Pokemon Go Plus wearable coming September 16 for $35

After numerous delays, the first wearable accessory for the wildly popular smartphone game Pokemon Go will go on sale on September 16.

The accessory simply slips onto your wrist and connects wirelessly, via Bluetooth, to your phone so that you can slip it in a pocket or bag. Then you can surreptitiously hunt Pokémon while going about your daily business, or use it like the gaming equivalent of a hands-free device. The Pokémon Go Plus will cost US $35 when it starts shipping but with interest in the game continuing to grow -- the app has now been downloaded a remarkable 500 million times since its launch in July -- there are bound to be plenty of takers.

At the iPhone 7 launch event on Wednesday, a team from Niantic, the company behind the app, demonstrated how the game will also soon be coming to the Apple Watch and how this new version will help persuade players to get more exercise and stay active. "We are encouraged by the fast adoption of the game and are pleased to see so many people walk and play every day. Pokémon GO for Apple Watch will be another way people can incorporate the game into their daily lives, even more seamlessly," said John Hanke, CEO of Niantic, Inc