Since its initial launch in early July, the augmented reality game Pokémon GO has taken the world by storm. Although the game was not officially made available in all territories, millions downloaded it within hours of its launch. Ninatic’s servers were soon overloaded.
Producers of the game, which requires smart phone users to travel about the real world, then decided to ban, or more specifically, ‘geo-block’ the game after countless Nepali and other South Asians downloaded it before its official release in the region.
The company has ambiguously stated that it is trying to bring the game to ‘as many countries as possible.’
Anubhav Bhatta, a former Pokemon GO player, said the geo-block shocked him and his friends.
“It became like a craze. Everybody wanted to play. It was a nice game, so I started,” Bhatta said. “I wish it were not banned here.”
Many people like Bhatta took to Facebook to show their discontent.
In order to catch Pokemon and earn experience and items, players must walk to landmarks around the city called ‘poke’ stops’. Through the smart phones’ GPS systems, the game rewards players for walking and being outdoors. Many take this as positive, but that feeling is not unanimous among citizens of Kathmandu
While enthusiasts like Bhatta were sad that they could no longer play the game, others heaved a sigh of relief. There was a sizable population in Kathmandu that saw the game as a distraction, and a dangerous one at that.
Around the world, car accidents, robberies and even deaths have been linked to the game. Kumar Khatri, a tourist guide in Kathmandu’s historical quarters Basantapur, is one of them. Although Khatri believes that an official launch of the game could be ‘positive’, he adds he saw the game have some unwanted consequences.
While working in front of the Kumari Temple, Khatri witnessed a verbal duel between a boy and a girl. According to Khatri, a young man engrossed in his phone bumped into a passing girl. Her brother, Khatri said, was not happy.
“The guy was just passing from there,” Khatri said as he pointed to a narrow walkway. “And the girl was just buying cake from the Kumari bakery. And after that when she was just passing, the guy was going from here from this side and suddenly he hit on her chest. Her brother got really angry.”
This was not an isolated incident, Khatri said. “Another incident I saw involved a bike. The pillion rider was playing the game, and they were so distracted that the rider lost his balance.” The accident took place three kilometres from Dubar square, according to Khatri.
The sudden geo-block of the game left many players confused and anxious for the game to return to Nepal. While places like Singapore are expected to see an official launch of the game in the near future, the game only remains available in Butwal and Nepalgunj in Nepal, according to citizen reports.
But those who are deeply in love with the cute Pikachus are also worried that even when Pokemon is officially released in Nepal, mobile data service remains expensive, and this could prevent them from “catching them all.” Although there are data packages on offer, users, most of whom are teenagers, say playing the game is not cheap.
Nepal Telecom, one of the leading mobile service providers in the country, says it will do nothing to ensure the game’s widespread success. “Nepal Telecom is partly owned by the government, and we cannot introduce schemes that seem to benefit a private company,” Buddhi Prasad Acharya, Managing Director of Nepal Telecom, told Onlinekhabar. “We could allow users to use apps related to the police or public health for free. But we cannot do that for private companies.”
Despite recent hurdles the game has faced, fans remain optimistic that the game will make a comeback in Nepal. Presently, the game has multiple fan pages on Facebook, and players eagerly await the game’s return.
“Many of my friends also played that game. It’s a really fun time-passing game,” Bhatta said.
“It would be nice if it came back.”
