Searching for Pokémon Go

Emily Anne Epstein
July 13, 2016
22 Photos
In Focus

Pokémon Go mania has firmly taken hold, as players armed with smartphones scour streets, parks, rivers, and mountains to capture creatures in the new augmented reality game. The free application is based on a 20-year old Nintendo Gameboy title in which players collect, train, and then battle Pokémon. The game was adapted to the mobile internet Age by Niantic Labs, the company that developed Ingress, a game that merged mapping capabilities with play. In the few days since it launched, Pokémon Go has been downloaded millions of times and Nintendo shares have soared.

Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Sameer Uddin, left, and Michelle Macias play Pokémon Go on their smartphones outside of Nintendo's flagship store, July 11, 2016, in New York City. #

Drew Angerer / Getty

Read more
The augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo is shown on a smartphone screen in this photo taken in Palm Springs, California, July 11, 2016. #

Sam Mircovich / Reuters

Read more
People play the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo in Bryant Park, New York City, July 11, 2016. #

Mark Kauzlarich / Reuters

Read more
A "Pidgey" Pokémon is seen on the screen of the Pokémon Go mobile app, Nintendo's new scavenger hunt game which utilizes geo-positioning, in a photo taken in downtown Toronto, Ontario, July 11, 2016. #

Chris Helgren / Reuters

Read more
Jerimie Nason, center, plays the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo as people pass him on the street outside Grand Central Terminal in New York City, July 11, 2016. #

Mark Kauzlarich / Reuters

Read more
The augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo is shown on a smartphone screen in this photo taken in Palm Springs, California, July 11, 2016. #

Sam Mircovich / Reuters

Read more
Kate plays the Pokémon Go game on her phone at Southgate, July 13, 2016, in Melbourne, Australia. #

Robert Cianflone / Getty

Read more
A virtual map of Bryant Park is displayed on the screen as a man plays the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo in New York City, July 11, 2016. #

Mark Kauzlarich / Reuters

Read more
From left to right, Zijia Ge, Jack Zheng, Ky Pham, and Tony Sun search for Pokémon on the top of Mount Eden, July 13, 2016, in Auckland, New Zealand. #

Fiona Goodall / Getty

Read more
A woman holds up her cell phone as she plays the Pokémon Go game in Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington, DC, July 12, 2016. #

Jim Watson / AFP / Getty

Read more
A man wears a Pokémon-themed hat as he plays the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo in Bryant Park, New York City, July 11, 2016. #

Mark Kauzlarich / Reuters

Read more
A man holds up his phone as he plays the Pokémon Go game, July 13, 2016, in Melbourne, Australia. #

Robert Cianflone / Getty

Read more
Medical students Jag Chilana, left, and Scott Kobner, center, play Pokémon Go on their smartphones at Union Square, July 11, 2016 in New York City. #

Drew Angerer / Getty

Read more
A Pokémon appears on the screen next to a woman as a man plays the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo in Bryant Park in New York City, July 11, 2016. #

Mark Kauzlarich / Reuters

Read more
A man takes a selfie outside of Nintendo's flagship store, July 11, 2016, in New York City. #

Drew Angerer / Getty

Read more
A woman uses a portable battery pack to charge her phone while playing the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo in New York City, July 11, 2016. Players must keep the game open and their phones' GPS running to play the game, causing battery life to dwindle. #

Mark Kauzlarich / Reuters

Read more
David Melendez, center, uses three phones as he plays the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo in New York City, July 11, 2016. #

Mark Kauzlarich / Reuters

Read more
A sign outside of Kawika's Ocean Beach Deli advertises Pokémon Go-related activities to passersby in San Francisco, July 11, 2016. #

David Hamilton / AP

Read more
Theodore Belizaire plays the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo in Times Square, New York City, July 11, 2016. #

Mark Kauzlarich / Reuters

Read more
Pokemon Go players Ana Valentina Ojeda, right, and Jaeden Valdespino, second from right, check their smartphones as they look for Pokémon, July 12, 2016, at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami. #

Alan Diaz / AP

Read more
The augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo is shown on a smartphone screen in this photo taken in Palm Springs, California, July 11, 2016. #

Sam Mircovich / Reuters

Read more
Theodore Belizaire plays the augmented reality mobile game Pokémon Go by Nintendo in Times Square, New York City, U.S. July 11, 2016. #

Mark Kauzlarich / Reuters

Read more