TC Daily Newsletter 07/19/16

Peak Pokemon? You should Bitmoji yourself and snap your friends about it. Plus, Reed Hastings and Marissa Mayer could probably use a friend right now, too. All that and more in today's top tech news from TechCrunch.

1. Japan hungers for the monsters of the pocket

It is time. Pokemon Go has continued its slow and steady global expansion, rolling out to countries amid flaky reliability as the servers stained under the weight. Now, the game is finally coming home: Our own Jon Russell has heard from reliable sources that the hit game launches in Japan tomorrow, complete with the introduction of the first sponsored locations. As exciting as this is, consider this potential downbeat note: Japan's launch could be Peak Pokemon Go, if player interest tails off over time.

2. I think this says 'Apple Pay is now in France'

I swear I could once speak fluent French, but at least I've retained enough to know that this article says Apple Pay is now available in France. The launch there is limited in terms of partnerships with big banks, with only BPCE on board among the larger institutions, but others are set to follow suit shortly. Apple has a lead on competitors when it comes to rolling out its mobile payment solution globally, but traction overall for mobile payments is still just starting out, so expect this to be a loonnnnnggg game.

3. In a world where Tinder provides the basis for a romantic comedy...

Warner Bros. is surprising no one with an upcoming romantic comedy based on Tinder foibles, which has just been free lit by the studio based on a script put together by the writing team that gave us 'Friends With Benefits.' 'You've Got Mail' was already too much tech in a rom-com for my liking, thank you very much.

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4. Deezer forgets we don't need anymore music streaming services, launches

The streaming music scene in the U.S. has already contracted with the closure of Rdio late last year, but Deezer still thinks there's room in the pool for one more. The European company launched its $9.99 subscription service to the general public today. It's skipping the free tier stateside, however, which might be a nod to that not being a sustainable model in this market. But with Spotify and Apple Music already vying for the market in the U.S. (and, yes, I still see you hanging out around the periphery Tidal), it's hard to see a new player making much of a dent with similar pricing.

5. The Bitmojis are Bitmoji-ing all over Snapchat

Is Snapchat already aging into Facebook? It's a question you have to ask when you see the company unveil permanence for posts first, and then follow up with Bitmojis, the cartoonish avatars that probably plagued your Facebook stream a few years ago. Snapchat acquired the company earlier this year, which left us waiting for when the other cartoon shoe would drop accompanied by a sound effect bubble.

6. Google is seeing more government requests for info than ever before

Authorities are looking into it – let that statement reflect the general state of affairs. Google's latest transparency report saw a considerable uptick in requests from government authorities over previous periods, giving us a sad new high water mark in online surveillance. To be fair, people are using online communication tools more and more, but it's no fun watching that particular graph start to hockey stick.

7. Netflix and Yahoo both disappoint

It's earnings season, which is the most exciting time of the quarter. Yahoo and Netflix kicked things off for big tech co's yesterday, and neither had a very good day at the spreadsheets. This is probably all ye need to know about Yahoo, and Netflix has a growth problem stemming from two sources: people are balking at ever-higher prices, and international content isn't driving the kind of lock-in Netflix is seeing in English-speaking markets, partly because far less of it exists.

8. And 8 is for BB-8

Now hit the road with BB-8 and get outta here.