"Playing Pokémon Go in India is almost a pilgrimage."
Pokémon GO has attracted more young people to visit temples in India.
The popular mobile game requires players to search and capture Pokémon in real world locations.
This has led to a lot of players running down to their nearest temples to find PokeStops.
PokeStops are real locations that store Pokéballs, eggs and potions. They tend to be in monuments, buildings and even in temples.
Players can stop by PokeStops to restock their Pokéballs.
So for the first time in a while, young people are voluntarily rushing off to temples.
Pokémon Go has done many things we’ve expected it to do, encouraging young people to get out of their homes,.
Now interestingly, it has even invited them to visit religious sites.
A Reddit user says: “Playing Pokémon GO in India is almost a pilgrimage.”
Another user says: “I have been to more temples, churches and mosques in the last 2 days than the last 5 years combined. All thanks to Pokémon GO.”
Pokémon Go will take you to more temples than your parents did.
— dorku (@Dorkstar) July 12, 2016
Pokemon go is making us do all the things our moms wanted us to do. Go out and jog and go to the temple.
— Dhwani Bhatt (@dhwaniibhatt) July 12, 2016
Created by Nintendo, Pokémon GO is an augmented reality game that allows you to catch Pokémon.
It’s every millennial’s dream. Even though it’s not technically available in India, people have found ways to join in the craze.
CEO and founder of Niantic, John Hanke, is one of the founders of Keyhole – the company that Google has purchased to start Google Earth.
Google Map is a vital tool in creating Pokémon GO’s PokeStops and Gym locations, as Hanke explains:
“We basically defined the kinds of places that we wanted to be part of the game
“Things that were public artwork, that were historical sites, that were buildings with some unique architectural history or characteristic, or a unique local businesses.”
This viral little game has become more popular than iconic social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and even Snapchat.