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‘Pokemon Go’ launches in Japan after a long wait for fans

Time will tell if Pokemon Go’s launch in Japan will kill the game’s servers for a second consecutive weekend. The game is reportedly coming soon to the island nation, and ahead of that, the Japanese government has now put out a one-page flier that warns players of potential danger and issues they could encounter while searching for Pokemon. In addition, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, will benefit from its ownership stake in Niantic Labs, the company that developed and released the app after it spun off from Google past year. It’s free to download, offering in-app purchases for premium items. The hospital has been putting out lures to attract Pokemon to their Children’s Center, and also has two pokestops as well as a gym where players can battle.

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Users in the United States are spending far more time playing the game than they are using Facebook or WhatsApp, according to app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

The release in Japan comes two weeks after the game made its chart-topping debut overseas, triggering a worldwide phenomenon that has added more than $20 billion to Nintendo’s market value.

Users began tweeting it was available Friday morning, and the Pokemon Co. and the developer of the augmented reality game, US -based Niantic Inc., confirmed its launch shortly after.

Japanese media and users on Twitter said Friday that “Pokemon Go” has been launched in the country of the character’s birth. Is postponing the launch of Pokemon GO because there was too much anticipation for the game’s release silly?

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A spokeswoman for Pokemon Company, which created the game along with Nintendo and Google-spinoff Niantic, declined to comment on the report, reiterating that nothing had been decided over the Japan launch date.

Pokemon Go down: Niantic and Nintendo title offline AGAIN for Android and iPhone