Niantic has finally released its popular game Pokemon Go in South Asian countries, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Gamers can now download it and look for Pokemon like Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and others in their neighbourhoods, but many may think that it's too late.
It's more than five months since Pokemon Go was released in other countries. The craze for the game during the initial stage of its release was so much so that it broke the record with 25 million downloads on July 14 and a record 75 million downloads in just 19 days. Gamers staying in regions where the game wasn't released resorted to APK files and VPN (Virtual Private Networks) to play. They at least had a taste of it before the developers completely banned the pirated files.
[READ: Beginners guide on how to install and play Niantic's Pokemon Go]
So, will those South Asian countries who have tried their hands at the game with APK files and VPN play again? May be or may not but the excitement and craze for it will never be like it was a few months ago.
The fact is Pokemon Go's popularity has dropped drastically over time. The number of active users fell to 32.4 million on September 10 and the numbers might have dipped even further by now.
In what could be taken as a move to revive the the once viral game, Niantic has finally released it in a few South Asian countries after months of waiting. What took them so long? Well, it said a few administrative challenges had to be resolved before launching in order to ensure the best experience possible for the players.
But the truth is, hype around Pokemon Go seems to have died and so too the craze. It won't come as a surprise if the game has not much takers in these countries because Pizza doesn't taste good when it gets cold.
