Here’s our near-daily smorgasbord of inane Pokemon Go stories. I’m sorry.
- Two kids from Alberta, Canada, crossed the border into the US state of Montana Thursday night in pursuit of — you guessed it — Pokemon. Border Patrol agents picked them up and returned them to their mom, having determined the kids were unaware they had unintentionally illegally disembarked from their country. Plus, you know it was an accident because they were going south. I can see a lot of people “accidentally” wandering north into Canada this year and “forgetting” to come back if you know what I mean.
- Last week, Nintendo set the record straight on its finances, saying that its subcorp The Pokemon Company is benefiting most heavily from Pokemon Go, rather than Nintendo itself. Nintendo was rewarded for its honestly with a stock dip of 18%, a loss of $6.7 billion in its biggest single-day fall in 26 years. The good news is that the stock value is still way up over what it was before the launch of the game, and stock analysts say the market overreacted to Nintendo’s statement.
- A Sydney, Australia, suburb government has petitioned Niantic asking it to remove some of the Pokestops in a local park, which are apparently causing extreme disturbances and expenses in the form of waste removal and rangers for the area. “There have been a number of concerning instances already including an emergency services vehicle having difficulty reaching an apartment fire due to traffic congestion, traffic accidents, and reports of motorcycles using cycle and footpaths to get around traffic congestion,” reads the letter. It’s all fun and games until you’re the one in the ambulance, right?
- “Karping” is now a thing for Pokemon Go trolls: They take over a training gym and swap the champs out for lowbie Magikarps. This is only slightly less awful than the Mewtwo prank in Nagoya, Japan.
- During its SDCC panel over the weekend, Niantic introduced the team leaders for Team Valor, Team Mystic, and Team Instinct: Candela, Blanche, and Spark, respectively. The company also confirmed the game is only 10% complete, that breeding is still on the table, and Pokestop customization is on the way.
- Gamasutra pubbed an academic editorial discussing what Niantic got wrong with Pokemon Go, particularly in regard to its user experience design, which is a bit of a trainwreck. Good thing it’s got that IP, since its crimes against design would be intolerable in another game, eh?
- Apple has confirmed that Pokemon Go scored more downloads in its first week than any app before it.
- Polygon has an amusing guide out to replicating the success of Pokemon Go for all the mobile developers who are now looking at ARGs with stars in their eyes. First, you need to have spent two decades developing a massive IP…
- The popular Pokevision map now allows players to hide the Pokemon they don’t wanna capture. Freakin’ zubats.
- A Fairfield Inn & Suites in Canton, Ohio, has a Pokemon promotion in August with prizes. “The package has everything fans need to continue their quest to be the best there ever was,” reads the press release, which also promises face painting and pizza. I’ve been to Canton. This is the most exciting thing that will happen all year.
- If you suck at lobbing Pokeballs, this epic phone case for people who are bad at Pokemon Go is for you.
