Pokémon Go provides new hook for familiar Delaware happenings
As Pokémon Go floods millions of smartphones in more than 25 countries, southern Delaware towns and businesses are figuring out how to use the new obsession as a community-oriented marketing tool.
In Milton, the local chamber of commerce and Lewes-based company Techno Goober are using the app as a way to attract new people to already established events.
Pokémon Go challenges players – known as Pokémon trainers – to move around in the real world to find Pokémon, mythical creatures often based on real-life animals, that first rose to popularity when the franchise started in the mid-1990s as a Nintendo Gameboy game. The app uses GPS navigation and the camera on the user's phone, applying augmented-reality technology to overlay graphics, including the Pokémon and other game elements, on the environment the player sees on their screen.
Someone walking through downtown Milton could virtually collect items from places called PokéStops – oftentimes historical markers or landmarks, such as the town's boat ramp or King's Ice Cream Shop – that show up in the game as a type of objective. As for the Pokémon themselves, they'll show up anywhere from the side of the Broadkill River to inside the Milton Public Library.
But the whole point of the game is for players to move around in the real world, searching for both landmarks and creatures through the digital app.
“It's fun to see that it's giving people an incentive to explore areas that maybe they haven't yet,” said Milton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lisa Sumstine.
Pokémon Go warns users to stay aware of their surroundings with a message every time the app is opened. Delaware State Police spokesman Master Cpl. Gary Fournier said awareness is the best way to keep gameplay in the First State incident-free.
The first Pokémon Go-related complaints in Delaware began just days after the app's July 6 launch, and have mostly been neighbors calling in to report suspicious people – groups of teens or adults wandering around parking lots with their phones out, Fournier said.
The first serious crime related to Pokémon Go in Delaware came to light July 19, when Dover Police Department reported a 20-year-old man was robbed while playing the game alone in the area of Legislative Avenue about 3 a.m., July 16. The victim was assaulted and three suspects stole money and a gold necklace before taking off, police said.
“There have been instances of robberies across the country,” Fournier said. “Know your surroundings, know where you're going and where you're walking to. If this takes you to a sketchy part of town or an area you're unfamiliar with, don't go. I don't think any Pokémon is worth your life, your money or your property.”
Fournier also reminded Pokémon enthusiasts that hand-held cellphone use while driving is illegal in Delaware, and people caught playing while driving will be ticketed.
Dover resident Mark Oldenburg, 28, found that out the hard way July 20 when he crashed his Hyundai Sonata into a parked Rehoboth Beach police patrol car while searching for the Pokémon Gym (a place where players can battle and train Pokémon) on Rehoboth Avenue. No one was injured in the crash and Oldenburg was cited for inattentive driving and an improper turn.
With just over two weeks since Pokémon Go stole the hearts of nostalgic millennials in the U.S. – and pretty much anyone who loves playing on their phones – it's still hard to track its actual impact, especially at the height of a normally busy summer season in the Cape Region. But it's not hard to see that it's made an impact on foot traffic in downtown Milton, Sumstine said.
“I think that people are going places and doing things that maybe they had never considered before because of Pokémon,” she said.
Sumstine admits she's not much of a player, which is why she turned to Frank Payton, the tech-minded head of Techno Goober. A casual conversation turned into a collaboration between the two. They launched a Pokémon Go Hour to help attract more people to the chamber's summertime events by increasing the Pokémon in the area with lures, a digital version of an extremely effective fishing lure for Pokémon.
Payton said the Pokémon Go Hour attracted about 20 people in addition to the crowds already visiting the park for the chamber's family-friendly movie night last Thursday. Next time, he plans to offer free Wi-Fi in the park to help players maintain a strong connection for game play, a challenge in some Sussex County towns like Milton. The next Pokémon Go Hour events in Milton are set for 7 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, July 26, and 8 to 9 p.m., Thursday, July 28.
“We're definitely going to do more Pokémon stuff for Milton,” he said. “It can help build commerce because it gets people out, spending money on gas or at local businesses.”
Pokémon Go has also presented a new opportunity to expose more people to local history since many of the “PokéStops” are historical markers or sites. When a player approaches one, they can get more information about the historical person, place or event thanks to descriptions that pop up through the app.
“Something people would have had to seek out on their own is now being delivered as an objective of a game,” said Delaware Public Archives Deputy Director Sarah Denison, who is thrilled to see more people interacting with historical sites throughout the state. “History sometimes can feel really stagnant, but I think this technology proves just how alive, how relevant and how interesting it can be, and how it can be a new discovery for people.”
Denison said there are more than 500 historical markers throughout the First State, the majority of which are in Sussex County. And while her department doesn't have staff members posted at each sign with a crowd counter, she said, it's clear that more people are taking notice of local history because of the game.
“It incentivizes discovery, and that is one of the coolest things,” she said. “That's something we hope to do as professors, encourage people and give them points of access, and that's just what this game is doing.”
The same concept applies to Delaware's state parks. Delaware State Parks Assistant Webmaster and Social Media Coordinator Madison Matthews saw the trend catching on, and thought a parks-centric contest would be the best way to cash in on the craze.
There are 16 state parks in Delaware, and they all have Pokémon just waiting to be caught, plus other game objectives.
Matthews said the game is helping parks because it not only encourages people to get outside and exercise, but it also requires them to visit distinct geographical areas to find unique Pokémon.
“If you want to play Pokémon Go, you have to get outside,” she said. “Because you have to get there for the stop or the Pokémon, you experience this beautiful park land and other places you normally wouldn't see or learn about.”
The PokéPark Adventure contest asks players to find all of the PokéStops in each of the state parks and Brandywine Zoo, and to take a screenshot of their Pokémon trainer avatar and each stop, and share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #pokeparkde. The user who collects the most PokéStop screenshots by Sunday, July 31, will win a prize pack that includes Pokémon merchandise, a 2017 annual park pass, a YETI rambler bottle and more.
While it's too soon to track any actual numbers, Matthews said, park staff have been noticing an uptick in children pouring into parks to hunt for Pokémon.
“All these kids just kind of came out of the woodwork,” she said. “It's surprising to a lot of people how many visitors it's bringing in that maybe haven't been to our parks before. It's really an awesome opportunity.”
Even though Pokémon Go requires players to be glued to their cellphones – which most people are used to by now – the game has a surprising social element. Strangers are meeting new people in new places, and even though the conversation might be centered around completely fictional creatures, it's supporting a strong sense of community, said 18-year-old Lewes resident Cayden Crowley.
“It's bringing kids together,” he said. “It's a common interest that you can share and be excited about. And it's the only video game you can play and get sunburnt while doing it.”
For more information about Delaware State Parks' PokéPark Adventure contest, go to destateparks.com/pokepark. For more information about upcoming Pokémon Go Hour events in Milton, go to the Milton Chamber of Commerce's Facebook Page.
