Nintendo surges to hit six-year high, Pokemon GO hits United Kingdom market

Nintendo suffered as a latecomer to smartphone games but is seeing the deep wealth of its franchise characters pay off with the success of “Pokemon Go”, even without a launch yet in Japan.

South Korea is the world’s fourth-biggest gaming market after China, the United States and Japan, according to Amsterdam-based research firm Newzoo. “It’s so the USA and Japan can explore China’s secret bases!”

In 2014, Google unveiled “Pokemon Challenge” for Google Maps complete with a promotional video, inviting users to find and capture the cutesy fictional monsters within the application.

The Japanese game maker was starting to look like a casualty of history until the game was launched in the US earlier this month.

Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, a member of the Senate subcommittee on privacy, technology, and the law, has written a letter to Niantic CEO John Hanke with concerns regarding Pokemon Go’s data collection and sharing.

Using the phone’s camera, the Pokemon are placed on screen as if they’re standing right next to you, and can be caught by simply throwing pokeballs – slightly different from the traditional formula of the series. He gave no further details.

The good news for anyone who has already downloaded the app via unofficial methods, is that users are reporting that they can install the official app and their progress through the game will be saved. However, that does not mean it can not be played in other countries. Developer Niantic has not only made a good Pokemon game on mobile but it actually gets people moving, and that’s one of the best ways to appeal to a casual market.

Pokémon GO is available to download either in the Google Play store or in Apple’s App Store. There are no major changes brought by the update as it was only indicated that there are “fixes for Pokemon Trainer Club login”.