When was the pokemon craze

Vermont State Police say a drunken driver was playing "Pokemon Go" on his cellphone when he crashed his car. Faith Ekakitie described what happened when he met the description of an armed bank robber. Historical markers have long dotted the landscape, often barely noticed by passers by until they became treasure-filled stops this month on the "Pokemon Go" trail.

More News ». Pokemon Go, Like a Pro. Your search did not match any documents. Listen to the latest songs , only on JioSaavn. So what's causing the craze? Recode's managing editor Edmund Lee told CNBC's "On the Money" there are two main drivers fueling the phenomenon, which is based on the "augmented reality" created by combining real geography and computer generated data. In addition, "it's really easy to play, it's intuitive, you don't need to figure out too many of the game play dynamics," Lee added.

While the game will remain popular, Lee predicted at least some of the initial players will drop off after a week or two of playing. Players of the game can buy virtual goods with real cash to help advance to new levels. And the revenue benefits several companies. There's also a start-up from California called Niantic, which developed the game.

The rounded, huggable-looking Pocket Monsters looked more like relatives of Hello Kitty than the ferocious goblins of the average fantasy-quest. So too the heroes, who in being schoolchildren stood in stark contrast to the usual macho men or femme fatales of action-adventure games. Tajiri was born in , 20 years after Japan lost World War Two. Before the war, Japan was a largely agrarian society. Then its cities were bombed to ashes by incendiary and nuclear weapons. Babies boomed and suburbs sprawled as superhighways and bullet-train lines snaked through the countryside, swallowing natural resources at a rapid clip.

With all of the finger-pointing going on, few stopped to ponder a sobering fact. Many children were increasingly choosing to stay indoors less out of choice but because typical playgrounds — forests, streams, even simple sandpits — had disappeared during the unchecked urbanisation and real-estate booms of decades previous.

Added to this was the pressure to excel academically. In Japan this included after-hours 'cram schools' and late nights of study for various entrance exams, precluding many children from simple pleasures such as taking meals together with their families.

This was something Tajiri knew from personal experience. The aspirational message was obvious. The previous generation who had so transformed the landscape would be of little help. This was a world where young people would need to forge new tools and allies to make their way. The combination of Silicon Valley technology and Japanese characters proved absolutely irresistible to players.