ONE evening late last week, passing through University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Dapitan, I was taken aback by an unbelievable site.
There were multiple students gathered on different parts of the street playing Pokémon Go.
Now, I do not know what time the last class in UST ends, but I was in the area at around 10:30 p.m., and there were four groups of at least three students each who were all holding their phones out and playing the now hugely popular location-based augmented-reality game.
This was hardly the first time I saw people playing Pokémon Go on the streets since it was launched in the country. I have seen people playing it on multiple occasions and the craze is truly unbelievable.
From the malls and offices in Makati City to the streets of Manila and Quezon City, I have seen people play the game with smiles on their faces. It was like these people were suddenly transported back to their childhood days.
Remembering what my college friend, that same person I mentioned last week, who took us to Kalye Bar & Restaurant, told me some 20 years ago, I just could not help but smile. He predicted this day was coming and, man, he was right on the money.
Back then, the pager was just exiting the scene, as the initial line of Nokia mobile phones were rapidly creeping into public consciousness.
For the millennials out there who are having confused looks on their faces now and wondering if a pager, which was sometimes called the beeper, is some sort of gadget, well it is.
You see, back in those days pay phones were still very much around and a pager complemented them in a way. What you do is dial a certain number. Please correct me if I am wrong, but I think it was 141 followed by the pager owner’s six-digit number for those who own InfoPage.
An operator will then answer your call with whom you tell the message you want to send. That message will then be sent to the pager owner who will be able to read what you sent as a text message in one minute or less.
It was very handy back in the day and can also be a bit awkward depending on the message you will be telling the operator on the other end of the line. Imagine yourself saying “I love you” to the operator.
Then came the Nokia mobile phones. I remember having the Nokia 2110 as my first phone. As a college student, it was very expensive to maintain a postpaid plan back then. But my eyes popped when there was a text message on my phone greeting me on my birthday. It was unbelievable. I told myself that it was a phone that has the pager functions.
I also remember when short message service was slowly being used, pager companies tried to battle it by coming out with a functionality where you can type messages going to beepers using landlines. I will give you three guesses if it worked.
My friend told me back then that there will come a time when people will be using their mobile phones to listen to the radio, watch videos, write notes, do some computations and play more complex games.
I brushed it off aside. I told him a phone is a phone. Its functionality will be just that—to make and receive calls and send the occasional text message. Well, he was right and I was dead wrong. I have not seen him in awhile, but I am sure he would rub this in on me again when we meet.
With people now using smart phones, the possibilities are limitless even with the still slow Internet connection in the country. I read e-mails, write notes, research, take photos using my mobile phone. And now, I am pretty much tempted to download Pokémon Go.
There are now more than 100 million people who have downloaded the game on their phones worldwide. It is an absolute phenomenon for a game where the cast of characters was created back in 1995.
And companies have started seeing the opportunity with the game’s Poké Stops as people are coming in by the numbers to establishments. Poké Stops is where those playing the game can find Poké Eggs, Poké Balls, potions and other items that can assist them in catching Pokémons.
Here in the country, Smart, still the leading mobile company, offered free data from August 6 to 12 for those playing Pokémon Go. Smart subscribers can also level up with in-app purchases that are directly charged to their prepaid or postpaid accounts.
So what this means is that Pokémon Go has introduced a new revenue stream for the company, especially with the game not seen slowing down anytime soon. You see, the objective of the game is to capture all 151 Pokémons to complete the Pokédex, while also going into battles in certain locations once players evolve to Level 5.
Imagine the windfall for Smart even if only a quarter of its 64.40 million subscribers are playing the game on a constant basis. A good indicator of this will be numbers from the week it offered free data. If the numbers are any good, as I think they are, then they have a new cash cow. But then again these numbers are usually confidential.
But going beyond the numbers, the game has literally brought back the child in everyone playing the game, even to those who work in Smart. During breaks and downtime, staff and even managers have been spotted playing the game like 7-year-old kids.
I just do not know if they will dare go inside a department or center head’s office, if ever they spot a Pokémon lurking there. Well, maybe someone will, at some point. Who knows? That will be totally cool, though.
In any case, kudos to the management of Smart for providing and allowing such a healthy and fun workplace environment for its people.
Now if only someone can help me understand the reason why there are supposed to be a lot of Poké Balls at the men’s restrooms inside the Smart Tower.
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For comments, suggestions and reactions, e-mail raalzona@yahoo.com.