According to several Korean media outlets, mobile game sensation Pokemon Go is finally set to be released in South Korea tomorrow.
This evening, major news outlets Yonhap News and KBS both reported that the game’s developer Niantic will be holding a press conference in a Seoul hotel tomorrow morning. Yonhap said in its report that while the company kept quiet on details about the event, it would include the launch of the game many have waited for.
Over the last six months there has been much speculation about when Pokemon Go would be released here, and last November Dennis Hwang, Director of Visual and Interaction Design at Niantic, announced that the company was indeed working towards launching the app in Korea.
Hype for the game grew after it was first released in July last year and a region-lock was placed on Korea, rendering the game unplayable. It was later found that the game worked in areas in the north-east of the country, including the coastal city of Sokcho, possibly caused by a map glitch.
Passengers flocked to the city, which soon became Pokemon themed as it embraced its newfound fame. Another small area at Ganjeolgot Cape, on the edge of Ulsan, also opened up when the game was released in Japan due to sharing a zone with Tsushima.
While many claimed that Pokemon Go’s release was delayed due to issues with Korea not allowing Google Maps to use navigational data, Hwang said that this wasn’t a big obstacle. Ingress, Niantic’s first augmented reality (AR) game, has always been playable in Korea, but simply showed a blank screen instead of a map. In November the developer added a map for Korea, fueling rumors that the game wasn’t far away.
If the game is released tomorrow, it’s likely we can expect Pokemon Go fever all over again. However, areas which have had a boost in tourism thanks to the app will likely see visitor numbers return to normal.
