Security Firm Hired To Rid Pokémon From The Map

Not everyone is being swept up in the Pokémon GO craze. Cybersecurity firm LookingGlass has been hired by power utility companies in Florida to get Pokémon off the map.

According to a report, LookingGlass CEO Chris Coleman said eight utility companies have requested LookingGlass alter the code of Pokémon GO so Pokémon don’t show up in areas that are restricted. The utilities are concerned unobservant Pokémon GO players will wander into their restricted areas. It’s not a stretch. Ever since the game was released in June, there have been reports of car accidents and people getting hit by vehicles because they were too busy hunting Pokémon than watching where they were going. There was even a report of two men falling off a cliff while they played the game.

“We’re now in the business of killing Pokémon,” Coleman said in the report. Coleman said his computer coders locate the Pokémon in the restricted areas and send suggestions to the game’s developer, Niantic Labs.

Within 24 hours of its release last month, Pokémon GO won over the hearts and minds of millions of players around the world. The craze also prompted retailers to figure out ways to cash in on the popularity of the game. While Nintendo’s stock had been surging since the game came out, it’s not the only one poised to benefit big time from the game. Take Apple, for example. Last month, Apple said the game set a record, and because Pokémon GO relies on in-app purchases, Apple gets a cut, with some analysts suggesting $3 billion over the next two years. Candy Crush, the popular mobile game from a few years ago, enabled Apple to generate more than $1 billion in revenue between 2013 and 2014. The ratio of paid users to total users is 10 times higher than that with Pokémon GO.