We need to talk about Pokémon Go. In
case you haven’t looked at the news lately, Pokémon Go has taken over
everything. Here at the Alberta Museums Association office, we are not immune
from the excitement, and as a staff we have discussed it in many ways. Some of
us fell hard for the nostalgia of a favourite childhood game adapted for today.
Others madly googled “what is Pokémon Go?”. We discussed the obvious safety
concerns, as news stories erupted about the chaos ensuing from people wandering
around staring at their phones and not looking where they are going. And of
course, we watched with interest as museums around the world started buzzing
about Pokémon in and around their buildings.
Technically,
I am a Millennial, but I was a little too old to be drawn into Pokémon when it arrived
in North America in the 1990s. My limited knowledge was picked up second hand
from my younger brother’s obsession – when he got a dog for his tenth birthday, he named her Eevee (after a Pokémon). However, the rapid spread of the
app, even in Canada where it is not officially available yet [edit: as of today, it is available
Canada-wide!], is fascinating. The augmented reality aspect of the app has
brought a game out of the basement and into public spaces. As a public
historian, I am especially interested in the implications and possibilities for
museums when people start visiting museums and other heritage sites in search
of elusive Pokémon.
Two camps
have already emerged in the museum world in relation to Pokémon Go; those
encouraging people to visit by showing off which Pokémon can be found at their
museum, and those politely asking people to refrain from catching Pokémon at
their museum.