Even local celebrities were not spared from Pokemon Go fever when the much-awaited game was launched here yesterday.
Radio DJs Andre Hoeden, Glenn Ong and Vernetta Lopez, actors Andie Chen and Ian Fang as well as local singer and former Caracal frontman K C Meals were among hundreds of excited budding Pokemon trainers.
Hoeden, 41, and Chen, 31, both fathers of young children, debunked the misconception that the craze is just for the young.
Hoeden, the executive producer of ONE FM’s #1 Breakfast Show, told The New Paper on Sunday: “I caught my first Pokemon at the airport when I was fetching my mother-in-law. The game is pretty addictive but so much fun.”
The father of three, who has been hunting for Pokemon in between errands, added: “My daughter and elder son, aged seven and four, have been suspicious of me constantly being on my phone. But I ‘bluffed’ them. Usually, it’s me trying to get them off the phone when they borrow mine.”
The New Paper
LAME
Hoeden, who celebrated his 12th wedding anniversary with his wife yesterday, said with a laugh: “My wife told me she thinks I’m lame.”
Asked if he and his #1 Breakfast Show crew members Glenn Ong, The Flying Dutchman, Shaun Tupaz and Elliott Danker will be playing Pokemon Go while on air, he answered: “Yes, of course. There might even be a competition among us because Glenn seems to have already caught quite a few.”
Hoeden added that he might take some time today to kill two birds with one stone – he plans to take his four-year-old son cycling while he keeps a lookout for lurking Pokemon.
Like Hoeden, Chen, a father to two-month-old Avery and two-year-old Aden, was on the app whenever there were pockets of time in between family errands and caring for a sick Aden yesterday.
Chen, who is married to Taiwan-born actress Kate Pang, said he found out about the game’s launch through a WhatsApp chat comprising his December Rains cast mates.
The Straits Times, Facebook / RSAF, Facebook/SPF, AsiaOne, Capitaland
“I’m a pretty hardcore gamer so I know I can get pretty hooked onto something. But I will probably only open the app as and when I have free time,” he said.
Like Hoeden’s wife, Pang, 32, does not think Pokemon Go is a big deal.
Chen said with a laugh: “After I sent her to Bugis earlier, I caught a Pokemon before I drove off. I told her and the reply I got? She thinks it’s ridiculous and that I’m childish.”
Radio DJ Vernetta Lopez, 43, said she is just riding the hype train.
“It’s fun. Maybe I’ll go to the pool later. We’ll see if I find one in the toilet!” she said.
This article was first published on Aug 7, 2016.
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