For the past week, Pokemon Go has taken the world – and social media feeds – by storm. From stories about a user stumbling across a dead body while playing the game to articles on whether the game is the answer to America’s obesity problem, it seems that it is all everyone could talk about.
There’s just one question left: When is it going to be released in Hong Kong?
On Facebook page Pokemon: Go Hong Kong, local fans eagerly anticipating the game’s release are frequently posting updates about any news they hear about release dates. Another similar page with mostly English posts can be found here. They’ve even started a Telegram group to discuss their Pokemon Go experiences (or lack thereof).
To the disappointment of many, at 10am on Friday the game was not released in Hong Kong despite rumours.
A statement released by Pokemon Go developer Niantic told gaming company IGN on Thursday that “the team is currently heads down working on the game. We do not have any announced plans for countries beyond New Zealand, Australia, US and Germany at the moment.”
Whilst Chinese fans have turned to a copycat app called City Elves Go, Hong Kong fans are not happy.
Perhaps Hongkongers can keep themselves busy coming up with Cantonese names for their Pokemon in the meantime.
Some journalists on Twitter have already begun brainstorming creative locations to play Pokemon Go.
Even the Hong Kong Maritime Museum could hardly contain itself; on Monday, it posted on social media that the first person to send them a screen grab of a Pokemon at the museum will win a free t-shirt.
But even when it does arrive, it’s likely that nothing much will change in the city.
Judging by the way people in Hong Kong move on sidewalks and subways, Pokemon Go has been here for years. https://t.co/hdhymHcULi
— Carlos Tejada (@CRTejada) July 14, 2016
