Smash-hit «Pokemon Go» launched in Japan amid global frenzy

The game has sparked a frenzy since its release in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand in early July, raising expectations of sharp business growth at Nintendo Co., one of the three co-developers. Nintendo has been seen as a latecomer to the smartphone game business.

Japanese fans expressed joy over the release of the game that can now be played in over 30 countries, while investors sent Nintendo and other Pokemon Go-related shares surging.

After the app was released for downloads around 10 a.m., an 18-year-old college student in Tokyo downloaded it but ended up trying different user names to register because his first choice was already taken, a sign of the high popularity of the game.

"I've heard we can find Pokemon at school, so I'll go catch them," the student said.

Nintendo's stock price has more than doubled on the Tokyo market since the smartphone app became available in the three countries on July 6.

The success so far of Pokemon Go is good news for Nintendo, which has traditionally relied on console games. Nintendo shares surged over 6 percent on Friday morning, while shares in McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) jumped over 9 percent on Friday morning.

McDonald's is collaborating on the game in Japan, as the fast food chain operator is struggling to improve its business. Around 400 restaurants in the country serve as "gyms" or battlegrounds where players can battle their virtual pocket monsters known as Pokemon, and about 2,500 as stops where items can be collected.

With the use of GPS technology, players can use the game for free, walking around to hunt down Pokemon in real locations. When a Pokemon appears on the smartphone screen with a buzz, players can try to catch it.

The game was jointly developed with Nintendo's affiliate Pokemon Co. and Niantic Inc., a San Francisco-based game maker spun off from Google Inc.

The Pokemon Go craze, however, has raised safety and security concerns, with some players having neglected to pay attention to traffic lights, cars and other obstacles while focusing on their smartphone screens.

In the United States, where Pokemon Go saw 10 million downloads in just a few days after its release, some players have walked into obstacles while playing the game and injured themselves.

Three teenagers entered the premises of a nuclear power plant in Ohio in search of Pokemon, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's blog.

The Japanese government is calling on players in Japan, home of Pokemon creator Nintendo, not to play the game while walking or riding a bicycle, and warns them against entering off-limit areas.

Ahead of the Japan launch, railway operators expressed concern that enthusiastic players may be involved in accidents or cause trouble to other passengers.

"We've been repeatedly asking (passengers) not to use smartphones while walking on platforms," West Japan Railway Co. President Tatsuo Kijima said Wednesday.

A group of lawyers in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, has called on a local education board to make sure elementary and junior high school students will be instructed to use the app properly.

Source: Kyodo