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Comment by laretluval | Hacker News Reader

Looks like this is the core argument for why Pokemon Go is a tragedy:

"""Even Google couldn’t make Ingress work without reskinning it as Pokémon. And while Pokémon is popular and basically harmless, the alternating reality it offers is still that of a branded, licensed, kiddie cock-fighting fantasy."""

I think the real tragedy is that the author of this thing can't lighten up and enjoy something that is making all kinds of people happy.

Edit: He even links to this example of why it is a wonderful thing! https://imgur.com/KAwwxFp But no, it's a tragedy because it's corporate-branded and juvenile. OK.

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Personally I have no problem with stuff being corporate branded and/or juvenile but I am surprised that the cock-fighting element isn't mentioned more often in relation to Pokemon. Maybe it is because I have seen a little real life cock-fighting (and its horrifying) but I find that aspect quite repellent.

So is gunning down other people. Fortunately, many people can separate games from reality and this lets all types of games, from Counter-Strike to Pokemon to the Total War series, to succeed.

I'm utterly convinced the average 13 year old can separate the concepts of fake monsters that disappear back inside their little round homes from the reality of two animals trapped in a small area fighting to the death.

Possibly because they actually cover this topic as one of the main quest lines in at least one of the games. They're pretty self-aware about it these days and the shows are big on morality and battling only when the Pokémon want to.

People definitely bring it up, but what are they meant to do? Collapse a media franchise worth many millions of dollars?

Fair. But if I thought too hard about a list of every video game element with some vaguely unsettling real-world proxy, I wouldn't be able to play a single video game. When viewed from this lens, even something as innocuous as Super Mario Bros. is subversive. ("Solve problems by eating psychedelic mushrooms and stomping people's heads.")

Fortunately, most people are able to separate the fantasy/gameplay elements from their (real or perceived) violent equivalents IRL. This is the first time I've encountered the Pokemon/cockfighting analogy. While I find it novel, and while it made me stop and think for a second, a second is all I needed.

As far as i can tell, you're not required to fight. you can just run around and collect everything. I haven't played ingress in a while, but the only way i remember it was possible to advance was by blowing stuff up.

The core argument is actually give en passant in the following sentence: "[...]and even if location-based entertainment need not be serious and political[...]".

You know that's the real rub for the author.

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