Have you ever wanted to encounter Pokémon on your daily commute via an augmented-reality game on your smartphone? Well, that oddly specific desire is now going to come true. The Pokemon Company has just announced Pokémon Go, a mobile game which does exactly that. It’s due out in 2016 for iOS and Android, and looks ambitious to say the least.
Pokémon Go is being produced in association with Nintendo and Nitanic, who produced the augmented-reality game Ingress. The game is based on players using their phones to see, catch, and battle Pokemon, and also trade their Pokémon with other players. So, it’s like pretty much every Pokémon game ever made, except viewed through the lens of augmented-reality. Which is kind of cool.
The game will be free-to-play with microtransactions (groan), but will also work in tandem with a Bluetooth “smartwatch device” called the Pokémon Go Plus.
Wear it with your Pokéwalker. Remember those?
PGP is intended to keep players in the world of Pokémon Go even when a smartphone isn’t being directly used – the device will do things like buzz and light up whenever it “detects” a Pokémon nearby. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, he “likes the idea” of kids wearing the PGP while their parents carry the smartphone – a way for parents and kids to experience Pokémon together.
I look forward to seeing what Pokémon Go looks like when it comes out in 2016 – the whole project seems very ambitious, and Pokémon designer Junichi Masuda stated he is considering how Pokémon Go will “connect with titles in the main series.” Looks like there may be some interesting updates to future Pokémon games – but only time can tell.
Check out the fancy, over-the-top trailer below:
