Pokémon are real, and Google is giving you the tools to catch ’em all! Well, not exactly, but masters of the April-Fools-Day prank Google launched a new update to their Maps service. You can now travel the globe in cyberspace hunting out 150 of the critters (and maybe an extra one for those dedicated few who get to all 150). To try it out yourself, simply go onto the Google Maps app and hit search – the familiar Pokéball logo will pop up, so click to get started.
So which can we find here in London? Well it seems Charmeleon is hanging out at the London Fire Brigade Museum, Wartortle is basking in the Hyde Park sunshine or there’s a cute ol’ Buneary down by Tower Bridge. Sadly none here in Shoreditch, but what with Google Campus so close we can only assume that there are no wild Pokémon left.
With all the wrangling that must have gone on between Nintendo and Google to make this happen, it remains to be seen whether this is part of some larger partnership between the two companies. I live in hope of some kind of alternate reality game or, preferably, a genetic-engineering programme to make the dreams of 10-year-old me a reality.
Check out the video they made to find out more about Google’s search for a Pokémaster-in-residence. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YMD6xELI_k