[Update]:
Pokémon GO, in conjunction with McDonalds, released in Japan this past Friday. For those who are curious, 400 of the McD’s locations will be designated as Pokémon Gyms. The app was also downloaded over 1 million times during the first three hours of the launch.
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Original:
According to sources at TechCrunch, the smash hit mobile app from developer Niantic and Nintendo was set to launch in Japan today, (7/20/2016) but the plan was canceled due to this information being leaked early on both the photo sharing site Imgur, and 2ch, a Japanese Reddit site.
The leak was of internal communications between Niantic and McDonalds of Japan, (the first paid sponsor for the app) discussing the release schedule for the game. After the leak happened, the companies decided to postpone the launch for fear that the excitement the leak generated would overload the game’s servers due to the sheer popularity Pokemon has in Japan.
Despite this upsetting news, Niantic is positive that if the launch is done right, the servers will be able to hold up to the demand of new players logging on for the first time. Until then, Pokemon fans in Japan will have to wait just a little bit longer before they get the chance to catch them all.
