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The
game involves using a mobile device to find and capture virtual
Pokemon characters at real life locations, including apparently
inside the Washington-based museum.
The idea of players roaming its halls, eyes glued to phones in
search of the computerized figures, shocked many after an image
was posted online showing one of the characters located outside
the doors to the museum's Helena Rubinstein Auditorium.
"We are attempting to have the museum removed from the game,"
the museum's communications director, Andy Hollinger, said in a
statement.
The museum encourages visitors to use their mobile phones to
share and engage with exhibits while visiting, he added.
"Technology can be an important learning tool, but this game
falls far outside of our educational and memorial mission,"
Hollinger said.
During a visit to the museum on Tuesday, a Reuters reporter saw
various visitors using phones to take photos or send messages,
but no one obviously playing games. That included the area
outside the Helena Rubinstein Auditorium, which features
recorded testimonies from Jews who survived the gas chambers.
Niantic, the game's creator, did not respond to requests for
comment about the museum's complaint.
Interest in Pokemon GO has surged since its release last week.
The game was the most downloaded free app on Apple's app store,
while Nintendo shares surged nearly 25 percent on Monday for
their biggest daily gains ever based on its success.
On Tuesday, a Democratic U.S. senator asked Niantic to clarify
the game's data privacy protections, amid concerns it was
unnecessarily collecting lots of user data.
(Reporting by Kouichi Shirayanagi; Editing by Daniel Wallis and
Sandra Maler)
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