Pokémon Go Launches in Hindi, Expanding to the Indian Market
Pokémon Go, the popular augmented reality (AR) game, has recently launched in Hindi in the Indian market. This move includes the renaming of 800 of the game’s iconic creatures to cater to the diverse linguistic landscape of India. With hundreds of languages and thousands of regional dialects spoken in the country, this localization effort demonstrates the desire to bring the Pokémon franchise to the growing and thriving Indian market.
The Pokémon franchise consists of thousands of monsters featured in its various games. Many of these creatures originally had names in Japanese that were witty puns related to their physical attributes or traits. While English-speaking players have enjoyed localized versions of these quirky names, it is only now that India, one of the world’s most populous and multilingual countries, is benefitting from the same level of attention.
The Chief Operating Officer of The Pokémon Company, Takato Utsunomiya, expressed his optimism about the Hindi localization, stating, “We believe the localisation into Hindi marks the starting point of a long journey to come. We aim to firmly establish ourselves in India with our long-term vision and hope to further enrich the Pokémon world hand-in-hand with the Pokemon fan community.”
Niantic’s Strategy in the Indian Market
In recent times, Niantic, the developer of Pokémon Go, has faced increased scrutiny regarding the success of the game. Earlier this year, an erroneous estimation of the game’s supposedly declining revenue caused some concerns. Despite Niantic’s denial of any significant issues with Pokémon Go, their other augmented reality titles have struggled to capture the same level of attention in the market. For instance, NBA All-World, a basketball-themed AR game, will be discontinued in late September.
However, Niantic’s latest release in the Monster Hunter franchise, called Monster Hunter Now, has already shown promise with over three million pre-registrations before its launch. With the localization of Pokémon Go in Hindi, Niantic is tapping into a massive market that, although challenging to monetize, will likely find one of the world’s most popular mobile games even more engaging.