The Pokémon Company has announced an AR (augmented reality) smartphone app called Pokémon Go in yesterday’s press conference. The app is going to be called Pokémon Go. It will both be released on iOS and Android, and it expected in 2016. The idea is that you interact with the real world to catch Pokémon and battle with them using the smartphone’s location data. Imagine finding that Pikachu actually lives in your backyard, or that Magmortar is on the beach right next to you ( enjoying the sun, no doubt!)
You will need the separate Pokémon Go Plus device (which is where Nintendo is involved in the project) you can wear on your wrist will help you do this as a notification device. It alerts you with a LED display and vibration, and you can do things like throwing a Pokéball by pressing the LED. It’s a good thing they will be virtual balls, imagine having to duck all the time because of balls flying around! There are plans to have it interact with the regular Pokémon games and you will be able to play together with others too.
It will be a free-to-play game, with, you guessed it, micro transactions. Still, I like this new idea. It’s been quite some time ago when I rambled on in this blog about the possibilities of Nintendo games pairing with smartphone apps. I guess this one will be a great one!
I hope Nintendo’s next console is a success. It’s sad seeing them embracing micro-transaction rich mobile games to supplement their usual income. On the plus side it may be amusing seeing people in public areas trying to nab virtual Pokemon.
I think micro-transaction are with us to say, no matter what we might think of them. It will indeed be amusing to see that, I remember trying to nab DenpaMen in the train, riding the wifi waves in the same way.