Despite a limited launch in only The United States, New Zealand, and Australia, Pokémon Go has become a huge hit, with millions of players already searching their general vicinity in an attempt to “catch ’em all!”
The Wall Street Journal reports the new game, already at the top of the App Store charts, is set to expand to the UK, Europe, and Japan in just a few days, likely by the end of the week. The company has delayed a wider release of the game, due to server load issues that kept some gamers from joining in the fun.
Despite the rollout issues, the game has already proven to provide a big lift to Nintendo’s stock, as shares in the Japanese gaming company have risen 25% in just two days.
Not All is Well in Pokémon Land…
There have been some unfortunate incidents associate with the game, and the “catch ’em” frenzy surrounding it. A Wyoming woman found a dead body down by a river behind her house last week, as she searched for water-based Pokémon. O’Fallon, Missouri police are warning residents that armed robbers are targeting players by using Lure Modules to get them out of their house.
UPDATE INFORMATION BELOW-This morning at approximately 2 am we responded to the report of an Armed Robbery near the intersection of Highway K and Feise Road. We were able to locate four suspects occupying a black BMW a short time later and recover a handgun. These suspects are suspected of multiple Armed Robberies both in St. Louis and St. Charles Counties. It is believed these suspects targeted their victims through the Pokemon Go smart phone application.
Many of you have heard of Pokemon Go, but for those that have not, it is a type of Geo Caching game where you find and capture Pokemon characters at various locations. If you use this app (or other similar type apps) or have children that do we ask you to please use caution when alerting strangers of your future location.
**Many of you have asked how the app was used to rob victims, the way we believe it was used is you can add a beacon to a pokestop to lure more players. Apparently they were using the app to locate ppl standing around in the middle of a parking lot or whatever other location they were in.**
Pokemon Go is free, (and is available for iOS devices in the App Store. [GET IT HERE]
