Interest
While Korea Waits for Pokémon Go, Here's 'Pororo Go'
posted on by Karen Ressler
As the popular Pokémon Go app rolls out to countries around the world, developer Niantic has said it expects the game's launch in South Korea to be particularly difficult. But even though the game has yet to launch in Korea, the excitement is real—real enough for another app game titled Pororo Go to step up to the plate.
Korean augmented reality (AR) developer Social Nework and producer Iconix, the company behind the Pororo The Little Penguin animated series, announced plans on Monday to launch the app game. The companies make no secret of the game's influence, but say they're planning something a little different.
"While Pokémon Go is a fun AR game for adults, 'Pororo Go' differentiates itself from others with educational AR elements,” Social Network CEO Park Soo-wang said.
Meanwhile, South Korean fans who can't wait for the Pokémon Go to launch have already found a way to play. An area that encompasses some small towns on the northeast coast—and some of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea—falls outside Niantic's geographical restrictions on the game. Here, Pokémon are fair game.
Sources: Business Korea, Gogo Tsūshin via Hachima Kikō, The Wall Street Journal (Jonathan Cheng)
