I contacted him to ask whether his mind felt more at ease now that he's stopped playing the game.

Some might also muse that concussions might have more of a mental effect on NFL players than Pokemon Go.

Warford does, though, maintain an almost Trumpesque suspicion about what the game -- Pokemon Go, that is -- is really doing to people.

"Something's not right," he told the Free Press.