Augmented reality Pokemon game announced for iOS/Android. Coming 2016

This morning, The Pokemon Company held a press conference in Japan where they promised they would talk about a new “business strategy” for the series. It was infact the first time The Pokemon Company held an official conference to announce news. That promised turned out to be true…

The reveal was Pokemon Go – and augmented reality Pokemon MMO for smartphones. It was instantly made clear that the late Satoru Iwata was originally involved in the project from the start, and also highlighted that Pokemon Snap was a direct inspiration. Although certain Pokemon games have appeared on mobile before, Pokemon Go (which will hit iOS and Android in 2016), is one of the more fully featured efforts to hit the platform. The game is a collaboration between Nintendo, Niantic, and of course The Pokemon Company.

The game will combine Pokemon collection with real world locations, so people can go out into the world and collect Pokemon during the course of their normal day. An example used during the press conference was catching Pikachu at the Eiffel Tower – although I am sure Pikachu will also show up at other locations around the world. He’s not suddenly French.

Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company comments

“Our challenge was to develop a great game for smart phone devices that expressed the core values of Pokémon. Pokémon GO is the answer to that challenge.”

John Hanke, founder and CEO of Niantic comments

“Pokémon GO is a wonderful combination of Niantic’s real world gaming platform and one of the most beloved franchises in popular culture. Our partnership with The Pokémon Company and Nintendo is an exciting step forward in real-world gaming and using technology to help players discover the world and people around them.

Alongside Pokemon Go, is Pokemon Go Plus, which is a Bluetooth connector used alongside the game, so players will not have to keep a close eye on the game at all times whilst walking around. Pokemon Go Plus will simply vibrate when it senses something is happening in game, so players can then pull out their smartphone, and proceed to catch or battle Pokemon.

It is believed Pokemon Go will share many gameplay traits with Ingress (by Niantic) on iOS and Android. If you want to have some idea what Pokemon Go will be about, you could try that game out now.