Pokemon Go: game or Trojan horse?

BEIJING: Not everyone loves Pokémon Go, the mobile game that has become an instant hit around the world since a limited release just a week ago.

The augmented reality game, in which players walk around real-life neighbourhoods to hunt and catch virtual cartoon characters on their smartphone screens, has been blamed in the US for several robberies of distracted cellphone users and car crashes.

A US senator has asked the developers of the game to clarify its data privacy protections.

And although the game is not available in China, the world’s biggest smartphone and online gaming market, some people there fear it could become a Trojan horse for offensive action by the US and Japan.

“Don’t play Pokemon Go,” said user Pitaorenzhe on Chinese microblogging site Weibo. “It’s so the US and Japan can explore China’s secret bases.”

The conspiracy theory is that Japan’s Nintendo, which part owns the Pokemon franchise, and America’s Google, can work out where Chinese military bases are by seeing where users can’t go to capture Pokemon characters.

The theory is that if Nintendo places rare Pokemon in areas where they see players aren’t going, it can be deduced that the location has restricted access.

“Then, when war breaks out, Japan and the US can target their guided missiles, and China will have been destroyed by the invasion of a Japanese-American game,” said a post on Weibo.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said he was unaware of reports that the game could be a security risk and that he didn’t have time to play with such things.

But the calls for a boycott, and the fact that Pokemon Go hasn’t even been released in China, have not deterred fans.

“I really look forward to playing the Pokemon artificial reality game… I really liked Pokemon as a kid,” said Gan Tian, a 22-year-old student.

But for many in the country, playing is proving a challenge. Not only is the game not on Chinese app stores, but Google services are blocked in China.

Nintendo has given no indication as to when or whether Pokemon Go will be released in China. – Reuters