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Johannesburg - It has been a year since the short-lived smash-hit Pokemon Go app was initially released, with developers adamant of retaining audience through new Pokemon and app functionality.
The app which experienced short-lived success saw thousands of South Africans scurrying to catch virtual monsters on the location-based app by developer, Niantic.
Niantic CEO John Hanke recently told The Verge that player-versus-player combat and the ability to trade Pokemon, were in the works.
Some local Facebook pages dedicated to the smartphone app are now barren, with last posts being in November 2016.
At one stage locals became so engrossed in the game and collected the virtual monsters that events were held around the country for “trainers” to catch the creates at key locations and parks, with gyms being set up around the South Africa.
READ: Pokémon Go loses 79% of paying users - study
However, digital commerce company, Site Intelligence revealed that revealed that Pokémon Go’s US paying population has declined by 79% since the number of in-game buyers peaked on July 15.
Since the global launch, the app saw numerous successes including being the most downloaded app from iPhones and the Google Play Store.
When initially released, the app was not available in South Africa but became popular with local users making use of third-party sites to download and play the game.
Shortly after, locals even began rigging the game through location hacks that allowed them achieve in-game goals and objectives sooner.
