Pokemon Go clone is one of the most downloaded games in China

Tencent

Let’s Hunt Monsters is essentially a Pokemon Go clone, catching mythological beasts such as dragons and phoenixes. It has quickly become one of the most popular games in China.

Pokemon Go China

The Chinese government have banned Pokemon Go, at least for the time being. According to the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association the game brings a potential “threat to geographical information security and the threat to transport and the personal safety of consumers.”

Furthermore, Pokemon Go also relies on Google services, namely Google Maps, which are also banned in China.

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Pokemon Go is currently banned in China…

Let’s Hunt Monsters

The result of this ban is that knock off versions of Pokemon Go are being developed. Tencent’s Let’s Go Monsters is the best example of this.

The supposed Pokemon Go clone released in April 2019. Upon release it quickly shot to China’s most downloaded free game on China’s iOS store. Alongside PUBG Mobile and Honour of Kings, two other games developed by Tencent, it continues to be high up in the download charts.

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Unlike many other Chinese games, in-app purchases are allowed in Let’s Hunt Monsters.

TencentThe blockchain based Let’s Hunt Monsters is very popular in China…

Pokemon blockchain

Blockchain technology has come to the forefront over the last couple of years and Let’s Hunt Monsters is one of the first games to utilize the technology. Despite appearing to copy Pokemon Go, this particular feature could give it a long-term competitive advantage.

Pokemon at its core is about collecting Pokemon. This remains true in the video games, card games and even in the anime – after all the slogan is “gotta catch ’em all.”

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Consequently, in the video games, where there is a theoretically unlimited supply of Pokemon, there is a question of rareness and therefore value. Blockchain would allow for an audited supply of Pokemon which could be added to at a later date if the demand required so.

It will be interesting to see how the Pokemon Go vs China debacle plays out and whether Let’s Hunt Monsters will continue to go from strength to strength.

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