Pokémon is one of those franchises with a real niche audience, but this audience will be getting larger as it receives a huge gift with Pokémon GO. Unlike the Nintendo versions of this game, Pokémon GO is designed to be played on mobile devices, like the types that run iOS and Android, as it is a location-based game. Pokémon GO is being developed by Niantic, and it is a location based game where players go to real-life locations in order to find and capture their favorite pocket monsters (a translation of the original Japanese title). This is what is known about Pokémon GO release date and locations, and there might be more than you think.
One of the issues with a location-based game is that the user has to be in a certain physical place to do a virtual thing. This can be a problem for those who live in regions outside of the game, however, there is news from Vine Report that Pokémon GO will more than likely coming to a town near you.
Niantic, the team best known for Ingress, another location-based game, is also working with the Pokémon to make certain Pokémon GO is a terrific experience for its users. In fact, Niantic is working with Pokémon, Google, and Nintendo with $30 million in resources. The first $20 million are covering the upfront expenses and the additional $10 million is in "financing conditioned upon the company achieving certain milestones". These milestones are probably based on the number of players, and the best way to increase that is to create more locations.
More good news is that money provided could speed up the release date. So far, the only news of Pokémon GO's release date is "sometime in 2016", but this game, which will be released for iOS and Android, doesn't have the usual holiday release date that most console games attempt to make. Considering that the game will encourage its users to play outdoors, it would actually make sense to give this a spring or summer release.
Niantic Labs CEO, John Hanke, is very excited about the possibilities of Pokémon GO being used with Augmented Reality. According to iDigitalTimes, Hanke compared Pokémon GO to Vernor Vinge's award-winning novel Rainbow's End, about the world where people use Augmented Reality almost all the time to create a virtual world that they want to live in. Considering that we might be headed into an AR/VR age, Pokémon GO comes at an interesting time.
Players of Pokémon GO have the option of buying a Bluetooth wristband that looks like a Pokémon ball in order to appeal to their "GOtta Catch 'Em All" playing. The wristband is not required to play the game, but it will add a realistic element for those that are familiar with the comics, games, and television show.
