- Title: Pokemon Go fans join giant Pikachus at Yokohama festival
- Date: 9th August 2017
- Summary: YOKOHAMA, JAPAN (AUGUST 9, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PIKACHUS DANCING ON STAGE AT WATER SPLASH SHOW VARIOUS OF AUDIENCE DANCING, BEING SPRAYED WITH WATER WATER CANNON SHOOTING WATER AT AUDIENCES PIKACHUS DANCING AUDIENCE BEING SOAKED IN WATER SHOW IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MANAGER OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AT THE POKEMON COMPANY, SAHOKO MOROTSUKI, SAYING: "While the origin of Pokemon is a video game, we think real interactions such as exchanging Pokemons and fighting with other players is a very important element. With people experiencing a wide variety of communication and exchanges around the globe in events like this, we believe Pokemon Go will become increasingly popular." POKEMON GO PLAYERS GATHERING AT POKEMON GO PARK SIGN READING (English): "POKEMON GO PARK" PEOPLE PLAYING POKEMON GO (SOUNDBITE) (English) 15 YEAR-OLD VISITOR FROM NEW MEXICO, GEOFFERY MORRIS, SAYING: "Right now? Yes, (the server goes down) very often because we've got hundreds over here all playing. So, they're a lot slower. And Niantic has another game called Ingress and not sure if that one's on but it's probably also pretty bogged down right now with everyone playing." MOBILE COMPANY CAR PROVIDING INTERNET CONNECTION (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 55 YEAR-OLD VISITOR, YOSHIFUMI YAJIMA, SAYING: "Since it (Pokemon Go) let you walk, I think it's very good for your health. But at the same time, I think it's dangerous to play it while walking." PEOPLE STOPPING AND PLAYING POKEMON GO AT POKEMON GO GYM POKEMON GO GYM (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 44 YEAR-OLD VISITOR, MIKA KASUYA, SAYING: "I didn't play it for a while, but started to play it eagerly again after the game added new Pokemon characters and new functions like 'Raid Battles', where you can defeat powerful Pokemon such as Lugia and Articuno." VARIOUS OF PIKACHUS ON A BOAT PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOS DISPLAY OF GIANT PIKACHUS VARIOUS OF PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOS WITH PIKACHUS PEOPLE GATHERING TO SEE PIACHU'S DANCE PERFORMANCE VARIOUS OF PIKACHUS DANCING SHIP WITH PIKACHU ON BOW PIKACHU ON SHIP
- Embargoed: 23rd August 2017 13:05
- Keywords: PokemonGO Pokemon Pokemon in Japan Nintendo giant Pikachus
- Location: YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
- City: YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Human Interest / Brights / Odd News,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0016TFPLJT
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Thousands of Pokemon Go players gathered in the Japanese port city of Yokohama on Wednesday (August 9) to try their hand at catching rare Pokemon while watching dance shows featuring giant Pikachus.
The festival, which is jointly organised by Yokohama city and The Pokemon Company, will feature a total of 15,000 Pikachus and will end on August 15, the event organisers said. More such events will be held in Japan in the lead up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, they added.
At the Pokemon Go Park, the festival's main venue, visitors on Wednesday stopped by hoping to defeat players of the augmented reality game from Japan and beyond. One player, 15-year-old Geoffery Morris, said the area was so busy the servers were often down.
Last month, nearly 20,000 people gathered at the first-ever Pokemon Go Fest in Chicago, causing the servers to crash due to congestion. The game's developer Niantic later postponed a number of events in Europe. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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