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WSJ & TechCrunch: McDonald's Sponsors Pokémon Go's Thursday Launch in Japan (Updated)

posted on by Karen Ressler
McDonald's locations would become Pokémon Go locations

The Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch both reported on Tuesday that McDonald's Holdings Co. will be involved with the introduction of Pokémon Go to Japan. As part of the deal, the restaurant chain would become the game's first official sponsor, and McDonalds restaurants in Japan would become key locations for players.

TechCrunch reports that the game is launching in Japan this Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reports that the "deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday," along with the introduction of the game.

Forbes reported on Friday that Niantic CEO John Hanke did not expect the game to launch in Japan until the end of July. Hanke cited limited server capacity as the reason for the delay.

The Pokémon GO app launched in select countries on July 5 and has since launched in more than 30 countries.

Sources: The Wall Street Journal (Takashi Mochizuki), TechCrunch (Jon Russell) via Hachima Kikō

Upate: TechCrunch is now reporting that the launch has been delayed one day until Thursday, due to McDonald's launch plans being made public. [Via Hachima Kiko]


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