Pokémon Go, Nintendo’s long-awaited iPhone and Android game, is already available for a few lucky users!
Update: Pokémon Go is now available in the U.S. Visit the iTunes store to download it.
Original story: Check your App Store — check it right now. Just maybe, you’ll be able to download Pokémon Go, Nintendo’s latest expansion of the Pokémon universe that might just change your life.
As we reported when it was first announced, Pokémon Go is a smartphone game that allows you to ‘catch’ Pokémon in the real world.
Explore your neighborhood with the app open and the phone will use its camera and sensors to act like a treasure hunter, giving you locations of nearby wild Pokémon and even making them show up right in front of you.
Careful though, the game might encourage you to bend the rules of the real world a little, as this user has already discovered:
I want this Squirtle but I have to trespass in my neighbour's backyard. Hmm… #PokemonGO
Article Continues Below— Frank Li (@Chief_Sangy) July 6, 2016
Sometimes it might show up in the middle of the road, so constant vigilance:
I found a caterpie near my field #PokemonGO @PokemonGoNews pic.twitter.com/IhlVJjZPTV
— Giulio Piana (@Giulio6686) July 6, 2016
And other times, the locations will be less savorable (or appropriate, considering how many people use their smartphones in the bathroom):
@PokemonGoNews do you mind? pic.twitter.com/IGKpjc3F1m
— M.I.L.F Shake (@hoegalite) July 6, 2016
Through this user, we know what playing the game looks like:
adventure starts!!! #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/gyTLxk8bsV
— Joriben (@joriben) July 6, 2016
The release of Pokémon Go comes as an almost complete surprise, with Nintendo only vaguely hinting that it may be released in July at E3.
The game has been in beta since June, but yesterday, New Zealand users were the first to see it pop up in their App Store (which is a standard release pattern for new apps, according to TechCrunch).
Right now it doesn’t look like the game is available in the U.S. or the U.K., but keep checking, maybe a wild Pokémon Go will show up soon!
For U.S. and Japanese customers, Pokémon Co. says "please wait for a while" for formal launch of its AR game Pokémon GO.
— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) July 6, 2016
Nintendo does caution U.S. and Japan users to “please wait for a while,” which could mean hours, days or weeks — let us know when you get it.
Pokémon Go is free, but with in-app purchases. Later this month, you can purchase a $35 wristwatch-style wearable (think Pokédex) to enhance your experience.
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