Tokyo: Augmented reality smartphone game Pokemon Go finally launched in Japan on Friday, the country of the character’s birth and the last big market where the possible release date had generated a huge buzz.
The game, which allows players to catch and collect Pokemon in real-world locations through the mobile phone camera, is now available for download in the Japanese iTunes and Google Play stores, EFE news reported.
The developer of the app, the company Niantic, posted a simple announcement on its Japanese website saying “Pokemon Go is now available for download in Japan.” Shares of Nintendo, the company that sponsors the whole series of Pokemon games, jumped as much as 6.85 percent at the Tokyo Stock Exchange after the news, although shortly after, the rise began to slow down.
The Kyoto-based company has doubled the value of its shares and market capitalisation since the game was first launched in the US, Australia, and New Zealand on July 6. Similarly, the Japanese subsidiary of McDonald’s, which announced on July 20 a collaborative project with the Pokemon Go app saw its share soaring to their highest level in the last 15 years.
Pokemon Go has been an instant hit and gained a huge success since it was launched and is now available in more than 35 countries.Except for China where the release is not scheduled due to issues with authorities, Japan was the last remaining major market to launch the application.
Ahead of the highly-anticipated launch, the Japanese government had launched a campaign promoting safe play of this smartphone game after multiple incidents of injury or trespassing by people playing the game have been reported in several countries.