Pokemon Go game to boost AR tech

Pokemon Go, released this month and invested by Google and Nintendo, allows players to capture virtual Pokemon monsters based on the user's location in the real world. [File photo]

Pokemon Go, which topped the mobile application markets and created a buzz among Chinese social websites, is expected to boost the application of AR, or augmented reality, technology, one of the most promising technologies, in the Chinese mobile game industry.

Pokemon Go, released this month and invested by Google and Nintendo, allows players to capture virtual Pokemon monsters based on the user's location in the real world. Using the camera lens, the user can see Pokemon in the corner of streets, on kitchen floors or even inside bathrooms.

The game raced to top of Apple’s App Store after it debuted in the United States, Australia and New Zealand last week.

Some Chinese users installed the game on their overseas iTunes accounts using special software because the game hasn’t debuted in China officially. They posted pictures with virtual Pokemon, which attracted “several million” topics and clicks on Weibo and WeChat in China.

By 2020, the AR technology market will have a revenue of US$120 billion, said Digi-Capital.

The popularity of AR in the mobile game sector is set to fuel opportunities for domestic game developers and publishers like Wuxi Boton Technology Co, Meisheng Cultural & Creative Corp and Alpha Group, said Zhongtai Securities.