Pokémon Comes Home; Search Monsters at Your Own Risk
eEditors' pick: Originally published July 22.
Pokemon Go, an augmented reality game which has both delighted and frustrated players around the globe in the last fortnight, was finally launched on Friday in Japan, the home of the Nintendo-owned (NTDOY) characters.
The smartphone game, developed by San Francisco-based Niantic based on Nintendo's video game characters, was first launched on July 6 in the U.S., New Zealand, and Australia. The launch in Japan came more than two weeks later, amid expectations Nintendo would forge a partnership with McDonald's (MCD) - Get Report Japanese subsidiary. On top of this, server capacity problems caused the launch to be delayed by two days this week. Today, the fast food chain announced it would offer all of its 2,900 stores in Japan as playgrounds for the game.
Nintendo shares have surged 96% since the game's July 6 launch. The game has taken global players around the world by storm as it uses a recently developed augmented reality technology. This combines the real world with computer-generated imagery- in this case the Pokemon characters. Nintendo shares closed up 0.8% at ¥28,220 ($265.65) in Tokyo on Friday, while Japanese McDonald's subsidiary McDonald's Holdings closed up 4.2% at a five-year high of ¥3,620.
The aim of the game is for the player to catch the popular Pokemon - or "Pocket Monster"-in the real world, using smartphones. Taking advantage of augmented reality technology as well as global positioning systems, the users can see both the real world as it appears before them as well as the monsters that pop up through their smartphone screens.
Another aim of the game is to have the monsters that you have caught battle with other monsters. McDonald's Holdings, the sole partner for the game, has offered its stores for "gym" or "Pokestops" for the players. In gyms, the players can have their monsters battle against one another, while in Pokestops, you can, as a player, recharge to capture more Pokemon.
Shares in McDonald Holdings have risen more than 13% since the Tuesday after word came out that the chain store was partnering with Nintendo.
Given its nature, which involves staring at a screen while chasing the monster, the game has triggered warnings.
In a typically protective Japanese government intervention, the Cabinet Office's cyber security center on Wednesday issued a nine-point warning for playing the game: protect your personal data; beware of fake applications; install weather applications on the side; beware of heat strokes; carry around extra batteries; secure an emergency contact point; don't enter dangerous places; beware of strangers who want to meet up; and don't play and walk at the same time.
Still, the warnings aren't entirely unfounded.
Last week in San Diego, two men who were absorbed in the game fell as far as 90 feet down from a cliff. Yesterday, an 18-year old was killed in Guatemala at gunpoint after his cousin invited him out to play the game at night. The Arizona Department of Transportation has displayed messages in highways around the Grand Canyon state: "Pokemon Go is a No-go When Driving."
One thing is clear: search monsters at your own risk.