Pokemon GO is now available to users in Germany, the official Pokémon GO Twitter account announced today. A report earlier in the week indicated Pokémon GO would launch in the UK and other parts of Europe in a matter of days: it appears Germany is the first lucky country to be able to officially play the hit mobile game. Find the game in the App Store.
Just a few hours after having received its promised security-focused update, Pokémon Go is once again under scrutiny by security and privacy advocates. Senator Al Franken of Minnesota has issued a statement asking for clarification from Niantic, the creators of the quickly growing mobile game, on how user data is being used within the application and its services.
Although one of the most glaring issues was fixed in an update issued earlier today, this statement comes with a longer and more detailed list on clarification of how the data is being used. Senator Franken poses the idea that many children will be playing this game and that their data is currently being considered a “business asset” under Niantic’s own Privacy Policy.
Update 7/13: Version 1.0.2 fixes an issue many users saw with Trainer Club logins.
Pokémon GO has just received an update on iOS that will hopefully address some of the biggest complaints it has received in the past week. Today’s update puts a focus on improving the account process for users including fixing the Google full account access scope issue. Users should also no longer have to re-enter their credentials after they’ve been forcefully logged out, and the some issues with crashes should be resolved as well. Full release notes can be read after the jump.
Earlier today, it was reported that Pokémon Go was gaining full access to many users’ Google accounts. Google itself says that applications with “full account access can see and modify nearly all information in your Google Account.” Niantic, however, has now issued a statement confirming that Pokémon Go having full account access is a mistake.
Take a quick look at the landscape of the Internet since last week and it’s quite apparent that Pokémon Go has taken over the planet. Nintendo’s market cap jumped $9 billion since last Wednesday, at least five of the top Techmeme stories right now are about Pokémon, and my mother-in-law (!) knows where to find all the Pokéstops and gyms around town. Seriously.
The phenomenon is really impressive, but I really don’t understand it. If I were reviewing Pokémon Go in a bubble and hadn’t seen the Internet’s reaction to the game, I’d have written that Niantic/The Pokémon Company should probably scrap the whole game and start over. But people really love Pokémon Go…
Pokemon Go has become a smash hit (available for free on the App Store), rallying hundreds of millions of players in just a few short days. Widespread media coverage of the game (and its consequences) has made the Nintendo freemium title somewhat of a phenomenon, continuing to top App Store charts.
This success — likely propelled by pent-up demand for a ‘real’ Pokemon game available on iOS — comes despite the game only launching three regions; the United States, New Zealand Australia. A new report from the Wall Street Journal indicates fans from other countries will not have to wait long for an official launch of Pokemon Go in the UK, Europe and more.
In this week’s top stories: Apple launches public betas for upcoming releases of iOS 10 & macOS Sierra, Pokemon Go tops the app charts, the latest iPhone 7 leaks, and much more. Head below for these and the rest of this week’s top stories:
A YouTuber has posted a video in which he is seemingly shot at after inadvertently trespassing onto someone’s property while hunting Pokémon in some woods, notes TNW. Pokémon GO launched on iOS this week in select countries.
Well, that escalated quickly. Just a day after Pokémon GO launched on iOS, it is already topping the free app charts. It is currently available only in the USA, Australia and New Zealand, though it is expected to hit the UK soon.
The augmented reality game works by encouraging players to go looking for things in the real world, which is not without its hazards. Australian police have to warn players not to get too carried away while trying to catch a Sandshrew …
From 9to5Toys.com:
Today, the Pokémon Company has announced that it is partnering with Nintendo and Alphabet-owned Niantic to produce a new upcoming mobile game called Pokémon Go. This title will be available on both iOS and Android devices for free. The main focus of the game is collecting, training and battling Pokémon characters against other users based on their GPS location.
However, this new adventure will be supplemented by an optional wearable. Imagine a Pokémon smart watch of sorts.
This new wearable is called Pokémon Go Plus. It connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and flashes its built-in LED light to notify you of nearby players as well as virtual Pokémon you can catch. For example, say you’re on your morning commute on the subway. Pokémon Go Plus will ping your wrist to let you know that a virtual Charizard is closely located. After capturing, you’ll be able to train and battle with that new character.
The wearable isn’t required to play the game but it is an unique add-on that bring another level to the experience. Be sure to check out the video above for a visual representation of how game play works. Pokémon Go will be released on iOS and Android in 2016 as a free download with in-app purchases. Pricing has yet to be released for the Pokémon Go Plus Wearable. The entire press conference and announcement has been uploaded to YouTube for viewing, as well.
Source: The Pokémon Company