Should Sydney be more welcoming to Pokemon GO players? Is it an opportunity for local businesses to capitalise upon?
Councillor Linda Scott says yes.
Last night Councillor Linda Scott attempted to pass a motion. That motion was an attempt to make Sydney a ‘Pokemon GO Friendly Zone’. It was a request that the city of Sydney design, print and make available Pokemon GO Welcome Signs to be distributed to businesses throughout the city.
That motion was denied.
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“I love gaming,” Scott explained, in an interview with Kotaku. “My two boys are enormous fans of Pokemon GO.”
After watching her sons interact with Pokemon GO, and getting into the game herself, Linda began thinking about the ways in which the Pokemon GO enabled gamers to interact with the city of Sydney. She saw negative media reports, these people were missing the point. Pokemon GO wasn’t a menace: it represented an opportunity.
“It’s an opportunity for businesses,” explained Scott. “It’s an opportunity to have fun.”
And that’s what inspired this message, posted on Linda Scott’s Facebook and Twitter:
Trainers! I’m for a fun @cityofsydney – this Monday I’ll move we become a @PokemonGoApp Welcome Zone #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/h7LudeJI48
— Linda Scott (@ClrLindaScott) July 23, 2016
Linda’s plan: have the city of Sydney officially recognise itself as a welcome space for Pokemon GO and Pokemon GO players. Have the city of Sydney design and print official Pokemon GO Welcome signs.
But the the motion was denied. The council’s response: celebrate the effects of Pokemon GO — the increased traffic around different areas of the city — without mentioning Pokemon GO specifically.
Really sad @CloverMoore voted down my motion for @cityofsydney to be a #PokemonGO welcome zone. ? We need more fun! pic.twitter.com/70Hr8baTAY
— Linda Scott (@ClrLindaScott) July 25, 2016
“I think they’re the fun police,” said Scott.
But Scott isn’t planning on stopping. She considers it her mission to make Sydney a more interesting place. She’s planning to run for Lord Major on this platform.
“I’m campaigning on this,” she told Kotaku. “Sydney should be more fun.”
Comments
6 responses to “This Councillor Wants To Make Sydney A Pokemon GO Paradise”
There’s a real image problem for video-games in this country, I get that.
It’s remarkable how Gaming (betting and gambling) in this country is so systemically tied to each state’s economy that it must view anything video-games related as a potential threat.
Surely the funniest thing is all the people staying insidr to go on to their computers to complain about gamers going outside.
So what happens when Pokemon Go eventually dies down because everyone’s bored of it. Is there going to be a whole heap of Pokemon signs littered throughout Sydney. This then becomes a wasted exercise. It’s not a matter of hating Pokemon Go/video games. Its practicality. Aside from the fact that the local council would have to organise and create a bunch of signs which would cost money, they would need to sort out the copyright legalities with Nintendo/Gamefreak. Also, what if businesses dont want to promote this in this way to to that extent? Do they have to take the signs irrespective?
If businesses want to take advantage of this opportunity for increased traffic and attention, then they should be doing it of their own accord like many have already. There’s a lot of other ways to make a city more fun without jumping on the hype train and regretting it later.
Dont kid yourself mate. Sydney council shits out more signs for pointless, 1 off events than you and i have had hot meals. I know this because i work in the event/entertainment industry. The fact that pokemon go is what, 3 weeks old now? That gives it more logevity than say 75% of the things they do make signage for. Theres a lot of arguments for n against, but this is not one of em.
Ok, full disclosure, I’m from Perth, so you’d probably know better than me. Not saying you’re wrong, but considering that, it’s even more of an argument not to do it. If they already do too much sign spammage, they need to pull their head in and rethink their policies before doing it. Either way it’s a stupid idea.
Well more people = higher chance of consumers buying things as they walk past.