Pokemon Go is Nintendo’s new location-based mobile game where you can catch Pokémon via augmented reality.
Though previous iterations of the franchise have used pseudo versions of actual locations, this version will make use of your mobile devices location, courtesy of Niantic – founded by John Hanke (previously of Google Earth fame).
“Pokémon GO is a wonderful combination of Niantic’s real world gaming platform and one of the most beloved franchises in popular culture” – John Hanke, CEO of Niantic
Budding Pokémon trainers will be able to wander around the real world and find Pokémon hiding in plain sight in their gardens, in the street, parks and pretty much anywhere physically visible.
Nintendo are also looking to release a companion piece of wearable tech currently known as Pokémon GO Plus, a wrist strap accessory complete with Pokémon design which will light up and vibrate if anything occurs locally in the Pokemon realm.
If the trailer is anything to go by, there may also be timed events in certain locations, similar to what other MMO’s currently offer, where hoards of players can team up together to take on the equivalent of raid bosses. In the trailers case it displays an epic battle in New York’s Times Square against long running series favorite Mewtwo who, fittingly, along with the Pokémon franchise will be turning 20 next February.
This may be tied in to the release of Pokémon GO as it is currently slated for 2016 release via iOS and Android devices under a free-to-play model with in-app purchases.
Fans have been yearning for an MMO Pokémon experience for many years, with Twitch Plays Pokémon being the closest experience yet with the most concurrent users at it’s peak, perhaps Nintendo’s move into the mobile gaming platform will finally turn the company’s outlook around.
(Source: IGN)
