Scores of people were caught on camera in a chaotic scramble through Central Park after a rare character in hit game Pokémon Go
This video, reportedly filmed in New York City's iconic park, shows traffic stopping in the street as people sprint in the direction of the rare Vaporeaon.
“Oh my god,” a voice is heard saying. “There’s a Vaporeaon right there, so everyone’s running.”
Players of Pokémon Go, an augmented reality game, must catch different characters using their smartphones.
The game has disrupted everyday life across the US and Europe, causing all sorts of problems for its users and the public.
On Saturday, reports emerged of Pokémon Go’s servers crashing, with good weather being blamed – as everyone was happy to go outdoors to play.
Pokémon Go has started a worldwide craze which entrepreneuring individuals have already begun taking advantage of. Numerous pub crawls have been started in the US, themed around the game.
In Mexico, a taxi driver has begun driving smartphone-armed customers around in search of the game's target creatures. Emilio Cacho, a 29-year-old cab driver from the city of Minatitlan in the eastern state of Veracruz, said he began offering services as a "Pokemon hunter" on Monday and has received more than 20 calls since the start of the week.
"I didn't know about the game, but I heard a lot of talk about people going out to look for Pokemons, so I thought it was a good way to make money, now that the economic situation in Veracruz is so difficult," he said.
He charges 130 pesos ($7.04) for the first hour to pursue Pokemons, then 100 pesos for each subsequent hour, he said.
