Pokemon GO Available in Even More Countries
By Rob Gordon 04 October 2016
Niantic announces that it has expanded the availability of Pokemon GO even further, with a number of new countries and regions now able to play the game.
To say that Pokemon GO has been a global sensation is a bit of an understatement. The title has seen massive success across the world, with a reach so vast that developer Niantic even included region-specific Pokemon for different continents. With that in mind, it may be surprising for some to learn that the game is not actually available worldwide – although Niantic has confirmed that its reach has grown a little wider recently.
The developer has confirmed that Pokemon GO is now available in 11 more countries from across the world. As previously mentioned, joining the Pokemon GO family on September 29 were Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macau, Macedonia, and Serbia. Meanwhile, on September 30, the game was then released in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
This does still leave some regions without access to Pokemon GO, however. Most notably, Niantic has yet been unable to launch the title in either South Korea or China, citing that the countries’ restrictive use of Google Maps is causing problems. However, it does seem as though Niantic would still like to see the game released in both nations, in spite of these limits.
The incremental release of Pokemon GO is certainly something that Niantic needed in order to make sure the game was running properly. Indeed, the developer even confirmed as much when discussing the Japanese release of the game. Japan actually received Pokemon GO after other regions, with Niantic stating that it needed to ensure that the game’s servers were up to the task before launching it on Pokemon’s home turf.
Those who now have access to the title will be hoping that the game fares better on their soil than with other, less than receptive, nations. The government of Iran banned Pokemon GO, citing security concerns, while one player in Belgium managed to get the entirely of the country banned from playing the game for a few days. Meanwhile, things are also frosty between Niantic and the government of the Netherlands, with the developer being taken to court over damage done by Pokemon GO players.
For Niantic, these new regions means even more of a chance to keep Pokemon GO going as a mobile gaming powerhouse. The title makes an incredible $2 million a day from its microtransactions, and although this is a drop from the game’s all-time high of $200 a month, it still means that the title is more than earning its keep. Let’s see whether Niantic will continue to expand Pokemon GO’s range in future.
Pokemon GO is out now for iOS and Android devices.
Source: Pokemon GO
