The world seems to be going crazy about Pokémon Go and although the incredibly popular augmented reality smartphone game might not get a China release due to stringent censorship laws and other technical issues, a copy of the game called "City Spirit Go" is topping charts in the country.

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The Chinese knockoff, released by Shenzhen Tanyu, has now become the most downloaded app on the Apple iOS store and is also gaining popularity on the Android platform. It is not known whether the game is also topping charts on the platform as access to Google Play is blocked in the country, according to Business Standard.

Like Pokémon Go, City Spirit Go also allows users to find, catch and battle digital creatures in the real world, the only difference being is that it uses a virtual map instead of the smartphone camera, sensors and location-based algorithms used in Pokémon Go.

City Spirit Go was released four months ago, few weeks after Nintendo made a provisional version of Pokémon Go available to users in Japan. The game was launched officially in Japan last week and is now available in countries including the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Canada among others.

China's recent ban on the use of English language in video games available in the country along with the requirement of a Google account (blocked in China) to play Pokémon Go, it is highly unlikely that the immensely popular game will be coming to China, which could be a huge blow to Nintendo as it is the largest video game market in the world with $7 billion in revenues last year.

The Japanese tech giant shouldn't be too bothered about losing out on China though. The company's stocks have already skyrocketed more than 80 per cent since the launch of the game.

TagsPokemon, Pokemon Go, china, Pokemon Go China, City Spirit Go