China’s version of “Pokémon Go” mobile game becomes one of the top free games in the Chinese iOS App Store as the hype for the Nintendo game continues.
A report from Tech in Asia featured the Chinese pocket monster-collecting game "City Spirit Go," which has an impeccable similarity to the trending game "Pokémon Go."
Like what happened in China, the famous virtual reality game has also made its mark in ways that range from good to bad, depending on how one looks at it.
Chinese Clone
According to Tech in Asia, the knock-off version of "Pokémon Go" features creatures that look like ones from the Nintendo game.
The "City Spirit Go" icon itself showcases a Pikachu-like creature that slightly looks like a raccoon. Plus, it also requires players to move around to progress in the game.
By doing this, players will be able to "walk" through a cartoonish-looking map where all sorts of creatures are hiding.
The only difference of "City Spirit Go" from the real Nintendo game is the lack of the augmented reality feature that allows users to see the creatures they wish to capture through the camera of the mobile device.
The game was developed by Xiaoyu Sun and was launched on March 24, a few weeks after Nintendo started testing a Beta version of "Pokémon Go."
"City Spirit Go" is now available for download from the Chinese App Store and features in-app purchases of supplies such as diamonds that cost as much as $97.
"Pokémon Go" Around the World
Like in China, the "Pokémon Go" craze has reached the four corners of the world and made all sort of marks in different places.
In Missouri, some players got robbed while playing the game, with authorities claiming that the suspects used a geolocation feature in it to lure and isolate their prey, per Elite Readers.
Meanwhile, make-believe Pokémon trainers in Darwin, Australia, are being advised that they need not enter the police station, which poses as a Pokéstop in the game in order to get more Pokéballs.
"It's also a good idea to look up, away from your phone and both ways before crossing the street. That Sandshrew isn't going anywhere fast. Stay safe and catch 'em all!" the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services said in a Facebook post.
In another case, a teenager playing the game stumbled upon a dead body while following a Pokémon over a fence in Wyoming, United States.
"The Pokémons are all over Riverton," Pokémon trainer Shayla Wiggins told KTVQ. "I was trying to get a Pokémon from a natural water resource. I was walking toward the bridge along the shore when I saw something in the water. I had to take a second look and I realized it was a body."