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What Indonesian players say about Pokemon Go
Despite not yet being officially launched in Southeast Asia, Pokemon Go has become widely popular in Indonesia.
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A person plays Pokemon Go in a shopping mall. (Shutterstock.com/Tuah Roslan/-)
D
espite not yet being officially launched in Southeast Asia, Pokemon Go has become widely popular in Indonesia. People of different ages and backgrounds are already into the game in a big way; one of these is Decit, a mother of two who works for a foreign bank in Thamrin, Central Jakarta, who jumped onto the Pokemon Go bandwagon a few days ago following the hype in social media.
“It feels like the when the World Cup was held – everyone in different countries is mainly talking about one thing that other people can relate to” she recently told The Jakarta Post.
Decit usually plays the game every morning and during office breaks. “Some people put lures out along Thamrin,” she said, adding that sometimes one or two Pokemon would show up above her desk too. Lures are used to attract Pokemon to an area, making it easier to find and catch them.
(Read also: Review: ‘Pokemon Go’ brings back childhood excitement)
While Decit often plays the game around her workplace, Hashegi Hanjaya, a college student in Jakarta who plays the game almost every day in his spare time, has his own place to catch the monsters. “Central Park has a lot of Pokemon monsters,” he said, referring to a shopping mall in West Jakarta.
Meanwhile, Taruna "Dana" Diyapradana, a comic blogger, said that he did not need to go too far to catch different types of Pokemon. “I could get a Scyther with 500 CP and Dratini in my house,” he said. CP, or Combat Power, is the number that identifies the species’ power. A higher number means it is a more powerful species.
Dana believes that playing Pokemon Go encourages people to get out of their houses more often, although the game can quickly drain smartphone batteries since it uses the smartphone's GPS and camera at the same time. “But it does not really affect your internet quota,” he stated.
(Read also: Read these five tips before you play Pokemon Go)
Dana has tips for those who want to stay safe while playing the game. “If you are in an unsafe area, it's better to put your smartphone battery in save mode and put it in your pocket,” he said. “If there's a Pokemon nearby, your smartphone will vibrate.”
Regarding the fact that the game may lead to an arguably unhealthy addiction -- a New Zealand bartender has even quit his job to hunt them -- Decit said that Pokemon Go was indeed addictive, but the game did not disturb her other activities, especially her quality time with her children. “We agree not to use our gadgets between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.,” she said.
Hashegi, who is co-founder of the Pokemon Indonesia Community that was established in 2014, said that there was a lot of misleading news about Pokemon Go in Indonesia, especially spread in social media. “The Pokemon Indonesia Community wants to help in clarifying the news, it's better to stay calm when reading news about Pokemon Go,” he said.
“If you want to use an APK version of the app, then go ahead, but be responsible with it. And it's important to have fun and socialize with new people." (kes)
