It has just been revealed that the popular mobile game application, “Pokemon GO” will not be making its way to China at all. Despite efforts of Niantic Inc. to expand the coverage of the said mobile game, the government of China has refused to let them in because of the security risks it might bring.
Niantic Inc. has been setting their eyes on releasing “Pokemon GO” since its official debut and has even sat down with the government to talk about it. This is because China currently has a ban on Google services with the implementation of the Great Firewall. Since the ban affects the Google Store where “Pokemon GO” can be officially downloaded, players from China have opted for alternative download options and even mobile games to get a similar experience.
Niantic Inc. has been trying to amend this issue by trying to release “Pokemon GO” in China especially when the said country’s population of over 1.3 billion can pretty much help with the company’s profits. But eventually, China has said no to “Pokemon GO”, explaining that the state’s censor reviewed the said mobile game as a threat to the country’s transport as well as to the personal safety of the consumers and the citizens. Aside from the safety concerns, China also pointed out that the geographical information security that goes with the game enables tracking, which they’re discouraged about.
Apparently, it has been revealed that “Pokemon GO” users from China have been buying the Australian App Store identifications and even went out of their way to spoof their GPS to gain access to Google services just so they can play the mobile game from Niantic Inc. Others who do not want to go all through those troubles just to play “Pokemon GO” has instead downloaded a replica mobile application called “City Spirit GO” despite the lack of a license to create similar mobile games in China. The “City Spirit GO” mobile game was introduced just after the beta for “Pokemon GO” was launched.
