Deaths playing Pokemon GO are in the news again

Expect to see a return of stories like this as the weather turns warm again.

When Pokemon GO first launched last summer, the media seemed mesmerized by it in a way that never happens with typical mobile games. Because of its augmented reality aspects and the way it nudged players to go outside, walk around and interact with others (all positive qualities, by the way), there was a special fascination with the bad things that could happen to people while engaged in catching ’em all.

People got mugged. They found dead bodies. And yes, a few people died.

Without dismissing the idea that Pokemon GO can lead to situations where people could be harmed if they aren’t paying attention to their surroundings, the game itself wasn’t responsible for any deaths. But it sure seemed like it at times.

When the initial craze faded and the weather cooled off, leading to a lot less PokeWalkers out there, those stories faded. They’re now officially back, thanks to new updates to the game stirring up more interest and more people getting out to play. A man recently passed away via heart attack right after catching a Lapras in Singapore.

He wasn’t even the first Pokemon GO death of 2017, as a 60-year old man was shot and killed in January after a security guard found his behavior suspicious sitting in his van alone at night. His family alleges he was simply hanging out near a Pokemon Gym.

Next: Gen 2 Pokemon from the Johto region join Pokemon GO

It’s truly sad whenever people die doing something they enjoy, but the usual caveats apply here: be aware of your surroundings at all time. And if you’re planning on playing more Pokemon GO this spring hunting down all the new Pokemon, please be careful. No one wants you to end up in the news this way.