Avid Japanese gamers of the mobile gaming app "Pokemon Go" were given a treat with Niantic's latest special event. A Japan-exclusive Pokemon spawn event went live in specific parts of the said Asian country where trainers can catch the elusive Lapras.
Lucky "Pokemon Go' players based in Japan were given the chance to catch the rarely seen Pokemon monster Lapras. Niantic has increased the spawn rate for the said creature in areas that were affected by the 2011 tsunami, according to Forbes.
The water and ice type Pokemon can be seen appearing in the areas of Japan's Fukushima Prefecture, Iwate Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture. Japanese players can expect to find a huge number of Lapras in their in-game "Pokemon Go" maps until Nov. 23. Niantic's special Lapras Pokemon spawn event is part of a tourism effort to draw in many visitors to the said Japanese regions. Several years after the devastating 2011 tsunami, many of these areas have had a tough time enticing tourists to revisit the region.
Meanwhile, the Japan-specific event may also be a sign of Niantic's future planned gameplay activities for "Pokemon Go," as indicated in the same report. The speculated event may even bring players to a specific area or place to catch a special Pokemon as shown in the game's trailer.
In other news, Niantic's Mike Quigley recently made mention of how the company has reached a stable level in terms of addressing the game's technical issues. In an interview with Eurogamer, the gaming studio's chief marketing officer shared that they have already shifted their focus to developing "Pokemon Go's" core features.
Quigley also admitted that they were overwhelmed with the game's massive popularity. The company was also forced to make tough decisions about third-party apps to protect the game's servers and its performance, according to the Niantic executive. "Pokemon Go" was first released in July in select countries before it was deployed to various markets. Watch the game's trailer below: