Pokemon Go Starts Tech Craze, Foursquare's Crowley Tells CNBC

As Nintendo (NTDOY) prepares to launch Pokemon Go in Japan tomorrow, Foursquare Founder Dennis Crowley discussed on CNBC today the lasting effect the game will have on the tech world.
By Lindsay Rittenhouse ,

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- As Nintendo (NTDOY) gears up to launch "Pokemon Go" on the streets of Japan tomorrow, Foursquare founder and former CEO Dennis Crowley explained how the hit app put location-based, augmented gaming on the map on CNBC's "Squawk Alley" Tuesday.

Tech company Foursquare builds location-based mobile games, operating primarily through its two apps Foursquare and Swarm.

"We've been doing location-based games for a long time, almost eight, nine years now. I think what Pokemon is doing is really educating tens of millions of people that these types of games actually do exist," Crowley said.

There will be at least 100 developers "racing" to build a game like "Pokemon Go" now that it gained such rapid, widespread attention, he predicted.

Talk is circulating about some of the existing major brands creating games like "Pokemon Go" too, according to Crowley.

For example, The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) could be next to create an augmented reality game, he suggested.

"That's not something Foursquare will do but it's something Foursquare technology could help power," Crowley noted.

"Pokemon Go," and similar games, also help businesses as people (consumers) flock to the streets to "explore what's happening nearby," he added.

Shares of Nintendo are slipping by 4.04% to $35.86 this afternoon.

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