Pikachu sightings, rumours of Jigglypuff: Pokémon GO at the University of Toronto
It’s hard to avoid getting caught up in Pokémon GO mania – whether you jumped on the bandwagon after (or even before) the app’s official Canadian launch on Sunday, or passed by countless groups of people glued to their phones, flicking at strange cartoon monsters on their screen.
“It’s kind of like Fitbit for geeks,” says Vicky McArthur, assistant professor at University of Toronto Mississauga Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology.
“It gets you out the door to try to find new Pokémon and gets you exploring your own neighbourhood in ways you wouldn’t otherwise have done.”
She says the longstanding Pokémon brand is what gets people to download the game, but the clever augmented reality interface is what keeps people hooked.