Vatican Supports Pokemon GO Clone Where You Collect Catholic Saints
A Pokemon GO clone called Follow JC GO! launches, allowing players to collect Catholic saints and the game reportedly has the support of Pope Francis and The Vatican.
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Niantic’s mega-popular mobile game Pokemon GO has seen its fair share of clones and competitors since it launched in July 2016. There are the likes of Jurassic World Alive which has players catching dinosaurs, Draconius GO which has creatures and magical items, and most recently The Walking Dead: Our World got in on the trend.
Arguably the weirdest Pokemon GO-style AR game yet is Follow JC GO!, which is a religious character collectible game that has The Vatican’s backing. Created by Fundación Ramón Pané ahead of World Youth Day 2019, a Catholic youth event, Follow JC GO! tasks players with collecting saints and Bible characters as opposed to different creatures.
When players meet these religious figures, they will then have to answer a question including identifying who said a particular Biblical quote. Answer it correctly and players will be able to add them to their “Evangelization Team.” The app is currently available on Google Play and the App Store in Spanish but language support for English, Italian, and Portuguese is also on the way.
Unlike Pokemon GO, which has made more than $1.2 billion from sales of items on the game shop, the goal of Follow JC GO! is religious education rather than making a profit. Though Follow JC GO! does allow players to spend money by donating to charity through the app and they are then granted some additional in-game bonuses as a way to say thank you. Moreover, the game encourages players to pray in real life when they pass by churches or hospitals.
The educational aspect is likely why The Pope (Pope Francis) is reportedly a fan of the game. Ricardo Grzona, the executive director of Fundación Ramón Pané told a Catholic news site that Pope Francis “was in awe, he understood the idea, what we were trying to do: combine technology with evangelization.” This is despite the religious leader not being a “very technological person,” according to Grzona.
Pokemon GO has had runs in with religious supporters in the past. Most notably when a Russian blogger was arrested for playing Pokemon GO in church. While the Christian denomination in that case (the Russian Orthodox Church) and the Catholic Church have different outlooks on the religion and aren’t on the best of terms, the release of Follow JC GO! could get more religious people on-board with AR gaming. And who knows, maybe if it adds a trading feature, followers of both denominations can bond over different saint’s rarities.
Follow JC GO! is available on Android and iOS devices.
Source: BBC, Crux Now
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