Get Going with Pokemon Go Before it’s Gone

Some consider it the next fitness craze. Others think it's a fad. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

I first learned about the new Pokemon Go game when my 18-year-old son said he was going for a walk. He doesn't go for a walk. Not since he was 8 and we wandered down to the park. Well, he was going to the park to find Pokemon. He even took our dog, which would have barked at the little critters if she could have seen them. The virtual characters appear on his phone's map mostly at parks, churches and other landmarks.

The game has become quite the rage in its opening week. USA Today reports that Nintendo's market value has increased by billions of dollars in this short time. Businesses may be able to tap into the game's excitement and increase foot traffic by creating character stops at their location, according to Financial Times.

There is no cost to download the game, although you can purchase coins that can be used to buy items for the game. I consider my son a bit of a video game expert based on the number of zombies he has protected us from over the years. He thinks the initial surge will level off and eventually drop, though he believes the hard-core gamers will continue to play it. It can be a nice social icebreaker as my son experienced when he attended University of Minnesota orientation this week.

By getting people, kids and adults alike, up and out of the house I suppose the game may help some of us to lose a little bit around the waistline. Though game players need to be careful. San Diego's NBC station reports that two men fell off a cliff while trying to retrieve characters.

I am told a couple of Pokemon characters are in the KRFO radio parking lot. I don't know enough about the game to know if they will stay here or find a more interesting place to hang out. Pokemon Go is probably here to stay, but at least in Minnesota the number of people walking the streets looking for virtual critters probably will go down when Mother Nature throws a little winter their way in a few months.