Pokémon Go and other mobile AR games now require a permit to use Milwaukee parks

[midian182]

Remember last Summer when the Pokémon Go phenomenon was at its height and people were complaining about hordes of players destroying property and leaving a mess? The game may not be as popular today as it once was, but that hasn’t stopped one county parks department from taking action.

The developer of the augmented reality title, Niantic Labs, was taken to court on several occasions last year. Michigan couple Scott Dodich and Jayme Gotts-Dodich filed a class action lawsuit against the firm, claiming that the Pokémon gym and Pokéstops placed in Wahby Park in St Clair Shores turned their neighborhood into a “nightmare.” Another case involved Dutch authorities going after Niantic after thousands of players swarmed the beaches of Kijkduin, south of the Hague, to capture spawning Pokémon.

The Milwaukee County Parks Department failed to hold Niantic accountable for the damage done to city parks in 2016, which saw empty beer cans, overflowing toilets, and piles of trash. There were also complaints of noises going on late into the night, excessive traffic, and unauthorized vendors. Cleaning up after the influx of players is said to have cost taxpayers “thousands of dollars.”

In response, the Milwaukee County Board recently passed an ordinance that requires creators of mobile, location-based AR games, such as Pokémon Go, to acquire a permit if they wish to use the county’s park locations, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The permit requirement is aimed only at game developers. It doesn’t restrict players from enjoying the titles within the parks. And it isn’t banning the game outright like China and Iran. But it’ll be interesting to see if Niantic complies.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/68062-pokmon-go-style-ar-games-now-require-permit.html

 

[gusticles41]

Milwaukee resident here. They had issues at Lake Park, that's about it. Reason being, it's a huge honey-hole for rare Pokemon, and there are an excessive number of Pokestops along the paths.

Niantic removed a few of the stops last year and traffic declined a bit. Whenever I went there people were nothing but respectful. IMO, this move by the Board was unnecessary as I'm sure this year traffic will be even lower as the games popularity levels out.

What it comes down to - The parks are being utilized to their full extent and Milwaukee wasn't ready for it.

 

[stewi0001]

Milwaukee resident here. They had issues at Lake Park, that's about it. Reason being, it's a huge honey-hole for rare Pokemon, and there are an excessive number of Pokestops along the paths.

Niantic removed a few of the stops last year and traffic declined a bit. Whenever I went there people were nothing but respectful. IMO, this move by the Board was unnecessary as I'm sure this year traffic will be even lower as the games popularity levels out.

What it comes down to - The parks are being utilized to their full extent and Milwaukee wasn't ready for it.

Makes sense. Basically, they didn't budget and plan for the park getting so much use.

 

[Scshadow]

Good luck enforcing it. Thats really the beauty of it, its there but its actually not. And its a public space. Not sure if they seriously think they can charge this money. And if they can, well good luck getting people to pay it. Other AR startups aren't going to be popular and they aren't going to have any money budgeted under the category of BS fines and charges.

 

[lipe123]

Sounds pretty dumb, public parks are public for a reason.

Why would AR game companies need permits so the public can play their game in a public area?

 

[Impudicus]

Only the individuals who made a mess at the parks are responsible. Pokemon didn't make them do it, they're disrespectful slobs. But oh, it's not their fault, it's the game. There's is nothing in Pokemon that says throw trash on the ground and destroy property.

 

[gusticles41]

Only the individuals who made a mess at the parks are responsible. Pokemon didn't make them do it, they're disrespectful slobs. But oh, it's not their fault, it's the game. There's is nothing in Pokemon that says throw trash on the ground and destroy property.

The park was just overused and crowded. There were very few, if any, reports of actual damage or vandalism. I think the biggest complaint was unauthorized vendors, next to snobby neighbors squawking about the increase in pedestrian traffic and noise.

Trash ends up on the ground when there aren't enough receptacles for it to go in, which was the case.

 

[Reehahs]

The company programmers must have missed the ethical and moral aspect of their CS degrees taught in first year, that their code has consequences. It would be responsible for them to not spawn late for safety of their players and peace of mind for residents among many things.