Today, the Pokémon Company unveiled its latest Pocket Monster experience. It’s called Pokemon Go.
“The day has finally come when Pokémon appear in the real world,” Pokémon designer Junichi Masuda said of the ambitious project.
Here’s the debut trailer.
The game is being developed by Niantic, a former Google start up known for it’s augmented reality smartphone game Ingress.
Niantic says it is working closely with the Pokémon Company and Nintendo to make a brand new style of Pokémon game. The idea is that players go outside, get some fresh air, and capture Pokemon at the same time.
The Pokémon Company has been working on the game for the past few years alongside Nintendo. At today’s press conference, Pokémon Go’s debut trailer was dedicated to Satoru Iwata.
There is also a watch-like peripheral (mostly worked on by Nintendo) for the game called Pokémon Go Plus that allows you to basic things like throw a Poké Ball. It pairs with your phone and has a rumble and flash feature when you come across or interact with a Pokemon in the real world. The idea is that you can enjoy the world around you, instead of focusing only on your phone.
According to Shigeru Miyamoto, Pokémon Go Plus reminds him of Pokémon Snap. Miyamoto added that he likes the idea of kids wearing the Pokémon Go Plus that is paired with a parent’s phone. That way kids and parents can play Pokémon Go together.
In the past, Pokémon games have been based loosely on real world maps, so as Pokémon Company boss Tsunekazu Ishihara pointed out in an announcement conference, it makes sense to bring Pokémon to the real world with AR.
This won’t necessarily be a standalone title. “I’m thinking about how this game will connect with titles in the main series of Pokémon games,” Masuda told the audience.
Pokémon Go is for both Android and iOS, and is slated for release in 2016.
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