With Pokémon Go, delays are inevitable it seems. The game’s much-hyped launch in Japan was subject to cancelations last week, many people across Asia still don’t have the title — including China — and now it seems that the even Pokémon Plus, a wearable that accompanies the smash hit game, has had its arrival date pushed back.
Pokémon Plus sits on a player’s wrist to help detect and catch Pokemon. It will cost $34.99 and, given the game’s success, it looks likely to be popular.
Niantic, Nintendo and the Pokémon Company — the trio behind Pokémon Go — originally advised that Pokémon Plus would be released at the end of July. But now, July 27 with time running out, the Pokémon Go Japan website was quietly updated to note a new release date of September, as Wall Street Journal’s “Pokemon reporter” Takashi Mochizuki first noticed. Nintendo confirmed the delay via Twitter.
Pokémon Go is estimated to have surpassed 75 million downloads worldwide, with the record for most App Store downloads in a launch week. Nintendo investors got antsy when the company explained that it isn’t making as much money from Pokémon Go as many first thought, but, even if just a small portion of users buy a Plus then that’ll be more money in the bank — and that’s not even mentioning the lucrative in-app purchases and “sponsored locations” like McDonald’s in Japan.
