“Pokemon Go” is expected to be a huge hit in Japan, the country of the character’s birth.
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Game maker Niantic has delayed Wednesday’s planned launch of Pokemon Go in Japan after a leak of a McDonald’s Japan internal communication found its way to Internet forums, technology news site TechCrunch reported. “Given that the game appeals to both adults and children, it’s an opportunity to drive foot traffic and add some fun to what can sometimes be a stressful shopping trip”.
Pokemon Go has yet to actually receive an official release in Japan. However, the companies later chose to cancel Wednesday’s launch due to concerns that the hype might overload the game. However, those same lucky individuals will no doubt be breathing a sign of relief at the news; the moment Japan goes live we’re likely to see a recurrence of the irksome server problems that have occasionally ruined the experience for players thus far.
The game is now available in 35 countries and was released in the United Kingdom on July 14.
“To everyone in Japan: I am sorry to make you wait for so long”, said Jyunichi Masuda, the head of development at Game Freak Inc., the developer of the original Pokemon game.
But investors wondering whether publisher Niantic’s ability to launch the game there quickly might have pulled out of the stock early. Mobile service company DTI offers a data SIM contract that gives Pokemon Go players free data for a year.
Weight Watchers stock initially surged on the Oprah news – and got another boost after she tweeted about how much weight she lost and started appearing in commercials.
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Meanwhile, here are the full top 10 lists from Placed’s foot-traffic-based index scoring system for most popular restaurants and retailers, respectively, when it comes to Pokemon Go users.
