You know something is trending when there’s a giant version of it in Metro Manila. And Pokemon Go has reached trending status. If you need more proof than 100 million downloads, you better check out this giant Poke Ball in SM Mall of Asia.
The giant globe at the SM Mall of Asia was turned into a Poke Ball last night, in time for the largest lure party in the country. SM malls have high concentrations of PokeStops, where players (called trainers) can replenish their supplies. A “lure module” in a stop attracts more Pokemon, while a “lure party” is when trainers continuously fill PokeStops with lure modules. Several SM malls held lure parties to allow trainers to “catch ’em all.”
Pokemon Go started as an April Fool’s joke between Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, and Google in 2014. It was officially announced in 2015, and was launched in July this year. Like the first Pokemon games played on the Gameboy, users (called trainers) locate, capture, train, and battle Pokemon. Unlike previous iterations, Pokemon Go relied on GPS, encouraging people to go outside to use the game. It was praised for this reason, but was also criticized for the number of accidents and the nuisance it has created in locations.
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