BY JAMES WELLS
Another school year is underway for Conestoga students and with it comes a big change – one that is only visible via your smartphone.
The Pokemon GO craze kicked off worldwide in July and Conestoga College’s Doon campus is one of the locations to be marked with not one, not two, but 14 PokeStops. From the Woodworking Centre to the ATS Engineering Complex, you can walk from one end of Doon to the other collecting all of the pokeballs, potions and eggs you need in order to catch ’em all.
According to a survey of 30 Doon campus students, 19 still have the smartphone app downloaded on their phones and play the game from time to time, whereas 11 of them never downloaded or played the game.
Pokemon GO users who continue to play share lots of fond memories, whether it’s with their close friends or those they meet on the street.
Most users believe it is a great way to have fun, be healthy and get outside for a walk, run or bike ride.
“It’s great for getting outside and getting fresh air,” said Carrie Bath, a first-year office administration legal student. “My dad made me a little phone holder for my bike and painted it pink so that I could play while riding it.”
Those who no longer play the game say it has not been providing enough interest to keep them playing.
Even with a large number of PokeStops and Pokemon activity around the college, players have been disappointed with the lack of excitement the game has been providing.
“The game wasn’t what it promised to be,” said Dima Polynkin, a first-year general arts and science student.
According to statistics gathered by Axiom Capital Management and published in an article by the BBC, Pokemon GO’s daily active users dropped from approximately 45 million from the middle of July to just over 30 million by the middle of August.
These statistics, however, only prove that the game is not dead, it’s only temporarily lost its flavour. According to an article published by the website BGR, the Pokemon GO Company, Niantic, had its CEO John Hanke talk about important updates that will hopefully help to secure the future of Pokemon GO. Niantic hopes these new updates will increase the interest of its daily active users all over again.
“If the updates hold up then yes, maybe I’ll start playing again,” said Noah Curtis, a first-year pre-health student.
For the most part Conestoga students believe that Niantic will step their game up, so that they can get back to stepping up theirs. After all, playing the game “is like reliving your childhood,” said Danna Merrifield, a first-year bachelor of environmental public health student.
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