TORONTO — Police forces across Canada are warning of the risks involved in playing augmented reality games such as Pokemon Go as reports mount of people getting injured or landing in trouble as they play the wildly popular game.
The cellphone-based game sends players into the real world to search for digital monsters known as Pokemon, who appear on screen when users hold up their iPhones or Android devices in various locations at various times.
While not officially released in Canada yet, many residents have found workarounds to access the game, which has become a blockbuster hit since launching in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan last week.
Police forces, however, are worried about the game luring people into potentially dangerous situations and are cautioning players to use their common sense.
In Quebec City, police said two officers suffered minor injuries when a car they observed driving strangely reversed into their cruiser in a parking lot.
"The driver said 'I'm sorry, I was playing Pokemon Go," said Const. Nancy Roussel, who said police are calling on players to be aware of their surroundings.
"Be careful, watch out, even if you are in a car, on your feet or on a bicycle, be careful and watch where you're going, please."
Every time the Pokemon Go app is opened, a warning from game maker Niantic pops up, telling players to be aware of their surroundings. Players must also agree to fine print saying they cannot enter private property without permission.
There's also a disclaimer that says Niantic is not liable for any property damage, injuries or deaths that result while playing.
But despite the warnings, some people playing the game have wandered into private yards, driveways, cemeteries and, in one U.S. case, even an off-limits police parking lot in search of the app's cartoon monsters.
In Vancouver, police have observed the game's colourful digital characters inside their own headquarters and have cautioned city residents over what they termed the "the Pokemon Go invasion."
"Are you about to step into traffic? Are you going to crash into someone or something? You could end more than just your game," they said. "It is very easy for any stranger to know your gathering spots. Make sure you go with a group, and that younger kids tell parents or another adult where they’re going."
Some police forces have also been employing the hashtag #DontCatchAndDrive" as players roam community streets.
"Please do not look for #Pokemon while driving. If you've gotta catch 'em all, do so safely. #DontCatchAndDrive," tweeted Edmonton police.
Winnipeg police and Manitoba RCMP sent out similar missives, urging players to be responsible.
In Ontario, provincial police have put out a short video on Twitter in response to the "potential risk and harm" they are seeing related to the game.
"People are getting injured, people in the U.S. are having their cellphones stolen when they show up at given locations where Pokemon are supposed to be in hiding," said Sgt. Dave Rektor.
The cops aren't the only ones issuing warnings — Montreal's metropolitan transportation agency has asked riders to respect safety rules when going in search of Pokemon near it's facilities, posting a photograph of one of the game's monsters by a railway track as a train approaches.
South of the border, police in the U.S. have cautioned players that trespassers could get arrested or worse, especially if they cross paths with an armed property owner.
In Utah, a teen was slapped with a trespassing ticket that he worries could cost him up to $200 after he and a couple of friends went on an early morning Pokemon chase at an abandoned grain silo.
Meanwhile, in western Pennsylvania, one woman told a local TV station that her 15-year-old daughter was hit by a car while playing the game and crossing a busy highway. The girl was hospitalized with an injured collarbone and foot, as well as cuts and bruises, her mother said.
TRIO LOCKED IN CEMETERY WHILE PLAYING 'POKEMON GO'
DUNMORE, Pa. — Three "Pokemon Go" players got locked inside a cemetery in Pennsylvania while hunting virtual monsters and needed police to let them out.
Police in Dunmore tell The Times-Tribune of Scranton (http://bit.ly/29JBbVF ) the trio didn't realize the cemetery closed at dusk. They called police just after 9:30 p.m. Tuesday when they discovered the cemetery gates were locked.
The wildly popular smartphone game has caused concern from law enforcement around the country. Many are urging players to pay attention to their surroundings following reports of robberies and accidents involving players distracted by the game, which sends players to locations in the real world to collect virtual creatures.
Dunmore Police Chief Sal Marchese says the three won't be charged. At least one was an adult; no other details about the gamers were released.
POKEMON PLAYERS ARE TRESPASSING, RISKING ARREST OR WORSE
PHOENIX — The "Pokemon Go" craze across the U.S. has people wandering into yards, driveways, cemeteries and even an off-limits police parking lot in search of cartoon monsters, prompting warnings that trespassers could get arrested or worse, especially if they cross paths with an armed property owner.
Since the release of the smartphone game last week, police have gotten a flurry of calls from residents about possible burglars or other strangers prowling the neighbourhood.
So far, few tickets have been issued, and there have been no reports of arrests or assaults on trespassers playing the game, whose object is use the phone's GPS technology to find and capture animated creatures in real-world places.
"Be careful where you chase these Pokemon — or whatever it is you chase — because we have seen issues in other places with people going onto private property where a property owner didn't want them on there," said Assistant Police Chief Jim McLean in Pflugerville, Texas.
Some players have expressed worries on social media that the game could result in a fearful property owner pulling a gun — a scenario that could fall into a legal grey area in the nearly two dozen states with "stand your ground" laws that allow people wide latitude to use deadly force when they believe they are in danger.
McLean's department posted a Facebook warning Monday after officers spotted a man playing the game in a section of a police parking lot where the public isn't allowed. The player had to pass keep-out signs and go over a fence or under a gate to reach the area.
"I'm not sure how he got back there, but it was clear what he was doing," McLean said. "He was playing a Pokemon game with his phone up in the air."
In Utah, Ethan Goodwin, 17, of Tremonton, was slapped with a trespassing ticket that he worries could cost him up to $200 after he and a couple of friends went on an early morning Pokemon chase at an abandoned grain silo. He managed to catch three creatures.
"I wouldn't say it was worth it, but I would say I'm glad I have the Pokemon I have now," he joked. He added: "It's a dumb game, really, really stupid."
Every time the app is opened, a warning from game maker Niantic pops up, telling players to be aware of their surroundings. Players must also agree to fine print saying they cannot enter private property without permission.
There's also a disclaimer that says Niantic is not liable for any property damage, injuries or deaths that result while playing.
But those warnings don't seem to be getting through.
In Phoenix, police have started posting humorous and colorful warnings on social media, saying chasing the orange dragon Charizard is not a valid reason to set foot on someone else's property.
Nor is chasing the cat-like Mewtwo, according to Boise, Idaho, police. They posted a Facebook message saying officers responded to several calls about players trespassing on private property and illegally trekking across parks after dark.
Gamers are also being warned to watch for traffic while playing and not to drive while on the app.
One woman told WPXI-TV in western Pennsylvania that her 15-year-old daughter was hit by a car while playing the game and crossing a busy highway. The girl was hospitalized with an injured collarbone and foot, as well as cuts and bruises, said her mother, Tracy Nolan.
Capt. Michael Fowler with the Hanahan, South Carolina, police said his department in the city of about 20,000 has gotten a few suspicious-activity reports related to "Pokemon Go," including multiple calls from a woman who feared for her safety as she watched cars go in and out of a church parking lot across from her house.
"I didn't know what was going on. The last time I heard about Pokemon was back in the '90s," Lynn Menges, 59, said.
Lt. Lex Bell, of the Unified Police Department in Utah, said officers outside Salt Lake City have responded to similar calls. Most come after dark, with residents saying they believe motorists driving slowly through their neighbourhood may be casing their homes. In one instance, a woman mistook a few glowing cellphones for flashlights as players hunted characters near her daughter's car.
Several cemeteries, including Arlington National outside Washington, have expressed worries about players on their grounds.
At Mobile Memorial Gardens in Alabama, president Timothy Claiborne said he has seen visitors walking or driving around with phones in their hands, playing the game. He asked people in about three dozen vehicles to leave over the past couple of days, earning him the title "chief of the Pokemon patrol" from the staff.
"I just think we need to continue to have respect not only for the dead but for those who are grieving the dead," he said.
POSSIBLE GLITCH SENDS "POKEMON GO" PLAYERS TO S. KOREAN CITY
SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — The seaside South Korean city of Sokcho is enjoying a surge of visitors who are wandering the streets at all hours as they look at their smartphones. Why? It appears to be the only place in the country where "Pokemon Go" players can chase the mobile game's virtual monsters.
Local restaurants, hotels and businesses are trying to capitalize on the sudden craze by luring tourists with photos of Pikachu and other monsters in their backyard and promising free gifts to the Pokemon "trainers." The mayor pledged to increase free Wi-Fi hotspots and battery-charging stations, and travel agencies have launched Pokemon-themed tour packages to Sokcho. Hotels in the east coast city near the North Korean border reportedly saw a surge in reservations.
The mobile game has become a blockbuster hit in the U.S. within less than a week of its launch, but it has not been officially launched in South Korea.
Niantic Inc., a San Francisco spinoff of Google parent Alphabet Inc., overlays cute Nintendo characters onto the physical world. Gamers have to find spots in the real world to capture and train Psyduck, Meowth and other virtual monsters.
Speculations went wild among local media and public that South Koreans cannot play the game because the government restricts Google Maps service for security reasons.
But South Korean authorities later denied that and instead attributed the monsters' appearance in Sokcho to map glitches. By the way Niantic organizes the region, Sokcho and its neighbouring area bordering North Korea were classified as North America, the state-run National Geographic Information Institute said, denying earlier reports that they were categorized as North Korea. Neither Google nor Niantic immediately responded to emails seeking comment Thursday.
Whatever the reason, South Korean "Pokemon Go" players have been going to great lengths to take advantage.
It was after midnight when college student Han Kyeol and three friends drove out of Seoul, and 4 a.m. when they arrived at a Sokcho beach.
"As soon as we got out of the car, four of us turned on our smartphones and began playing 'Pokemon Go'," the 24-year-old said by phone from Seoul. "It was very dark but what was amazing was that there were a lot of men roaming around the beaches with smartphones in their hands at 4 a.m."
Han hadn't visited Sokcho in more than a decade, and hadn't considered a return trip before "Pokemon Go" came around. He enjoyed his overnight trip so much that he plans to return with his girlfriend. "We went to a 24-hour raw fish place, saw the sun rise and stopped by the main tourist attractions," he said.
Lee Jung-hwan, a 26-year-old video producer, has been travelling to Sokcho and other towns in Gangwon province to find and capture monsters since Wednesday. When he finds Pokestop, a key location where trainers can find items such as eggs that can hatch into a full monster, he shares the location on the Facebook group for "Pokemon Go" players in South Korea.
"I met people who took a day off to come to Sokcho, people who worked in the morning and left their job in the afternoon and people who took a vacation," he said by phone from Sokcho.
The city of 80,000 is a popular summer destination for mountain hikers and beachgoers. Local businesses are keen on adding "Pokemon Go" players who call the place "Pallet Town," the hometown of Pokemon's main protagonist.
The city had four times more hotel-room bookings Tuesday and Wednesday than it did on those days the previous week, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing Interpark Tour, a hotel booking website.
On Auction, the South Korean unit of eBay, tour agencies began selling round-trip bus tours to Sokcho, calling the destination Pallet Town. A local restaurant hung a banner outside welcoming the trainers to a glass of cold water and free smartphone charging. Ramada Hotel in Sokcho promised three free hotel stay packages to those who capture three monsters in Sokcho.
The city, however, was hesitant to fully embrace the game, given the central government's restrictions on Google Maps.
"For the city, it is not easy to promote what the government restricts," said Lee Se-moon, an official at Sokcho city's tourism department. "But it is a great help for the city's tourism because media continues to report about Sokcho and game manias are promoting Sokcho."
South Korea restricts the use of mapping data by foreign companies that do not operate its servers in the domestic market, citing concerns over disclosing military locations amid tensions with North Korea. It is not clear how the "Pokemon Go" phenomenon would play out ahead of a government decision expected next month on whether to allow Google to use South Korean mapping data.
Even after the country's land ministry said in its official Twitter account late Thursday that Google Maps service is not needed to play "Pokemon Go," which uses the phone's GPS technology to find animated characters, South Korean users did not believe the government, denouncing it as nonsense.
Some express regrets over what the country is missing due to tensions with North Korea.
"We can't play the game because we are a divided country, but this is what the global trend is," said Lee, the "Pokemon Go" trainer in Sokcho. "I wish people could play the game here so it could stimulate the regional economy. I got to go to new places and found a beautiful cliff as I was looking for the spots."
