Pokémon Go: how the overnight sensation was 20 years in the making

It has only taken a week for Poki(C)mon Go's creatures to pop up all around the planet - but their journey really began in 1996

Returning home on Thursday afternoon, I was stopped by two 10-year-olds standing at the top of my road. "Are you playing Poki(C)mon Go?" one asked. When I said I was, they went wild.

"Oh my days! There's a Gengar over there, and there's a gym over there and that woman's playing it too. Everyone here is playing it! What level are you? How many Poki(C)mon do you have?" At this point, the game had been out in the UK for less than 12 hours.