The very much-anticipated Pokemon Go, has finally hit the iOS and Android stores for download. There’s a catch however as it’s only being released officially in certain countries.
UPDATE: Apparently, the developers have stopped spawning Pokemons and checkpoints in non-launch countries. The game still works but you’ll only see an empty map. More details here.
As of publish time, we have were unable to download the game off the local Play Store or iOS App Store (we’re based in Malaysia by the way). Reports have come in that if you’re based in Australia or New Zealand, the app is available for download. We figure that since it’s still in the initial launch stages, other countries will eventually be able to download the app officially over the next coming months. As for the availability of the Pokemon Go watch/strap. We’ll have to wait for official announcement of it’s release as well.
If you haven’t been following the development of the game, it’s an augmented reality version of the popular Pokemon game franchise specifically developed for mobile phones. Nintendo and the Pokemon Company co-developed the game with Niantics, the developer that is also responsible for the popular location based game Ingress.
The game utilises the smartphone’s camera, sensors and GPS together with location based algorithms to place Pokemons in locations around the real world. By searching for this locations on the app, you can then battle and capture those Pokemons, just like Ash in the anime or any of the main characters from the game. The only difference is, instead of you sitting on your butt and moving a character on screen, you’ll now actually have to, you know, physically move from location to location (good reason to exercise we think).
While the game is a free-to-download, it does contain micro-transactions that allows you to buy Pokecoins. Pokecoins are the in-game’s currency which will allow players to buy stuff like Pokeballs, incense, and upgrades.
Now, although many of you will be disappointed that Pokemon GO isn’t available for official download in your country, there is some good news. We managed to find a link to the APK for Android devices here, which will allow you to install the app and run it like normal. Take note that you’ll have to allow your Android device to install apps from unknown sources in your security settings.
That’s good news for Android users but unfortunately, if you’re on the iPhone, you’ll just have to wait till an official release hits your country.
For Android users however, go ahead and download the APK now! We’ve already done so and now we’re going to start catching all of them Pokemons!
