海角大神

Pok茅mon Go, a mobile game that has kids and adults alike roaming the streets of their cities and towns in search of imaginary monsters, exploded onto the scene just last week. But already, it鈥檚 a sensation.

As of Sunday, more than 5 percent of Android users in the United States had downloaded the free, augmented reality app since it launched on July 6, and 60 percent have been using it daily. Within a few days, predicts web and app analytics firm SimilarWeb, Pokemon Go will draw .

Pok茅mon聽Go's impressive launch has energized an otherwise sluggish Nintendo, a Japanese video-game maker that owns a third of the The Pok茅mon Company, which co-developed the game with Niantic, a spinout from Google parent company Alphabet.

Since the app鈥檚 release 鈥� so far only in the United States, Australia and New Zealand 鈥� Nintendo鈥檚 stock has surged more than 25 percent. This is the since Nintendo started trading on Tokyo鈥檚 stock exchange in 1983, according to Bloomberg.

Nintendo is best known for its video game console and massively popular 1990s video games, including Mario Bros. and the Legend of Zelda. But the company has been slow to adapt to the growth in mobile gaming in recent years. This year, mobile is expected by financial consulting firm Deloitte to become the biggest platform for gaming 鈥� over personal computers and game consoles 鈥� by software revenue, generating $35 billion in revenue, .

Though it鈥檚 unclear whether excitement about Pok茅mon will endure beyond the app鈥檚 initial splash, it has already brought Nintendo on par with , as the Wall Street Journal points out, and could provide a needed boost to the company鈥檚 smartphone game business. Nintendo will release .

Though the Pok茅mon app is free to download, it generates revenue by selling items, which range in price from $1 to $100, that help people catch Pok茅mon monsters.

Pok茅mon first came on the scene 20 years ago as a role-playing game for Nintendo鈥檚 hand-held Game Boy device. The Pok茅mon Company was born in 1998 to house Pok茅mon businesses, establishing a franchise that has since then earned $45.6 billion in revenue globally through video games, trading cards and other merchandise, reports the Journal.

By using a phone鈥檚 camera, the recently released app augments users鈥檚 views of the real world by inserting digital characters into the real world, or superimposing them onto real-life scenes that players view on their phone screens.

鈥淧ok茅mon Go uses your phone鈥檚 GPS and clock to detect where and when you are in the game and make Pok茅mon 鈥榓ppear鈥� around you (on your phone screen) so you can go and catch them,鈥� reports Vox. 鈥淎s you move around, different and more types of Pok茅mon will appear depending on where you are and what time it is. The to catch Pok茅mon in the game.鈥�

The travel so far has brought both good and bad consequences for players. Some users, for example, are finding that the game gets them outside for exercise.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 awesome. My daughter and I walked 2 miles playing this, not even realizing it. Great exercise,鈥� commented a person who identified herself as Nicole Walker in a post responsing to the Journal鈥檚 Pok茅mon story.

Others are playing more nefarious games with the app by using it to locate and rob players who wander into remote places in search of Pok茅mon monsters that look like rats, snakes, and dragons, among a host of other characters.

Some players, with eyes glued to their phone screens as they鈥檙e chasing the characters, are facing real-life injuries, such as twisted ankles and bruised shins, as 海角大神 has reported.

"People really need to watch what they're doing and make sure their kids understand where this game could lead them," O'Fallon, Mo. Police Sgt. Phil Hardin, where Pok茅mon-related robberies have been reported, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.