McDonalds leak delays Pokemon Go’s Japanese launch, report claims

Yesterday it was reported that Pokemon Go would arrive in Japan today. Today the reports suggest that is no longer the case.

The Guardian reckons that yesterday’s leak of the news that the game would launch alongside a partnership with McDonalds created so much interest that developer Niantic has got cold feet, fearing that its servers will not be up to the demand.

As a result, Niantic is upping its server capacity with the hope that the game will still launch this week. Pokemon Go’s servers (which are required for users tom play the game) have been a bit up and down all week, so adding extra users and upping capacity demands brings with it the risk of wider downtime if the correct infrastructure is not in place.

Rumours of a delay have even dragged Nintendo’s soaring share price down a bit, with trading down by over 12 per cent in Japan. Expect that to quickly reverse if the game is as big a Japanese hit as people expect – although it will need to actually function to fulfil its full potential.

McDonalds becomes the title’s first commercial partner, offering a revenue stream beyond simply IAPs. With its 3,000 Japanese restaurants designated as gyms in the game, the hope is that players will flock to them, taking time for a drink and a snack as the hunt Pokemon.