Pokemon Go gets big Comic-Con stage, creator talks success and future

The creator of the wildly popular Pokemon Go gaming app received the celebrity treatment on Sunday at the final day of San Diego's annual Comic-Con, as he discussed the viral popularity and future of the game. John Hanke, founder of Niantic Labs and developer of Pokemon Go, was welcomed with loud applause from more than 6,500 fans on a stage usually reserved for star-studded presentations from movie studios and TV networks. Hanke said the global popularity of the game, which incorporates colorful animated creatures from Nintendo's Pokemon universe into the real world using augmented reality (AR) and Google mapping technology, had been "mind-blowing." The game, released July 6, was evolved from an earlier Niantic Labs AR app game called Ingress, which Hanke said has also gained in popularity after the release of Pokemon Go. Pokemon Go has captivated fans around the world, with 21 million active U.S. users in under two weeks of its launch. Stock prices for Nintendo soared after the game's launch.