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Last Lift
POKÉMON NO GO
BY DAVE BYRD, NSA A DIRECTOR OF RISK & REGULATORY AFFAIRS
AS IF SKI AREAS DIDN’T have enough risks to manage and
mitigate, now there’s Pokémon Go. That’s right—the wildly
popular, addicting global phenomenon is giving technology-
obsessed Millennials even more ways to be distracted. Put
these rabid gamers on skis with their smartphones, frantically
searching for high-value Pokémon in the snow or on the lifts,
and it’s a recipe for disaster.
When Nintendo released the app in July (along with
Niantic, the game’s developer), its stock value exploded by $9
billion within days. Within two weeks, more than 200 mil-
lion people worldwide had downloaded it. Armies of Pokémon
Go fanatics were roaming parks, businesses, schools, and other
public—and private—establishments, trying to capture digital
Pokémon to earn points and gain power as part of the game.
Pokémon is short for pocket monster (thankfully, they
truncated the name to avoid any vaguely pornographic associ-
ations). The game projects augmented reality through a smart-
phone’s camera and built-in gyroscope to display an image of a
Pokémon as though it were in a real setting. The goal is to cap-
ture the Pokémon and rack up points you can then use to raise
a Pokémon’s “combat power” and get extra strength to capture
even more. The end goal is to capture all 151 Pokémon, with
a handful of rare monsters that are especially difficult to find.
Simply put, it’s really just a virtual scavenger hunt—but one
with a heroin-like compulsion and a lot of trespassing.
And therein lies the problem. The game has such a fanat-
ical, competitive following, armies of gamers are mindlessly
traipsing across town, on foot or in car, to find the digital mon- your use of the App and play of the game is at your own risk,
sters, even if they “appear” on private property, inside a strang- and it is your responsibility to maintain such health, liability,
er’s house, a business, or, believe it or not, at a graveyard or
nuclear power plant. (In fact, Yelp has a filter feature that only cies as you deem reasonably necessary for any injuries that may
shows businesses with a nearby Pokéstop, a location where
Pokémon could appear.) Gamers are taking ill-considered risks
to hunt Pokémon, especially the more valuable ones, often pay-
ing scant attention to the consequences of their fixation.
A 15 year old from North Carolina was killed while
searching for Pokémon with a friend and venturing onto an
elderly woman’s porch at night. She panicked, thinking she was
56 | NSAA JOURNAL | FALL 2016
being robbed, and shot the teen. A railroad in the Netherlands
complained to Nintendo because kids glued to their phones
were showing up to hunt Pokémon on the tracks. In Bosnia,
the government had to warn kids not to hunt for Pokémon
in minefields left behind after the Bosnian War of the 1990s.
Insurance companies are pressuring their clients, including
construction sites, to re-analyze their closures, and beef up sig-
nage and security. In New York, sex offenders are prohibited
from playing the game.
The game has such a large, cult-like following, it’s only a
matter of time before ski resorts become the next Pokéstop,
with monsters showing up in the base area, terrain park, or
tubing hill.
Depending on the business, it’s a double-edged sword.
Some, including art galleries and churches, are actively
pursuing their locations as Pokéstops, hoping to drive traffic
and new customers to their establishment. Others, such as
funeral homes or libraries, want to avoid the throngs. On
the other hand, McDonald’s is in talks to sponsor the game,
wherein Nintendo will save some of the rarest Pokémons for
placement at Golden Arches Pokéstops. (Do you want fries
with that, Charizard?)
But does this create an attractive nuisance, like an uncov-
ered backyard swimming pool? Do companies have to actively
eliminate these unprecedented risks? Who is responsible for the
gamer’s own distraction and failure to heed caution?
Nintendo helpfully recommends that its gamers obtain
insurance, and gently reminds them to be careful: “During
game play, please be aware of your surroundings and play
safely,” the download service agreement reads. “You agree that
hazard, personal injury, medical, life and other insurance poli-
incur while using the Services.” Note to Nintendo: Maybe you
should have required a universal electronic release and waiver
in order to download the game?
But there’s hope for ski areas and other businesses who
want to avoid these Pokémon lemmings. Nintendo and Niantic
offer a customer service link to request a location be removed
as a Pokéstop (https://support.pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/hc/
en-us/requests/new), which may be a smart move for businesses
looking to minimize their exposure.
Given the huge success of Pokémon Go, expect more of
these augmented reality games on smartphones in the near
future. Fortunately, our sport is already pretty damn fun. But
with all of the day-to-day challenges we face as an industry—
speeding skiers, slip-and-falls, avalanches, collisions, and cli-
mate change—isn’t our reality augmented enough?