Japanese Olympic gymnast Kohei Uchimura is apparently just as devoted to becoming a Pokemon master as competing in the Olympics, to the tune of about $5,000.
The six-time world champion found himself looking at 500,000 yen — that’s $4,954 — in mobile phone roaming charges for playing Pokemon Go in Brazil. Worse yet, the game has yet to launch in Brazil, so there weren’t any potential pocket monsters to collect in the first place.
That fruitless hunt’s price tag left Uchimura looking “dead at the team meal” according to his teammate, Kenzo Shirai. Fortunately for Uchimura, he “lucked out” when his carrier offered him the option to forego the entire bill by simply switching to their $30 unlimited data plan. Now that’s a sales pitch.
The Olympic gymnast is far from the only one obsessed with the mobile augmented reality phenomenon. Sometimes that means continuing your search after getting stabbed, or driving directly into a parked police vehicle so you don’t miss any roaming virtual monsters. Even The Donald wishes he had more time to go after that elusive Gumshoos.
It’s been said countless times, but it bears repeating: be careful out there, guys. Don’t follow every lure, and make sure you know exactly what you’re catching.
Follow Nate Church @Get2Church on Twitter for the latest news in gaming and technology, and snarky opinions on both.
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