Pokémon Go, the wildly popular mobile game, was released on Friday in Japan, the country that gave rise to the entertainment franchise two decades ago. “I played Pokémon games and watched the TV show when I was a kid, and it’s amazing to see it take off like this,” he said. Niantic, a spinoff of Google, is one of the companies behind Pokémon Go, along with Nintendo of Japan. It also offered a test of how Pokémon Go and games like it might find new ways to make money. At these in-game “gyms” and “Poké spots,” Pokémon Go players can pit their monsters against other players’ menageries, or collect items that bolster their creatures’ power.

Source: International New York Times July 22, 2016 10:55 UTC