'Pokemon Go grandpa' plays game with 64 phones on his bike

Chen San-yuan started with 11 smartphones in 2018

Adam Smith
Thursday 25 June 2020 09:34 BST
Comments
(EPA)

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A Taiwanese grandfather made internet-famous for playing Pokemon Go on 11 phones has gotten even more phones.

Chen San-yuan rigged 11 phones on his bicycle to play augmented reality game Pokemon Go.

Pokemon Go launched in July 2016, featuring digital creatures tied to real-world locations that players can capture, train, and battle with.

Chen was introduced to the game by his grandson, when he was 66.

“It all began when my son gifted me a mobile on my birthday, and my grandson taught me how to play Pokemon Go. It was a discovery,” Chen told EFE.

Chen went viral in 2018, when an image of him with six visible smartphones was posted on the social media site Reddit. It has received 75,200 upvotes, at time of writing.

It was reported that Chen spends over £1000 per month on the game, and can play for 20 hours straight.

He said the game helped him make friends and fight off the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2019, he was using 24 phones. 22 of which were attached to the bicycle, while two were in his pocket.

Chen was also made an ambassador for the Taiwanese smartphone brand ASUS and the Zenfone Max Pro M2, 20 of which he used to play the game.

Now, Chen is using a new rig for 64 smartphones, attached to what appears to be the same bicycle.

There are slots left for eight more phones, bringing the total to 72.

Chen spent his days as a fortune teller and Feng Shui expert in Taiwan, playing the game predominantly in the evening.

While an avid collector, he apparently rarely battles with the digital creatures because he does not want to overwhelm other players with his competitive advantage.

Many Facebook users were concerned for how many phones Chen is using, commenting “How does he reach the phones on the top row?”, “What happens if he hits the brakes too fast?”, and “The peacock has spread its feathers.”

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