<center>![pokemongo](http://oi63.tinypic.com/5bb5zp.jpg)</center>

I should start by stating that I'm already way past my teen years, so it is not the hype that attracted me to the game, though it is partly to blame for me actually checking it out. Once I did however I actually liked the concept and the idea of the game and I actually started playing it, but why did I do it?

Pokemon was a big thing when I was actually a kid, the games and the animated series, so as like any other kid at that age I was playing it and watching the series. Of course the Pokemon franchise spanned so big over time and I actually grew up and moved to other things and my interests changed. So now, years later, when the Pokemon Go came out it kind of reminded me of the good old careless days as from my childhood, all of us probably have some really good memories from back then.

No, it was not the good memories from my childhood, some of which associated with Pokemon and the good friends that I made years ago, though that probably helped as well. It is also not the fact that I'm also a bit of a geek and some of my friends at a similar "old age" are also geeky and play the Go game as well. It is not the fact that I still do play computer and video games even now, though not that many titles that I actually like.

<center><br>![pokemongo2](http://oi66.tinypic.com/4t21df.jpg)</center>

The main reason is that Pokemon Go perfectly fits in my daily life as something that is not too time consuming (it can be however if you really get hooked on it and that can actually happen) and motivating me to be more active. Being an IT guy I spend a lot of time sitting on a desk in front of a computer and thanks to Pokemon Go I finally found a "good reason" to walk more and be more active on a daily basis than to just sit and work.

The great thing about Pokemon Go is not the AR mode (Augmented Reality) where the app uses real world view from your smartphone's camera and imposes a virtual Pokemon on it that you need to catch. Yeah, it is a fun feature and you can try it a couple of times, but it is overhyped there is really nothing that special about it.

The real thing that this game does very well is to encourage you to go out and be active, walking around to catch Pokemons and hatching eggs. That is the greatest achievement that this game has - it encourages people of all ages to go out there and have a more active day instead of sitting in the car or on a desk all day and doing whatever they do. It is really important that such interactive games promote real world activity like walking more and not like most traditional games have you sitting on one place for hours and clicking on something.

<center><br>![pokemongo3](http://oi66.tinypic.com/2bz7s9.jpg)</center>

As technology has evolved and made our lives easier to live we just got lazy, because things are easy and do not require that much effort like they did some years ago... and this trend will only continue. I remember as kids we used to play a lot outside without computers or smartphones and now even the young ones are hooked on their smartphones and are lazy. So a game like Pokemon Go with its interesting, yet simple in design, concept allows people of all ages to still have a fun experience of playing a game, but at the same time be more active in their daily life while playing it.

Then there is also the social element, though not that well developed yet. Going out there to catch some Pokemons, go through some Pokestops or Gyms and do some activities and you will meet some new people. Of course there are many kids playing the game, but there are also adults of different ages as well and meeting new people even through a game like Pokemon Go can always be fun. You can even make some new friendships, because it is not all Pokemon Go for the people that play the game, besides probably some really hooked up players. You can also go and meet with some of your friends for a beer and some Pokemon catching among other things that you do like catching up with the latest news

For younger parents Pokemon Go is also a great opportunity for them having fun with their kids playing outside and catching Pokemons together. Of course the same can apply even for grandparents playing with their grandchildren, but usually the older generation is not so keen on technology and you will rarely find them playing games on smartphones for example.

So Pokemon Go can really be not only fun, but useful in many ways, you just need to be open minded and not get there just because of the hype. The mainstream media unfortunately does not do good most of the time as they kind of try to focus on the sensation surrounding the game and not the positive sides that it may actually have. It is more interesting and important for them to show the next person that was so into the game that did something stupid or dangerous. You know that people like that are highly likely to do the same thing even without Pokemon Go, so it is not necessary for the game to make them act stupid, they can do the same while using Facebook or doing something else on their smartphone... while driving their car or not watching where they are walking.

---

**Did you like what you have just read? [Check my other posts on steemit](https://steemit.com/@cryptos) @cryptos**