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Old 09-10-2015, 01:52 AM   #1
deoxys
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Pokemon GO announced for iOS & Android, coming 2016

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From the official site:

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Pokémon GO

Travel between the real world and the virtual world of Pokémon with Pokémon GO for iPhone and Android devices! With Pokémon GO, you'll discover Pokémon in a whole new world—your own! Pokémon GO will use real location information to encourage players to search far and wide in the real world to discover Pokémon.

The Pokémon video game series has used real-world locations such as the Hokkaido and Kanto regions of Japan, New York, and Paris as inspiration for the fantasy settings in which its games take place. Now the real world will be the setting!

The Pokémon video game series has always valued open and social experiences, such as connecting with other players to enjoy trading and battling Pokémon. 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.

You can watch the video at the top of the page to better understand the Pokémon GO experience.

A small device called a Pokémon GO Plus will enable Pokémon GO players to enjoy the game even when they’re not looking at their smartphone. The device connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth and notifies the player about events in the game—such as the appearance of a Pokémon nearby—using an LED and vibration. In addition, players can catch Pokémon or perform other simple actions by pressing the button on the device. Pokémon GO Plus is being developed and manufactured by Nintendo Co., Ltd.



Pokémon GO is being developed by Niantic, Inc. Originally founded by Google Earth co-creator John Hanke as a start-up within Google, Niantic is known for creating Ingress, the augmented reality mobile game that utilizes GPS technology to fuel a sci-fi story encompassing the entire world. Ingress currently has 12 million downloads worldwide.

Niantic, Inc., The Pokémon Company, and Nintendo Co., Ltd., will all contribute to the Pokémon GO project.

Furthermore, Junichi Masuda of Game Freak Inc., the game director of the Pokémon video game series, is also contributing to the project. He is hard at work ensuring that the fun of Pokémon makes its way into this new project, and is also looking to come up with new kinds of gameplay while thinking of ways to connect this project with the main series of Pokémon video games.

Pokémon GO will be available for download at no charge on the App Store and Google Play. In-app purchases will be available.

Look forward to much more information about Pokémon GO leading up to its launch in 2016!
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Old 09-10-2015, 01:52 AM   #2
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So far, it looks as though PGO will be Gen I exclusive. The concept seems incredibly interesting and not at all unlike the Google Maps April Fools joke last year, where certain Pokemon were scattered in random places around the world.

Nintendo was discussing making smartphone games, and this looks like it's going to be the first major "exclusive". An ARG Pokemon game with battling and trading - plus being Gen I exclusive would help play up the nostalgia factor for a lot of people who were into it when they were younger but aren't anymore - as the video's target demographic was very clearly aiming at an adult audience. I imagine that by hooking people back into Pokemon with methods like this, they can slowly introduce them to more and more generations of Pokemon little by little and bring them into the market.

Obviously that's all speculation, but that aside - this looks incredible. I hope the game itself will live up to what the trailer is showing (public raids vs. legendaries, anyone?), but I'm cautiously skeptical myself, especially in regards to what F2P aspects it might have in store, though Nintendo has been pretty good about that with games like Pokemon Shuffle thus far.


Here's a really interesting bit:

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A small device called a Pokémon GO Plus will enable Pokémon GO players to enjoy the game even when they’re not looking at their smartphone. The device connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth and notifies the player about events in the game—such as the appearance of a Pokémon nearby—using an LED and vibration. In addition, players can catch Pokémon or perform other simple actions by pressing the button on the device. Pokémon GO Plus is being developed and manufactured by Nintendo Co., Ltd.
This is really neat. I wonder if they will make a special app for smartwatches?

I'm very interested to see where this goes and how this plays out.
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Old 09-10-2015, 04:23 AM   #3
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This sounds like what the Google Maps commercial depicted and not like what the Google Maps project actually turned out to be.

I have mixed feelings on combining Pokémon with geocaching. On the one hand, it sounds like a fun alternative to the gameplay experiences our fandom is accustomed to. It allows people to bring Pokémon to the real world in a fun, physically challenging way. On the other hand, video games are a great equalizer when it comes to mobility and Pokémon Go sounds like it'll take that away: only the most mobile players -- physically able, lots of money for long-distance travel, lots of free time for frequent excursions-- will stand any chance at catching them all. If it's anything like Google Maps, most of us will only have ten or twenty different species -- and almost none of them legendary -- within a 10-mile radius of where we live. It not only rains on the parade right out the gate, but it limits the lasting appeal of the game as well. What're you supposed to do after the first two days where you've caught every single local Pokémon?

The trailer suggests that Google's and Nintendo's answer to this is to allow players to battle with their acquisitions. But battle in what sense? How limited will we be? Will creatures only have access to their level up moves? Or will they have access to egg moves, TMs, and tutor moves as well? Will abilities be implemented? Will fights all be 1v1 (as depicted in the trailer) or can you have team battles? Lots of questions.

Still: it's a neat concept, a fun concept, and so I have no problem welcoming it to the family. Worst case scenario, it's a boring dud and we all shelve it within days to weeks. Best case scenario, it's a lasting addition to the team, right on up there with the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series.
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Old 09-10-2015, 06:34 AM   #4
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That video was intense as hell. There are definitely a lot of questions concerning all the mechanics that they plan on implementing, as well as the 'in-game purchases', but it looks like it'll be a lot of fun. I doubt it'll be anything like the Google prank was (what with having only a few species available in any given area). This is on a much larger scale, and will even have it's own exclusive device, so I think we can expect a lot of nifty features.

On a semi-related note, I kinda hope it'll act as a pedometer, like the PokéWalker, and you'll have a higher chance of encountering rarer Pokémon the more you use it.

Anyway, I'm gonna be keeping an eye on this, for sure. It sounds amazing, even with some of the skepticism I have for it.
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Old 09-10-2015, 07:53 AM   #5
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I can't decide if this is genius or incredibly stupid but I'll probably buy the Bluetooth thing anyway.
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Old 09-10-2015, 08:12 AM   #6
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This looks interesting and it could actually be fun if done right but I'm not completely sold on it just yet. We'll see.

I'll probably buy the Bluetooth thing too though. xp
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Old 09-10-2015, 11:44 AM   #7
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I for one see this as the next Dash.

Too many flaws for an interesting concept.
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Old 09-10-2015, 11:45 AM   #8
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I think it's adorable and I'll definitely pick it up even if I don't really end up using it. It seems like a good quiet time killer and something fun to do with a couple friends. Honestly, this is the kind of game that will only work with high participation rates, so Nintendo is getting pretty bold to push this app out as their first game. They could have gone way, way safer.

It looks to me like it's a Google Maps on a local scale - walking around your town should probably net you at the very least like 100, and it looks like the legendaries are events which can be pushed globally (which is gonna suck for those who don't have time).

I also am not 100% sure it's gonna be AR in the same way that the video apparently promises. The commercial looks like it adds a fuckton of details for artistic purposes that they didn't realize would be dealmakers for a lot of people.
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Old 09-10-2015, 11:57 AM   #9
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I for one see this as the next Dash.

Too many flaws for an interesting concept.
Dash was an interesting concept...?

I think this has way, way more potential than... that...
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Old 09-10-2015, 04:36 PM   #10
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I feel kinda hyped.
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Old 09-10-2015, 05:42 PM   #11
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Old 09-10-2015, 06:33 PM   #12
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The advertisement is like a '90s children's cereal commercial though. :\ It depicts an awesomeness that you are not going to find replicated in your experience with this software. All this app is going to be is a dolled up version of the Google Maps project, I'm telling you right now. It's the Google Maps thing with battling and trading, and maybe with better creature discovery opportunities. It's not like you're going to go to an abandoned warehouse or a cornfield at night and find a Growlithe or a Scyther standing there before you. If you choose to go to such places, okay, great, whatever, but you're just going to be standing there with your pedometer attached to your wrist like some sort of jackass while a phone app logs that you're standing at a certain map coordinate and registers that you now have an opportunity to catch a certain Pokémon. [/cynicism]

I think the game looks neat too. And I look forward to hearing more about it in the future. But for now, from what we're seeing from the trailer, it's looking just like the Google Maps thing all over again. (Seriously -- if you haven't seen that video before, I suggest you check it out right now and see how similar it is to the Pokémon Go trailer. Similar ... and superior! Way more exciting.)
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Old 09-10-2015, 08:17 PM   #13
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Personally I think this is a great step forward that'll be really exciting for whenever Nintendo adopts AR or VR tech like Oculus or the Holo Lens. And by adopts I mean appropriates for their own slightly shittier product that we will nonetheless buy because augmented reality pokemon.
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Old 09-11-2015, 12:00 AM   #14
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It's not like you're going to go to an abandoned warehouse or a cornfield at night and find a Growlithe or a Scyther standing there before you. If you choose to go to such places, okay, great, whatever, but you're just going to be standing there with your pedometer attached to your wrist like some sort of jackass while a phone app logs that you're standing at a certain map coordinate and registers that you now have an opportunity to catch a certain Pokémon. [/cynicism]
Based on what they were saying they hope to do with the app at the press conference, it sort of sounds like this is kinda what they're trying to accomplish... You open up the app when you "discover" Pokemon nearby, as I imagine that's why they're making the bluetooth bracelet (because the alternative is keeping your phone constantly open) and I guess sort of go into augmented reality mode whereupon you'll see the Pokemon in the wild on your camera screen, in a manner similar to Dream Radar, it sounds like? But I'm not sure the technology is really there yet for that kind of AR in phones as it in in something like, say, Microsoft Hololens. So maybe not.

But if you're saying that you're not going to go on some journey to some kind of remote or barren location and find some rare Pokemon, yeah, probably not going to happen... I just don't think it's going to be restricted to some sort of overworld based on a map of the area around you quite like the Google Maps project was.

I'm really hoping they don't go full F2P with this though and prompt you to "share" a facebook status with your friends every time you battle/catch a pokemon.

Quote:
I think the game looks neat too. And I look forward to hearing more about it in the future. But for now, from what we're seeing from the trailer, it's looking just like the Google Maps thing all over again. (Seriously -- if you haven't seen that video before, I suggest you check it out right now and see how similar it is to the Pokémon Go trailer. Similar ... and superior! Way more exciting.)
I was really into this I actually got the letter in the mail from them with Google "Pokemon Master" business cards that I still have around here somewhere for finding all 151 of them

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Old 09-11-2015, 04:34 AM   #15
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I agree with Talon. This will probably be shite. But hopefully not!
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Old 09-15-2015, 08:51 AM   #16
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I'm personally hyped for it! The concept alone, combined with Nintendo's apparent desire to make it a social experience, is going to carry it in my view. Even if the actual mechanics of the game are terrible (I seriously hope they aren't! I'm hoping for, at the very least, some kind of entertaining battling gameplay - even if the catching/logging/training sucks and is boring, the battles will justify it all), I'm going to try to enjoy the app for its strengths, and I think it'll have plenty of strengths.

The one thing I can see as a major negative for me is that there doesn't seem to be a way to make this game not require a constant stable Internet connection in order to have a multiplayer experience. Cellular infrastructure in America is nowhere near what it is in Japan, and it's hella expensive to get a good service...and no matter how much you pay, it's guaranteed that you will spend plenty of time without data unless you don't travel, which seems contrary to what pokemon go is all about.

Hopefully battling will only require bluetooth or some other local tech like that, otherwise they're going to have major issues in the american edition. I can see capturing being simple enough to stay on the device itself and only require gps coordinates, especially since "travelling" implies that you won't have internet, but battling....that's gonna be way tougher. You have to sync the phones together in order to process what's happening between them, and it would be way easier to do that over the internet...
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Old 09-15-2015, 09:46 PM   #17
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Cellular infrastructure in America is nowhere near what it is in Japan
This is my biggest problem with this system. There's lots of things that work great in Japan (streetpassing), but are kind of shit here in the US.
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Old 09-16-2015, 03:10 PM   #18
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I just remembered something. Those little pokemon clips that rumble to warn you about things that happen nearby? Those little suckers could probably be used to battle. As long as you and your buddy/idiot little brother/girlfriend/random stranger both have one, they could probably connect to the phones and provide the necessary information without requiring an Internet connection.

The only interesting detail is that apparently they're optional to have. I guess in America they'll be more important, but perhaps the WiFi/bluetooth from the phone itself will be enough for battling?

I wish we had more information. :/ I'm SO damn curious about how they're gonna make this work.
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Old 09-20-2015, 10:45 PM   #19
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Old 10-15-2015, 07:38 PM   #20
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