Watchdog has no plan to approve introduction of Pokémon GO to China

The augmented reality mobile game Pokémon GO by Nintendo is shown on a smartphone screen in this photo illustration taken in Palm Springs, California US July 11, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Pokémon GO 

and similar augmented reality (AR) games will not be licensed in China due to safety concerns before the country's regulator has decided on a plan, according to a report on industrial website cgigc.com.cn on Tuesday.

Pokémon GO, which encourages users to hunt down fictional creatures outside via smartphones with the help of GPS, became an instant hit worldwide since its launch in July, last year.

Some Chinese companies have kept an eye on the business and expected to import, develop and operate similar AR games in China.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said that it would not approve any AR games at present, in a reply to China's Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association, a national industrial organization.

The regulator said that the adoption of new technologies and creative applications inspire the development of video games, but due to some overseas practices and individual cases, such games also come with social risks, such as threats to geographic information safety, traffic safety and customers' personal safety.

To protect national security and people's lives and property, the regulator has been cooperating with other departments to evaluate the games, and it will publish evaluation results soon.

It suggested domestic companies think twice before they working with AR games.