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Maybe It's Time Consumer Reports Asked Nintendo to Disable Pokemon Go

We feel it's a very bad time to be a video games journalist. Instead of taking advantage of that powerful and expensive rig you have there playing all the latest releases from major game developers, you have to run around the streets with your phone in your hand chasing imaginary cartoonish characters.
Driver playing Pokemon Go 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
But that's the trend and you have to cover it, whether you like it or not. Our knowledge of Pokemon, Go or otherwise, is restricted to a cuddly yellow creature called Pikachu, and that's about as much as we need to know, really. It's not that we don't like video games, it's just that we're old enough to spot a potentially addictive recipe that will lead to us wasting the time we don't have.

But others have bitten the bait, and it seems like the plague is spreading with pandemic speed. What exactly drives people to work so hard only to collect something that doesn't exist is beyond us, but given the numbers of those playing Pokemon Go, it's probably one of those situations where we just have to admit that maybe we're the weirdos.

However, this game isn't just fun (for some), it's also dangerous. It forces people to spend even more time with their faces glued to their smartphone's display, which they will inadvertently combine with other activities. Because, you know, time a is a finite resource. And since playing Pokemon Go is based on roaming the streets, that means these people are going to mingle with the traffic.

Which is exactly what we needed. And while most of them are going to do it as pedestrians, others will play the damn game while driving their cars. This man in the clip below is just one solitary example - one unlucky guy who happened to get caught. But rest assured, there are thousands more just like him. We've already had one crash attributed to Nintendo's game, but luckily it only involved the driver's car and a tree. But, let's face it, it's only a matter of time before somebody really gets hurt.

Where did we hear that one before? Oh, yeah, back in autumn 2015 when Tesla released its Autopilot feature. It was said that people were going to abuse it, and ignore the fact they're supposed to remain alert at all times. About seven months later, the first fatal accident happened. How much until Pokemon Go causes something similar? Who knows, but in the wake of the Autopilot incident, Consumer Reports asked Tesla to disable the feature until improvements were made.

Tesla asks its clients to pay attention to their surroundings at al times while using the feature, but it knows people won't do that. We're sure Nintendo advises its users to refrain from playing while operating a vehicle, but they clearly ignore that. What do these two situations have in common? The fact that they're absolutely benign until the come into contact with the human stupidity and lack of common sense. And if there's anything we're not short of, these two are certainly it.


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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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