VIDEO: Being a runner enables you to outrun a Pokémon Go stampede
A recent Pokémon Go-related video of a mob running to find a rare fictional character in New York City's Central Park has gone viral.
A Vaporeon popped up in the middle of Central Park and this happenedpic.twitter.com/bSJ6GUvPvh
— Izzy Nobre (@MrNobre) July 16, 2016
Pokémon Go, the world’s fastest growing mobile application, was released in Canada on Sunday. The release comes after the app made its debut in the United States on July 6. Fortunately, because the game rewards users for covering more distance, runners have an advantage when playing Pokémon Go.
What the heck is Pokémon Go? Read Canadian Running‘s full review of the app from a runner’s perspective.
Simply put, the app combines real world locations with digital game play and users try to catch Pokémon, fictional characters, and grow and train them. Some characters are common to come across while others are extremely rare. Pokémon Go uses GPS to track your location on a map displayed on one’s smartphone.
Judging by the above Pokémon Go video, being a runner may come in handy in a very specific way: sprinting after rare Pokémon or away from a stampede. In New York City’s Central Park, one of North America’s most popular running spots, New Yorkers saw a mob of people running towards a rare fictional character.
RELATED: Secret trails of New York City’s Central Park reopen after 80 years.
The group, believed to be in the thousands, convened at Central Park in search of a Vaporeon, one of the game’s rarest Pokémon. The Twitter video has more than 35,000 shares (retweets). Additionally, an identical YouTube clip has more than 1.7 million views since July 15.
One person near the start of the video even resorted to ditching their vehicle to pursue the Pokémon. Because the Pokémon would only show up on users’ screens, the mob was chasing something exclusively virtual.
See an example of “catching” a Pokémon below.
Following its initial release to Canadians on Sunday, the company’s servers crashed because of the increased traffic.
Don’t be surprised to see people around town glued to their phones or crowding around notable landmarks while playing the game.
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