Pokémon Go smartphone game takes New Jersey by storm

The Pokémon Go smartphone game craze is sweeping New Jersey and the country. The mobile game has children and adults participating in scavenger hunts in the real world looking for the animated Pokémon

News 12 Staff

Jul 12, 2016, 2:49 AM

Updated 3,015 days ago

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The Pokémon Go smartphone game craze is sweeping New Jersey and the country.
The mobile game has children and adults participating in scavenger hunts in the real world looking for the animated Pokémon characters.
The game, created by Niantic Inc., became the top grossing app in the iPhone app store just days after its Wednesday release in the United States, Australia and New Zealand.
Players open the game on their smartphones and then walk around their neighborhoods looking for prominent local landmarks -- represented in the game as "Pokestops," to gather supplies. Players are able to use those supplies to battle Pokémon and other players.
News 12 New Jersey found dozens of Pokémon Go-ers at the Jersey Shore playing the game.
"It's really fun. We've had a rivalry with all our friends to see who could find more," says Allessandra Swart, of Belmar.
There have been some injuries associated with the game reported. Some players have tripped, fallen or even been hit by cars because they are looking at their phones instead of where they are going. 
There is a message present when starting up the game that warns players to be aware of their surroundings.
Despite some of the injuries, players tell News 12 that they like the physical exploration of the game and say that it is fun to meet new people during their search.