Pokemon Go fever hits Hong Kong in 2016 – a citywide AR craze

On July 25, 2016, Pokemon Go – the augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic – arrived in Hong Kong, making it the second market in Asia to get the app after Japan. The game leveraged smartphone GPS and cameras to overlay virtual Pokemon onto real-world locations, encouraging players to walk around their cities to catch creatures like Pikachu and Charmander. Within hours of release, Hong Kong's streets, parks, and malls were filled with players staring at their screens, hunting for rare spawns. Landmarks like Times Square in Causeway Bay became impromptu gathering spots. Jamie Sie-to Chuk-man told SCMP, 'I wasn't really that interested at first, and then I got addicted.'

However, the craze also brought immediate safety concerns. Authorities issued multiple warnings against trespassing onto private property and straying onto busy roads while distracted. The Hong Kong police and People's Liberation Army were put on alert after players were spotted near military barracks. The game's success highlighted both the potential and the risks of augmented reality experiences at scale, foreshadowing the mass adoption of AR technology we see today.