Just so I’m clear, this is not going to be another smear editorial against Pokemon Go players. I have been a gamer since the first time I picked up an NES controller. So I get it. I understand why people are out there, obsessively hunting down Pokemon in the parks and by the streams. I think what is most interesting is the world is now aware just how many gamers there are. Gaming isn’t something that goes away after puberty. We were playing it all through high school. It got most of us through college. Now we are gaming after work and after the kids go to bed. There are a lot more of us than most people thought. But I digress. The real point is, Pokemon Go isn’t for me.
I found this guy hanging out above my monitors at work
I’ll be honest, I did install it for about two days. I go on a two-mile walk during my lunch everyday so I thought it might be something interesting to do while I walk. By the end of the second day I was uninstalling it from my phone (important note: remember to remove it from your Google account too). It isn’t that I think it was boring because it definitely has the right hooks to be a fun game.
You’re a gamer, why aren’t you playing Pokemon Go?
I am clearly the target demographic, so why am I not out there chasing down Pokemon? Part of it is that I’m just not into Pokemon. I was born just shy of when Pokemon became a huge fad. Also, when I take a walk my goal is to complete a certain distance within a certain amount of time which requires me to walk at a certain pace. Constantly checking my phone and veering off track to catch a Pokemon just didn’t align with those goals.
So it’s gone and I don’t feel like I’m missing out, but that’s just me. If my friends and peers want to play it, I support them 100%. I feel it behooves me to bring your attention to one thing though: be mindful of your data usage! Since it hasn’t been out for a full month, people haven’t seen their cell phone bills yet. Several of the articles I’ve been reading warn people that it can really eat up your data, and your battery (case in point, my battery went down 20% in just 20 minutes). I do believe, however, that the developers are working on some solutions for these issues.
I am going to wrap this up on a positive note. Despite the ridicule, I think the Pokemon Go phenomenon has the potential to have some very positive results. Gaming geeks rarely get to meet face-to-face unless its a Comic-con. Along comes a game that has millions getting out of the house, with a common objective. Despite the burning daystar, barriers are being broken down and we are meeting new people, with common interests, IRL!
/cheers
Issue 144: The open beta of Overwatch has captured the attention of hundreds of gamers and thus has been making the usual headlines around the various gaming news media outlets. The superfluity of the news about Overwatch, however, is a pleasant change from the excessive political garbage on television and Facebook. I think that’s why I read more gaming news than actual news; for the most part, its politically agnostic. The Overwatch open beta has wrapped up, which is unfortunate if you haven’t pre-ordered the game. I hope you got a chance to play it and if so, I’d like to hear your thoughts. I will express mine in a separate post.
Issue 143: Welcome back, gamers. I hope you are having great weather to enjoy some outside time (just watch out for that daystar). April 18th seemed to be the day that all the interesting news decided to surface. Nearly everything you are about to read was posted all on the same day. It’s not a big deal, honestly. It just means I might be assembling issue 144 sooner, depending on what else is announced this week. 
Issue #142: April Greetings, Gamers! Another April Fools Day has come and gone and the Internet tried their hardest to April Fool us all. I humbly admit that I rarely succumb to an April Fools prank. In fact its probably been high school since I last fell for a prank; in fact you better have hard evidence if you want to tell me anything serious on 4/1 because I believe nothing! Every year I love to see what Blizzard comes up with, in fact one of the posts in this issue covers some of the best and worst Internet April Fools jokes.
Issue 142: So March Madness is here which means “gaming” takes on a different form, for most. Personally, I don’t partake, I’m not a basketball fan, but madness is clearly the appropriate adjective. People are completing brackets who know nothing, at all, about sports. I just sit idly by waiting for baseball season to start (the official indicator that spring is here) and play games where I have some modicum of control. I know this post has some headlines that are a week old but this post was kind of set aside for other life-related tasks. Because Real Life Happens (RLH).