Nintendo files Chinese trademarks for Pokémon Go in China, where the mobile AR game is currently banned
- Pokémon Go was banned in China just months after the game launched in 2016
- Tencent and NetEase are working on separate Pokémon games
China has kept Pokémon Go outside its borders for years, but several new trademarks are reviving hopes that the blockbuster game might eventually arrive in the country.
It’s been recently revealed that last month, Nintendo applied for two trademarks using the simplified Chinese name for Pokémon Go, according to a National Intellectual Property Administration database. And that’s not all: The record shows that Nintendo has been filing for dozens of Pokémon-related trademarks for months now. They include names of Pokémon like Pikachu and Jigglypuff, as well as games like Pokémon Ga-Olé.
Pokémon Go has been banned in China since 2017 seemingly because of its gameplay. The augmented reality game has players catch virtual Pokémon by travelling to specific locations in the real world. The function was deemed “a big social risk” by regulators, who said it posed a threat to pedestrians and road safety.
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Taiwanese grandfather plays Pokemon Go with 64 phones
NetEase finally announced last year that it was working on the first Pokémon mobile game for China, but it had nothing to do with Pokémon Go. Instead, NetEase is collaborating with Japanese studio Game Freak on a Chinese version of Pokémon Quest. The role-playing game, launched globally in 2018, lets players train Pokémon and go on adventures.
We reached out to Niantic, NetEase and Nintendo partner Tencent with questions about the future of Pokémon Go in China, but they weren’t immediately available for comment.
