New game Pokémon GO announced for iPhone, Android
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Update 2: A promotional Ingress video has revealed that a closed beta for Pokémon GO will run in Northern Hemisphere winter 2016. It also specified that the game will release in early 2016 (previous material only specified 2016).
Update: This article previously stated that the game uses augmented reality. This has not yet been officially announced; the augmented reality was mistakenly inferred from the non-gameplay trailer.
In a press conference, a new multiplayer location-based Pokémon game, Pokémon GO, was announced. Pokémon GO will be released for iPhone and Android devices in early 2016.
The game is a collaboration between The Pokémon Company, Nintendo and Niantic Labs. The developer, Niantic Labs, recently became independent from Google. Among other projects, Niantic is best known for Ingress, a popular augmented reality-based smartphone game. Junichi Masuda is involved in working on the setting, design and music for the game; in addition, he is also planning to link Pokémon GO with the main series Pokémon games.
Nintendo is also working on a Bluetooth wrist-device, called Pokémon GO Plus, which can be worn on the wrist or as a clip-on. Pokémon GO Plus will allow the players to interact with Pokémon GO without needing to check the phone and notifies them about events in the game by using an LED and vibration, including the appearance of a Pokémon nearby. The players will also be able to catch wild Pokémon and carry out other actions by using the button on the respective device.
Pokémon GO will be available for free with in-app purchases.
Gallery
Logo for Pokémon GO
Logo for Pokémon GO Plus
Pokémon GO Plus wrist strap
Pokémon GO Plus accessory
In-game screenshot on an iPhone
Press release
| “ Pokémon GO Allows Players to Catch ‘em All in the Real World
Pokémon, Niantic, and Nintendo Collaborating on New Mobile Pokémon Game Slated for Launch in 2016 TOKYO, JAPAN—September 10, 2015— The Pokémon Company, Niantic, Inc., and Nintendo Co., Ltd. today announced their collaboration on a new project for mobile devices called Pokémon GO. This ground breaking mobile game will encourage fans to search far and wide in the real world to discover Pokémon. Pokémon GO will be available for download at no charge on the App Store and Google Play in 2016. In the past, the Pokémon video game series has used real world locations like the Hokkaido and Kanto regions of Japan, as well as New York and Paris, as inspiration for its fantasy settings. In Pokémon GO, players will be able to catch, trade, and battle in the real world by utilizing location information. Pokémon GO’s gameplay experience goes beyond what appears on screen as players explore their neighborhoods, communities and the world they live in to discover Pokémon alongside friends and other players. Junichi Masuda, game director of the Pokémon video game series at GAME FREAK inc. will be contributing to the project. His involvement will ensure that the fun of Pokémon makes its way into Pokémon GO, while developing new types of gameplay and thinking of ways to connect this project with the main series of Pokémon video games. In-app purchases will be available in Pokémon GO. ” | ||
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Videos
Trailer
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Full press conference
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