One touring company gets in on the Pokemon GO obsession, offering a variety of walking and driving tours in the U.S. and Europe so trainers can catch ’em all.
Pokemon GO has had an unexpected effect on the economy, boosting everything from the sales of battery packs to foot traffic at small businesses. One big company has decided to join in on the Poké-boom by offering customized Pokemon GO tours in the U.S. and Europe.
Viator, a subset of the well-known travel company Travelocity, is currently offering a selection of thirteen different tours of cities around Europe or the United States, either by car or on-foot. The tours range in length from as short as 90 minutes to as long as three hours, with some of the driving tours offering onboard wi-fi internet access to prevent gamers from racking up huge mobile data bills playing Pokemon GO. Unfortunately, the tours don’t promise electrical outlets, so the majority of gamers will still need battery packs if they want to continue playing for the entirety of the tour.
The tours cover plenty of PokeStops in addition to some of the best landmarks that the locations have to offer, with prices ranging from as low as $18 for a “Safari” bus tour in Memphis, Tennessee to as high as $246 for a private car tour in Vienna, Austria. The tours also go through Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Croatia. Although many countries aren’t yet on Viator’s agenda, France’s absence may be related to one French town wanting Pokemon GO banned.
Although some may scoff at the notion of spending so much to catch Pokemon and net some items and EXP at PokeStops, it’s not completely unheard of. Gamers have previously made the news by paying drivers to chauffeur them while playing Pokemon GO, and due to the nature of the game, some Pokemon may be more readily caught overseas than where the player hunts normally. It’s hard to say if the tours will be a success for Viator, but given that these tours were unveiled during the summer when many people are on vacation, it’s possible that it could be quite profitable for the company.
Although Nintento and Google clearly had high expectations of the game – proven by their $30 million investment in Pokemon GO – the game has surely surpassed what most investors and gamers thought it would be capable of. Although many believe that Pokemon GO needs new features right away in order to maintain its popularity, its impact on the real world doesn’t appear to be fading away anytime soon.
VIA - gamerant.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment