The game developed by Niantic, in which Google, Nintendo and the Pokémon Company are investors, has been a runaway success in many countries including the USA, but its launch in its home-turf Japan was delayed reportedly amid worries that huge local demand could find the game servers wanting.
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Pokemon Go is an augmented reality game on smartphones which already has millions of people worldwide obsessively capture small creatures in public spaces.
Players of the game may go on hunting on a sunny day.
Junichi Masuda, head of development at Game Freak, and co-creator of the game, apologised in a video announcement on the Internet for keeping players waiting so long in the land where Pokemon was first born two decades ago.
The videogame giant’s stock at one stage had more than doubled in the last couple of weeks with its market value soaring earlier this week to 4.5 trillion yen ($42.5 billion), meaning it was more valuable than Japan Inc standard bearer Sony.
“This game is just as I imagined it to be, it’s really fun”, said Toshinori Ishibashi, 18, who was seen playing the game near a Pokemon goods store in Tokyo Station.
A man maneuvers his smartphone as he plays “Pokemon Go” at Akihabara district in Tokyo, Friday, July 22, 2016. Pokemon Go notoriously eats away at your battery life, so the NISC informs players that they should carry a spare or a charger in case of an emergency.
The game was created by Nintendo, Niantic and Pokemon Co, part-owned by Nintendo. The other 2,500 are “Pokestops”, where players can get “Poke Balls” and other items they need to play the game.
Keito Sato, 17, walking with school friends in Tokyo’s Roppongi area, said he’s been playing since he learned about the game’s release via Twitter.
In Akihabara, 19-year old student Yuchi Mori said he was undeterred by the multiple reports of “Pokemon Go”-related traffic accidents and other mishaps elsewhere”.
Amid widespread anticipation before the official release, the government issued a rare safety guide warning of the dangers gamers could face, from heatstroke to online scams.
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“We are aiming to have McDonald’s customers enjoy the game as a pastime and to present an opportunity for Pokemon Go players to visit our shops”, it said in a statement.
