Researchers have estimated 'Pokemon Go' players caused up to $7.3 billion in costs in the US just 148 days after the game was released.
Pokemon Go
A study produced by researchers at Purdue University in the US has made the claims after exploring "detailed" police accident reports for Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and applying them to a nation-wide level.
In the study, entitled, Death by Pokemon Go, the researchers claim: "Based on detailed police accident reports for Tippecanoe County, Indiana, and using the introduction of the virtual reality game Pokémon GO as a natural experiment, we document a disproportionate increase in vehicular crashes and associated vehicular damage, personal injuries, and fatalities in the vicinity of locations, called PokéStops, where users can play the game while driving.
"The results are robust to using points of play, called Gyms, that cannot be used to play the game while driving as a placebo.
"We estimate the total incremental county-wide cost of users playing Pokémon GO while driving, including the value of the two incremental human lives lost, to be in the range of $5.2 million to $25.5 million over only the 148 days following the introduction of the game.
"Extrapolation of these estimates to nation-wide levels yields a total ranging from $2 to $7.3 billion for the same period."
This comes after a doctor last year commended 'Pokemon Go' for encouraging gamers to exercise.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr. Margaret McCartney praised the smartphone app - in which players have to catch the pocket monsters out in the real world - for pushing people to exercise, despite not being sold as a health app.
The GP said: "Most health apps that promote physical activity tend to get users who want to be healthy. 'Pokemon Go' isn't marketed as a health app, but players still end up doing a lot of walking."