We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the morning trudge to work would be immeasurably improved if you happened to spot a virtual Pokémon Go leaning on the bin outside Centra.
Well, it seems that long-held fantasy is about to become a reality, as Pokémon Go is being gradually rolled out on iOS and Android.
The smartphone game has appeared for download on app stores in Japan, New Zealand and Australia, with a worldwide launch expected in the next few days.
The novel augmented reality app allows users to collect, train and battle characters from the legendary series in public through your phone’s camera. Point your phone at random locations and a Pokémon will appear. Yes, you’re going to look incredibly weird chasing invisible Pikachu through the park, but Siri and adults on micro scooters are pretty much socially acceptable now. People will get used to it.
The cool thing about the game is that is responds to the environment you’re in. Water-type monsters will be found near rivers, for example.
Like we said before, the game isn’t technically available in this part of the world yet, but there is a way for Android users to get stuck in straight away. All you need to do is download the game’s APK file by clicking this link and downloading it.
Brighton is already populated with pokestops, gyms and pokemans. Checking out London next. pic.twitter.com/LRQcnBWUrP
— Paul (@ghostlycola) July 6, 2016
The game is free-to-play but you’ll need to pay for in-game currency – anything from €0.92 for 100 PokéCoins to €93 for thousands of them.
Kotaku also reports that the game can zap battery life pretty quickly, but that’s just a sacrifice going to have to make if you want to catch ’em all.
