Pokémon Go is the latest craze in gaming but an organization advocating for the end of child-targeted marketing is not happy that the PokéStops and Pokémon Gyms that are part of the app are leading children to sponsored locations. Niantic, the company that developed Pokémon Go recently partnered with McDonald's in Japan, making its restaurants as stops and gyms.
"Children should not be lured to junk food restaurants-or any other sponsor's establishments-as part of a game. Nor should Niantic use the information it collects on a child's location in order to serve targeted ads," the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood (CCFC) said in their petition. They added that Niantic should be able to identify and protect players under 13 because players are required to submit their birthdates when they sign-up to play Pokémon Go.
Pokémon Go Shouldn't Be Used To Sell Fast Food To Kids, Say Advocates https://t.co/KIaDzzYA7d
— consumerist (@consumerist) July 25, 2016
Pokémon Go And McDonald's Japan
Chicago Tribune reported that 400 McDonald's Japan branches have been turned into Pokémon Gyms were Pokémon Go players can battle their pokemons. There are also 2,500 PokéStops where the players can get different Pokémon Go items.
"The reason people are talking about this McDonald's deal is it could constitute, and I think it will constitute, a second revenue stream for Niantic that other games cannot possibly have for systemic reasons, if you will," Tokyo-based games industry consultant Serkan Toto was quoted as saying. Toto added that Niantic is using GPS to add a new way to make money through mobile games.
More Sponsored PokéStops and Pokémon Gyms?
The Consumerist reported that while Niantic currently does not have sponsored PokéStops and Pokémon Gyms in the United States, the CCFC does not think this is far from happening. Josh Golin, Executive Director of CCFC told the Consumerist that they are "fairly certain" of this.
"It's fundamentally unfair to a child who developmentally doesn't understand they are being marketed to make visiting a sponsor be part of the game," said Golin. Golin said that Pokémon Go is being used to lure people advertise a real world sponsored location, something that children should not be a part of.
