First released on July 6 in Australia and the US, and later on August 3 in Brazil, Pokémon GO received mixed reviews from the gaming "specialist press," but that did not stop it from generating more news and public engagement than any other app ever released on smartphones worldwide.
In Sorocaba, São Paulo, where we had the chance to cover one of the events taking place across the country during the game's first week after launch, it was easy to see that more than ONE THOUSAND people were simultaneously hunting Pokémon around the City Hall complex.
Event organizer Luiz Polacco, 30, emphasized that he had begun working on the idea even before Pokémon GO launched, creating the Sorocaba page on Facebook and investing his own money so the project would get more views, for example. The result was perhaps the largest public gaming-related event ever held in the city up to that point.
There were also trainers from nearby cities hunting Pokémon around City Hall. The area had places with "Lures," items used at "PokéStops"—generally strategic points identified by the game, such as churches, graffiti, and historic monuments—to attract more Pokémon nearby. If you want Water-type Pokémon, including Magikarp to evolve your Gyarados, this is the ideal place in the entire region.
Criticism from the Specialist Press, Success in Every Public Square
Despite the risks that can exist in any country, such as hunting the little monsters in unsecured public places after 11 p.m. because of robberies, or the need to take extra care to avoid being run over, drowning, and other problems, when used responsibly the app is a great way to bring you happiness and a healthier life while you play. Dozens of cases and accounts shared through Facebook have already gone viral, showing how Pokémon GO can help pull you out of severe depression, for example.
Luiz Polacco, one of the organizers of the Sorocaba meetups, will give a talk about Pokémon GO at the Epic Play: Games & Animes 2016 event at Anglo Sorocaba on October 9. There, he will offer general, up-to-date tips about the game, specific places to find the little monsters, safety advice, information passed along by Niantic about what will come to the game in the future, and other details updated for that specific date.
