MILLENNIUM PARK — It may not have been the 12,000 people who RSVP'd on Facebook, but enough Pokemon Go enthusiasts got together Sunday afternoon to fill the entire space around The Bean.
Hundreds of people, many bringing Pokemon-inspired signs and costumes, flocked to the site around 2 p.m. so they could stare at their phones in one another's company.
#PokemonGO meetup at the Bean. Servers are down so now people have to actually talk to each other. pic.twitter.com/qtuWKoXU3z
— Ryan Smith (@RyanSmithWriter) July 17, 2016
At the #PokemonGO meet up in Chicago pic.twitter.com/CLMvEumIqJ
— Alan (@best4blood) July 17, 2016
Pokemon go meetup Chicago #pokemongo pic.twitter.com/pr8aNFzijj
— Mitchellin Man (@ExM1k) July 17, 2016
The free app letting users search for virtual Pokémon has exploded in popularity since its debut, with players renting boats or driving for hours to catch hard-to-find creatures as Nintendo, the maker of the game, has grown $7 billion in market value.
The app overlays digital Pokémon creatures over users' real-life environment using geolocation, prompting players to take to the streets and scan their surroundings with their phones.
The Bean is listed in the game as a Pokemon gym, where players can meet to battle their creatures against each other.
The meetup brought so much traffic to the game's network that it wreaked havoc on servers across the country, according to multiple reports and complaints.
Great job, #Chicago #PokémonGo meet up. You ruined it for the whole country. pic.twitter.com/NuuQXMk3vN
— Brad Highland (@BradHighlander) July 17, 2016
Even some Chicago Police officers grabbed a piece of the craze Sunday, according to chatter on the police scanner.
#ShitCPDSays #ShitOEMCSays #ChicagoScanner pic.twitter.com/Pn3nH0mbJC
— Eric Tendian (@EricTendian) July 17, 2016
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