Pokemon GO

Pokémon GO took the world by storm when it came out this past summer, but in the wake of its launch, there came numerous negative reports. People were falling off cliffs, walking into traffic, finding bodies, and being mugged, and while such incidents were only experienced by a relatively small number of players, it still raised discussion over whether an AR game of this ilk is entirely safe to play. Evidently, the powers-that-be in China are still worried over this, and are refusing to allow the game into the region until such dangers can be assessed properly.

According to Reuters, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television won't license the game in the region because of "a high level of responsibility to national security and the safety of people's lives and property". It seems they aren't only concerned with the obvious physical hazards, but also with the location-tracking aspects, as it was also said that there are concerns around the "threat to geographical information security and the threat to transport and the personal safety of consumers". Considering that China is the world's biggest smartphone and mobile gaming market, one would think that Niantic would be concerned with getting the game live in the region, but when Kotaku reached out for comment, Niantic simply said that it is "focused elsewhere at the moment."

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What do you think? Is the Chinese government right to pause before letting Niantic bring the gamme to the region? Do you think it's that dangerous? Drop us a comment in the section below

[source reuters.com, via kotaku.com]