Pokemon GO Fest in Chicago - A Missed Opportunity For Amtrak?

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neutralist

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http://pokemongolive.com/fest/

The first ever real-world event is going to be in Chicago (Grant Park / Millennium) on July 22nd. Hotels for the days around near the area are sold out, and event tickets are not even on sale yet. Millions of people from all over the country and overseas are expected coming to catch potential "legendary" pokemons, according to city event permit applications.

Chicago being the largest railroad hub of the nation, shouldn't Amtrak start promoting train travel into Chicago for the event? Most social media are filled with comments about how airfare was expensive during that weekend.....
 
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The first ever real-world event is going to be in Chicago (Grant Park / Millennium) on July 22nd. Hotels for the days around near the area are sold out, and event tickets are not even on sale yet. Millions of people from all over the country and overseas are expected coming to catch potential "legendary" pokemons, according to city event permit applications. Most social media are filled with comments about how airfare was expensive during that weekend.....
Let's see...

+ First event of its kind

+ Based on a freemium mobile game

+ Hotels are sold out before first ticket is sold

+ Potential customers are complaining about costs

Nah, I don't think Amtrak is missing out on anything.

If we're going to criticize Amtrak for failing to fully market themselves maybe we should stick with one of the routine high volume Chicago area events that have been attracting thousands of attendees for decades rather than some heretofore unknown event of undetermined significance. I feel the same way about the thread criticizing Amtrak for not doing enough to chase solar eclipse viewers. It's a one-off event of unknowable significance that could be ruined with nothing more than a few random clouds passing by at the wrong time on the wrong day.
 
I was wondering the same thing. Nothing seems to be more incompatible to Amtrak than a bunch of 20'something people stumbling around, not watching where they are going, looking at their mobile phones instead of the crosswalk and ACK! Stepping in front of a train...

I saw the people wandering around DC when the last Pokemon craze was in full swing, it was amusing and kind of sad, at the same time. They were of the world, but not quite, so to speak.

I wonder if the OP posted this as a tongue in cheek play on the eclipse thread.
 
Mea culpa. That was a bit of a low blow.

I think it was last summer when the fad hit my area, and that was my first impression. Some of the players weren't exercising good situational awareness, but not all.

Now now. Enough of '20s bashing already. ;) . Besides, bear in mind that there are several Pokemon aficionados among us on AU who are way older than 20's too.
 
I was wondering the same thing. Nothing seems to be more incompatible to Amtrak than a bunch of 20'something people stumbling around, not watching where they are going, looking at their mobile phones instead of the crosswalk and ACK! Stepping in front of a train...
Well those could be our next generation of potential Amtrak riders so great way for "Introduction to Trains 101".
 
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Pokemon Go ---- is that still a thing?
When we still see people driving 2AM at night taking down pokemon gyms, it looks like it is going strong. Besides from official stats, they have 65 million active players world wide.
 
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I know I'm going to "out" myself as a complete and utter nerd, but I play PoGo (not as much as I did when it came out, because I have a life most months of the year). If Amtrak REALLY wanted to make bank during this event, they'd have a train run a loop going about 6 miles an hour. The game tracks your walking distance progress and the distance walked translates into progress in the game. The fastest you can "walk" and have the game count it is around 6.5mph. If they ran a train at 6mph, sold tickets and then just sold tons of food and beverages onboard (and even better, wifi and air conditioning) PoGo players would camp out in there all day. I mean, you'd need a dedicated track, but it would be a great move if they could pull it off.

They did it in Germany and had great success with it.
 
I know I'm going to "out" myself as a complete and utter nerd, but I play PoGo (not as much as I did when it came out, because I have a life most months of the year). If Amtrak REALLY wanted to make bank during this event, they'd have a train run a loop going about 6 miles an hour. The game tracks your walking distance progress and the distance walked translates into progress in the game. The fastest you can "walk" and have the game count it is around 6.5mph. If they ran a train at 6mph, sold tickets and then just sold tons of food and beverages onboard (and even better, wifi and air conditioning) PoGo players would camp out in there all day. I mean, you'd need a dedicated track, but it would be a great move if they could pull it off.

They did it in Germany and had great success with it.
I'm a PoGo player, too (when I have the time to do it) and that's the most genius marketing idea I've ever read. Though I'm not sure that it would gain any "normal" riders.
 
This might explain the "pokey" speed of the Washington DC streetcar. It was famous for taking a whopping 26 minutes to cover just 2 miles. I think it has sped up a bit of late, though.

https://ggwash.org/view/41403/taking-the-streetcar-is-in-fact-way-faster-than-walking

I know I'm going to "out" myself as a complete and utter nerd, but I play PoGo (not as much as I did when it came out, because I have a life most months of the year). If Amtrak REALLY wanted to make bank during this event, they'd have a train run a loop going about 6 miles an hour. The game tracks your walking distance progress and the distance walked translates into progress in the game. The fastest you can "walk" and have the game count it is around 6.5mph. If they ran a train at 6mph, sold tickets and then just sold tons of food and beverages onboard (and even better, wifi and air conditioning) PoGo players would camp out in there all day. I mean, you'd need a dedicated track, but it would be a great move if they could pull it off.

They did it in Germany and had great success with it.
 
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A lot of people coming to Chicago over a summer weekend to walk around with their noses buried in their phones the whole time?

Sounds pretty normal to me!
 
That will be a good week to NOT go to Chicago and for those who live there to find somewhere else to go until things return to "normal."
Chicago is a big city. It can and does hold lots of people with lots of interests. There's no need to flee simply because someone enjoys a game you don't care for.

I've never played, but I like that it draws people out of their houses and encourages not only exercise but also social events.
 
I've found Pokemon Go often brings to light a rather conflicting attitude of "Those nerds need to get out of their parents basement...ew, but we don't want them out HERE near US!"
 
I've found Pokemon Go often brings to light a rather conflicting attitude of "Those nerds need to get out of their parents basement...ew, but we don't want them out HERE near US!"
Unfortunately most of the active "users" on PoGo are either GPS spoofers (falsifying GPS location so they can play it on their couch) or botters (accounts operated by automated program).
 
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A lot of people coming to Chicago over a summer weekend to walk around with their noses buried in their phones the whole time?

Sounds pretty normal to me!
Good call. Ticket came on sale at Noon CST, $20 a piece, 10,000+ tickets SOLD OUT within the first 10 minutes. Scalpers on eBay are asking for $300+ a piece. This game is FAR from dead. Talking about 100,000+ that weekend.
 
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I know I'm going to "out" myself as a complete and utter nerd, but I play PoGo (not as much as I did when it came out, because I have a life most months of the year). If Amtrak REALLY wanted to make bank during this event, they'd have a train run a loop going about 6 miles an hour. The game tracks your walking distance progress and the distance walked translates into progress in the game. The fastest you can "walk" and have the game count it is around 6.5mph. If they ran a train at 6mph, sold tickets and then just sold tons of food and beverages onboard (and even better, wifi and air conditioning) PoGo players would camp out in there all day. I mean, you'd need a dedicated track, but it would be a great move if they could pull it off.

They did it in Germany and had great success with it.
Sounds more like an opportunity for a railroad museum with a loop of track -- Illinois Railway Museum's streetcar loop, for instance -- than Amtrak.
 
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