Pokemon Go, an augmented reality game that has gone viral has captured the fancy of young Indian professionals who are taking to streets to catch Pokemons even before its official launch in the country.

Pokemon Go is a location-based augmented reality mobile game developed by the American software company Niantic with the Pokemon Company for iOS and Android devices. The game allows players to capture, battle and train virtual creatures called ‘Pokemons’.

While the game has not been officially launched in India, many have downloaded it through a pirate site that gives access up to level 5. Nandni Sundaresan, an IT Professional, downloaded the game three days ago out of sheer curiosity. “I’m always online to catch Pokemons that crop up in my surroundings. Even at work, my teammates join in during break hours and we make it a competition,” Sundaresan said.

Having watched its associated animation series, Sundaresan is familiar with creatures and finding her favourite Pikachu, the signature Pokemon, gives her an adrenaline rush. “Pikachu is my favourite and it is pretty rare to find, or may be it is not possible at all to find it at the initial level, but a mere possibility urges me to play,” she adds.

For another IT Professional, Nayana Sharma, it is a form of exercise. “At work or home, I hardly venture out. But this game makes me get out of my comfort zone, as it is not possible to play the game inside the house. For now it is free. But once you reach level 5, you might have to buy accessories and I don’t mind paying for it,” she said. Sharma, who has been playing the game for the past one week, admits though it is fun, players should exercise caution and be considerate of their surroundings when playing.

Nisha Vasudevan, a team leader in one of the MNCs, said, “People are going crazy over Pokemon. You see people looking lost on road and it turns out they are playing Pokemon Go.”

“But it is not affecting the work and building team spirit, as the whole team gets together to play, which does not happen on a day-to-day basis,” she admits.

The Pokemon Go frenzy is reflecting in sale of Pokemon merchandise in places like the US, which is witnessing spike in sales after the game launch, according to news reports.

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