'Pokémon Go' banned in China over public safety concerns

China thinks you're not responsible enough to play the game.
 By 
Raymond Wong
 on 
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The world's most populous country will not be getting Pokémon Go.

Apparently, China thinks the game is just too dangerous to allow due to public safety concerns, according to Reuters.

China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television cites "a high level of responsibility to national security and the safety of people's lives and property" and a "threat to geographical information security and the threat to transport and the personal safety of consumers" as reasons for Pokémon Go's ban.

In other words, China thinks you're just not responsible enough to play the game. Because, who knows, you might fall off a cliff, crash your car into a school or cop car, or stampede through a public park just to catch a rare Pokémon. No, no, no, you can't be trusted to play Pokémon Go.

China also doesn't want people exploring and snooping around places that might be off-limits to the general public. Like, say, military zones.

Pokémon Go also isn't the only game that's getting suppressed.

China's not the first country to ban Pokémon Go. Iran was the first to ban the augmented reality monster-catching game following its runaway success in other regions.

Pokémon Go also isn't the only game that's getting suppressed. Similar games that have location-based augmented reality will be subject to the same block.

While it might seem like a missed opportunity for Niantic, the developers of Pokémon Go, the company probably had no plans to expand the game into China in the first place, seeing as how the game relies oGoogle Maps, which is blocked in the country.

Mashable has reached out to Niantic for comment and will update this story if we get a response.

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Raymond Wong

Raymond Wong is Mashable's Senior Tech Correspondent. He reviews gadgets and tech toys and analyzes the tech industry. Raymond's also a bit of a camera geek, gamer, and fine chocolate lover. Before arriving at Mashable, he was the Deputy Editor of NBC Universal's tech publication DVICE. His writing has appeared on G4TV, BGR, Yahoo and Ubergizmo, to name a few. You can follow Raymond on Twitter @raywongy or Instagram @sourlemons.

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