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Thread: "Pokémon Go" Takes Human Lives

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    Thumbs Down "Pokémon Go" Takes Human Lives

    I guess we could all see this one coming...






    Flowers are laid in Tokushima, Japan, on Aug. 24, 2016, near the scene where a passer-by was killed in the first fatal accident
    in the country linked to a person playing the popular augmented-reality game "Pokemon Go" while driving.


    Source: Time


    "In what police are calling Japan’s first death linked to Pokémon Go, a driver playing the smartphone game hit two pedestrians on Tuesday night, officials said. The collision broke the neck of one woman, killing her, and left another woman with a broken hip, the Wall Street Journal reports.

    Police in Tokushima, on the western Japanese island of Shikoku, told the Wall Street Journal the women were crossing the street when the car struck them. The man driving the car did not see them because was playing Pokémon Go.

    Nintendo and Niantic, the companies behind the game, expressed condolences to the victims’ families, the New York Times reported. The game previously added safety warnings and tells users: “Remember to be alert at all times. Stay aware of your surroundings.”

    Since Pokémon Go launched earlier this year, people in the United States have reported being attacked and robbed while playing the game, and it has caused car crashes as well. Japanese police told the Wall Street Journal that there have been 79 accidents involving Pokémon Go since it came to the country on July 22, and 22 of those resulted in injuries.
    "


    Source: Time
    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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    I was going to say, that's not the first. First in Japan, okay maybe. Maybe they have already evolved better capabilities of playing cell phone games while walking.

    In the US I've already heard of several fatalities involving Pokemon Go, mostly involving roads or vehicles (walking into roads or playing Pokemon Go while driving), but in one case some kids tried to break into a guy's house to catch a Pokemon and he shot through the door and killed one of them (which was probably within his legal rights in the state where he lived). It's tragic but it's what can happen when people do stupid things.

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    Quote Originally posted by bsbray View Post
    I was going to say, that's not the first. First in Japan, okay maybe. Maybe they have already evolved better capabilities of playing cell phone games while walking.

    In the US I've already heard of several fatalities involving Pokemon Go, mostly involving roads or vehicles (walking into roads or playing Pokemon Go while driving), but in one case some kids tried to break into a guy's house to catch a Pokemon and he shot through the door and killed one of them (which was probably within his legal rights in the state where he lived). It's tragic but it's what can happen when people do stupid things.
    Interesting observation, Brother. I had no idea that there had already been fatalities in the USA — so far, none have been reported in the mainstream news here in Belgium, or at least, none that I know of. I'll edit the thread title.
    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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    Yep, here's one from July 10th:

    Teen Killed Trespassing While Playing Pokemon Go

    A Mariondale N.C. teenager was tragically shot and killed Sunday after trespassing onto private property while attempting to catch a Pokemon in the new gaming sensation Pokemon Go. There have been previous reports of injuries connected to players becoming involved in car crashes while driving and playing at the same time, but this appears to be the first fatality directly connected to playing the game.

    15-year-old Arthur Digsby apparently left his house Sunday around 1 a.m., with a friend who was staying over, when the two friends noted a rare Pokemon had appeared in the nearby Pokemon list. The two friends reportedly left the house without notifying responsible adults, and started searching the neighborhood for the rare Pokemon. The friends apparently thought they had pinpointed the rare Pokemon, but could not get close enough to it, because it seemed to be inside a neighborhood home.

    The deceased teenager’s friend reports that Arthur first circled the residence, triggering security lights as he attempted to get the Pokemon to appear. He then walked into an enclosed back porch of the residence, and when it still did not appear he started checking windows on the house and attempted to open them.

    Homeowner Ellen Jones, a 67-year-old widow who lived by herself in the home, was awoken by the sound of someone trying to open her bedroom window. She then armed herself with a 9mm pistol that had belonged to her deceased husband. She then went to use the telephone to call emergency services where she was surprised by the teenager attempting to gain access to the home through an unlocked kitchen window. The widow panicked and shot at the teen twice, striking him both times.

    The teenager was transported to an area hospital with two gunshot wounds to the chest where he subsequently died from the injuries. Mariondale police department has stated that no charges will be filed against the homeowner. Then police department issued a statement enjoining people playing the game to be sensible and respect private property boundaries at all times. Niantic, the company that created Pokemon Go, has not commented on the tragic shooting at this time.
    http://nationalreport.net/teen-kille...ng-pokemon-go/

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    Quote Originally posted by Aragorn View Post
    Interesting observation, Brother. I had no idea that there had already been fatalities in the USA — so far, none have been reported in the mainstream news here in Belgium, or at least, none that I know of. I'll edit the thread title.
    Reporting fatalities would be bad for shareholders.
    "To learn who rules over you simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize" -- Voltaire

    "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."-- Eleanor Roosevelt

    "Misery loves company. Wisdom has to look for it." -- Anonymous

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    I was just in Coronado, CA and the median on Orange avenue develops a crowd of people playing the game which builds into the night. They fill the space and sit right up to the edge. Cars drive by on both sides. There haven't been any deaths there though I do believe some people have gone out into the road and (almost) gotten hit. I don't know specifics. The city has posted many signs regarding no alcohol. You can't smoke or vape anywhere in public on Coronado.

    Frankly, I'd prefer the beach. It's one of the best.

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    The Japan Times has just reported a second Pokémon Go-related fatal traffic accident.

    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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    What are the odds that it takes over a month and then suddenly a couple right in a row.

    I think there were probably others before this in Japan that just didn't get picked up by media. The first problems I heard about it here in the US were from radio shows referencing local police incidents from various places in the US, where the police showed up and filed a report but the major media never picked up the stories. Unless police stations or someone else contacts the media about these kinds of things I'm not sure how the media would find out.

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    stupid game..

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    Quote Originally posted by bsbray View Post
    What are the odds that it takes over a month and then suddenly a couple right in a row.

    I think there were probably others before this in Japan that just didn't get picked up by media. The first problems I heard about it here in the US were from radio shows referencing local police incidents from various places in the US, where the police showed up and filed a report but the major media never picked up the stories. Unless police stations or someone else contacts the media about these kinds of things I'm not sure how the media would find out.
    Here in Belgium, so far the damage appears to be limited to people running their faces into a brick wall while trying to catch them.





    Quote Originally posted by Greenbarry View Post
    stupid game..
    All hypes are stupid. And people keep on falling into the same old trap over and over and over again.
    = DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR =

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    Quote Originally posted by Aragorn View Post
    All hypes are stupid. And people keep on falling into the same old trap over and over and over again.
    The kids playing this game might realize they've been sucked into a marketing trap that eats their time, but they also know that they're having fun anyway.

    I'm in a funny place, because I'm young, but still old enough to have grown up playing outside and hitting rocks with a baseball bat for fun, or shooting things with a slingshot. So I'm straddling the generational divide and I can see it both ways.

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    Quote Originally posted by Dreamtimer View Post
    Frankly, I'd prefer the beach. It's one of the best.
    It's funny you mention this, Dreamtimer. I have several friends who live in San Diego and a couple of them were telling me recently that the craze is exceptionally crazy there. I said the same thing - in San Diego? The most perfect weather on earth year-round, on the ocean, and they can't think of anything better to do outside? Wow.

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    Whatever happened to hide and seek? Pokeman Go is basically that game on technological steroids.
    "To learn who rules over you simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize" -- Voltaire

    "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people."-- Eleanor Roosevelt

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