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How Pokémon Go is creating a barrier for gamers with disabilities

The augmented reality gaming app has taken the internet and world by storm, as people are desperate to catch and collect the characters, making friends and getting fit along the way. But not everyone can fully take part in the cultural phenomenon.

Hope Niantic listens and acknowledges this! The game isn’t even really out of beta yet, so much room for improvement.

I also hope this pop-up community comes forward and helps disabled people participate. All those impromptu pokemon catching parties, shouldn’t be a big deal to organise carpools to get mobility impaired folks out playing as well. Or help people with mental issues like anxiety feel safe going out to catch some. Just like, if you’re going on a group pokemon hunt and can handle helping someone get there and back too, shout it out in the event? 

I got faith in this. I see so many accounts of people having clean, positive gaming fun with Pokemon Go and I really believe most of us will want to share.

I’m gonna reblog again because I see people in the replies going ‘just play normal Pokemon’ or ‘the point of the game is walking so you can’t change that’

Guys

Think for a minute about the shit you’re saying

This is the ‘should videogames have easy settings’ debate all over again and as usual, disabled people get the short shitty end of the stick. Just stop and THINK about someone other than yourself for a second. 

If the game gets a setting that allows disabled people to play, and you, despite not needing it, use it to cheat and thus feel dissatisfied with the game, that’s YOUR problem. YOUR fault. YOUR responsibility.

Don’t you think it’s really fucking selfish to insist that a game should NOT cater to millions of physically disabled people who already have extremely limited accessibility to everything in life just because you might be tempted to use the special features to cheat?

Yes. This.

I am physically disabled. I cannot walk more than a few yards at very random intervals. I have the movement radius of an engineless car if I don’t have my motorised bike. I have a wheelchair for travel purposes.

I simply can’t play pokemon go like it’s “meant to”. I would very much like to try to play it eventually, because people seem to have so much fun with it. But as it is now it’s pretty much unavailable.. And snobby nerds gatekeeping doesn’t help either.

Hey guys! My friend is currently in a wheelchair because of a pretty bad car accident and she was upset that she couldn’t play. However! If you email Nintendo with some proof of disability (she used a handicap parking sign), they will change the settings on your game so that the Pokemon will come to you!

Hope this helps!

I can’t validate the above about emailing Nintendo one way or another, however I’d suggest starting with Niantic or The Pokemon Company first. But that said, you can now suggest Pokestop locations as well. I hear it’s been working for some and not others, but it is intended to be a feature at some point. 

Like someone above said, this game isn’t really fully out of beta, and is still using all the old Ingress stops. If you don’t know much about Ingress, gameplay was focused on capturing portals at landmarks and other places of cultural significance. Which I understand these aren’t accessible to everyone, were specifically the focus of the game. Part of the lore, etc. This is not the case in GO – That is, landmarks have no real impact or lore in the game. (This is also why some of the stops have really weird names/descriptions.)

I agree with all of this, just wanted to add that the “emailing Nintendo with proof of disability” is absolute crock.
I wished it was true, but it isn’t. And I’m super mad that people are getting people’s hopes up. Like, what do you even get out of spreading this bull crap? Ugh.