‘Pokemon Go’ Augmented Reality Smartphone Game Announced for 2016!

The Pokemon Company’s Tsunekazu Ishihara is currently holding a live stream announcement on NicoNico. This post will be updated as the announcement is detailed.

• They are announcing a new Pokemon project and wanted to do a press conference for the first time in the company’s history.
• The project has been in development for two years and Nintendo worked on it.
• They are now showing a trailer. The game appears to be an augmented reality mobile game and you can capture Pokemon in real life through your smartphone.
• The promo video shows a wild Mewtwo appearing in a city and a bunch of people running over to battle it. It seems people will be able to use their smartphones to capture and trade Pokemon in real life.
• The game will be available on Android and iOS in 2016.
• The company working on the game is brand new to Pokemon and called “Niantic.” They were originally part of Google.
• Ishihara first had the idea for the game after playing Niantic’s Ingress video game.
• Pokemon will roam free in the real world (on your smartphone). Players can capture Pokemon in any environment in all places around the world. It’ll be a “wholesome, fun” game that families can enjoy together. They want people to go outside and discover new areas together when looking for Pokemon.
• “Imagine discovering a Pikachu hiding by the Eiffel Tower.”
• Junichi Masuda also worked on the game. He was involved in settings, game design, and some music. “The day has finally come when Pokemon will live in the real world.”
• Players can capture Pokemon in Poke Balls and trade and battle them.
• 2016 is the 20th anniversary of the original Pokemon games. Masuda hinted that they considered how this game might tie into future main series Pokemon titles, which means it’s not replacing the main games.
• “Pokemon Go Plus” will be a wearable device you can use with the game so you don’t have to stare at your smartphone the whole time. It vibrates when it senses a Pikachu in the area, for example, so you don’t have to always be checking your phone for Pokemon in the area. It lets you know whenever something is happening in the game. It uses Bluetooth to connect to your phone. (Picture below.) You can use it to throw a Poke Ball to capture a Pokemon too. It only uses LED lights and vibrating so it doesn’t consume too much energy. They created the device so players would be able to pay attention to their surroundings without being glued to their smartphones.
• The device is optional; the game can be used without it.
• Mr. Miyamoto from Nintendo was also involved with the game (everyone was involved!). He said he was thinking about Pokemon Snap as they developed the game.
• Pokemon Go Plus can clip on to your clothes or be worn like a watch.
• The game uses location-based technology. Perhaps this means Pokemon are specifically tied to certain geographical areas.
• In summation, the game is a collaboration between Niantic, Nintendo, Gamefreak, and The Pokemon Company.
• The game is free to play but will have in-app purchases. -_-
• Perhaps that Google Maps April Fools Joke in 2014 was foreshadowing all of this. The task was basically what this game is – looking for Pokemon on the map and capturing them.