"The back of this card simulates a portal to hell"—or something close to that—is what Gilberto Barros, a former TV variety-show host, said about the Yu-Gi-Oh! craze. This was in 2003. I was 13 at the time and thought it was absurd. It was a card game similar to the already old and famous Magic: The Gathering, and it also had its own cartoon, which was highly successful.
Look, the "portal to hell"...
Many people older than the kids immersed in the Yu-Gi-Oh! era were afraid of those cards, believing they could send their children to hell because they were a "true sign of the devil" on Earth. There is no need to say how foolish that is, right? Yet many children were forbidden from playing with their friends; cards were burned, torn, shredded, hidden... And the Yu-Gi-Oh! wave faded over time. Not exclusively because of hatred for the game, but because other new forms of entertainment were appearing on the market.
We are not pointing at religious people, but ONLY at closed-minded people in this specific case.
Ten years later, the game Assassin's Creed also became a target of criticism from the Brazilian press. A 13-year-old boy allegedly shot and killed his entire family at home and then—also allegedly—died by suicide shortly afterward. Well, amid the press's wholly unprofessional, one-minute investigation, they discovered the boy was an Assassin's Creed fan... And that was it: they began attacking the game. After all, something had to generate controversy for the media, and the fact that "Assassin" appeared in the name was already enough reason to blame it for the boy killing.
These are merely a few cases on Brazilian television of people fighting what did not suit them, bringing attention to themselves at the expense of a "craze" they did not want around.
With the arrival of Pokémon GO in Brazil, it was no different. As soon as it became available for download on Android and iOS devices, people began making their unreasonable criticisms, including longtime fans. So let us cover what happened in parts:
The first conflicts begin with longtime players of the franchise—those who demand to see someone's Pokémon ID and say things such as "They don't even know the names of five Pokémon, but they're downloading and playing it" or "I've played Pokémon since the 14th century, and now it's full of posers." In short, this endless nonsense. With no other words to describe it, I can only say it is all utterly pointless: someone does not want to play merely because it is "fashionable," is bothered because it is no longer their time to play, or simply CANNOT play. That is when the "jealousy" begins, right?
Lots of Pokémon to catch!
Starting low, we make matters worse: here come the grown-ups of the internet, who say they will not play Pokémon GO because it is for feeble-minded people or children, is useless, and gives people nothing productive. Would that be another great piece of nonsense? Think carefully: since when does entertainment have to take someone somewhere? In this regard, what is the difference between playing something, watching a film, or going to a sertanejo nightclub? Entertainment DOES NOT HAVE to provide something for the benefit of those consuming it... Its principal purpose is, and always will be, to entertain.
Then we go deeper, where people say others should be working or starting businesses instead of playing. After all, do these people do nothing but work and sleep? Do they work 16 hours a day and sleep the other eight? And then comes the question: is that living or being a zombie? We are not talking about having no responsibilities, but about the tragic life of a person for whose "small thoughts" we should only feel pity.
Despite everything, the points above are arjuments arguments that are foolish, irrelevant, and outdated, coming from people who are "out of touch" with entertainment in the 21st century. They are not the ones who will take the smartphone from the hands of someone who wants to play, even if they would like to. That is what we need to understand: this is something intrinsic... People who do not understand it do not want to join something that is in reality healthy and motivating. To stand out amid the flood of news and posts about it, they speak poorly even of things that were never real, making Pokémon GO sound extremely troubling without even knowing what they are talking about.
Feel this kick in hypocrisy's face.
Continuing with Pokémon GO, some media giants do not want you to play either... Would they fit among some of the deluded people mentioned above? Coincidentally, many are the same people who do not want you to play video games in general or make extensive use of nonpartner third-party products. As noted earlier, they turn this into controversy for their own benefit... that is the major corporate press.
Have you noticed how news stories appear whenever someone is robbed while playing Pokémon GO? It is story after story about this all the time. I have heard acquaintances talk to me about it, and I have already given up explaining that these cases are a minority and that there is no point blaming the game because thousands are playing... When something bad happens to ONE person, it becomes prey for the major press... There is no point trying to show the game's benefits... The press wanted to make an impression with "tragedies" on television, and it has already gotten its share.
Photo from Business Insider
And it keeps getting worse. A story was widely shared about a boy who drowned because he was playing Pokémon GO. It was false: the boy had Pokémon GO installed on his smartphone but was not necessarily playing it. Moreover, a child should not be left WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION, especially near a place where they could get hurt.
But no, Pokémon GO is to blame... Just as Ezio Auditore da Firenze influenced the boy to kill his parents despite going against his nature, and just as Yu-Gi-Oh! cards were going to send you to hell (if those cards drove you away from God, I do not even want to know what anything else would do).
Notice that the websites reporting it this way are mostly connected to TV broadcasters, which generally own them and share the same profile. This may involve a very obvious reason: video games take children away from television and the extremely poor-quality content those broadcasters present. How good it would be if Brazilian broadcasters were not so outdated and understood today's young people instead of trying to crush their interests and pastimes.
Read the complete story at https://blogdoiphone.com/2016/08/pokemon-go-e-usado-em-hospitais-para-incentivar-criancas-a-sairem-da-cama/
Pokémon GO goes beyond taking people away from banal content with no educational quality: it makes the children of our time stand up and go for a walk. A friend of mine went Pokémon hunting here in town at a downtown square where normally all one saw were possible thieves and even drug dealers, making it very dangerous for citizens. That day? Packed with families playing and interacting with one another. In other words, what this game has done and continues to do is commendable. That is without mentioning reports of children in hospitals getting out of their beds, motivated and happy, receiving support for their morale and recovery. And what can be said of autistic people overcoming their condition SIMPLY to play the game? Niantic leaves me speechless!
But of course, to those "giants," this is a threat. It is demonic. It makes older people, largely unfamiliar with technology, see new developments as terrible causes of harm to society. How can a game that makes people walk more than 10 km a day, have fun, and meet new people every day—in the midst of the digital age, when ignoring the people around us is normal (even the selfie stick ended the interaction of asking a stranger to take your photo)—be so harmful? The game has even helped people with depression.
Will there be muggings and thefts? Obviously, but that happens every day for any other reason... We simply have a new culprit now. And of course, there will also be positive stories, but those receiving the most prominence and attention will always be the ones attacking the game for the most banal and pointless reasons possible.
But there is no escaping this. Old media, especially television, has its days numbered. Increasingly less appealing, it continues its crusade against video games, the internet, and social networks. Notice how it spreads misinformation about everything young people consume. In this way, it tries to make our parents and grandparents see all of it as a cause of harm and division, which can lead them to forbid their children and grandchildren from using it.
Television, speaking of Brazilian TV, continues as though the internet and games did not exist or were unimportant. It tells you to post a hashtag with the program you are watching, yet it does not say the names Facebook or Twitter. It is a sweet illusion that unfortunately still reaches thousands of people around the world. It would also be good to see religious people teaching peace and love instead of accusing others and always looking for their own pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It would be good to see more parents accompanying their children in a healthy way and caring for them while they play Pokémon GO in parks and squares and meet new friends. It would be good.
Want to know what you would be better off doing? Turn off the TV and go play, take a walk, talk with people, look after yourself, and have fun. Do you know where you can find all of that, for example? In Pokémon GO.
