I'm sure you all must have seen this today, but all the same... Remember the Google Maps Pokémon Challenge from April Fools' Day last year? Looks like that idea of catching pocket monsters across the globe is being expanded into a game. Mobile initiative spearheaded by The Pokémon Company Development by Niantic Labs - which until the recent Alphabet restructuring was an internal startup at Google's "Geo" Division. They are now an independent company Inspired by Niantic Labs' "Ingress" - an augmented-reality massively-multiplayer online role-playing location-based mobile game Free-to-play with microtransactions Junichi Masuda involved with development of the game, and considering ways of incorporating into the next Generation of games Not one of the upcoming Nintendo mobile games via the DeNA partnership. Nintendo is developing "Pokémon GO Plus" - a Bluetooh-enabled wrist device that's like a Pokéwalker meets the Apple Watch. Alerts players to nearby events, catch Pokémon without use of phone. Shigeru Miyamoto and the late Satoru Iwata involved with the development of the Plus device Somewhat of a spiritual successor to Pokémon Snap, according to Miyamoto Catch, battle, and trade What do you think? The Pokémon Company has not been opposed to mobile applications before, even just recently releasing a mobile port of Pokémon Shuffle. But this is different. Not a port or a dinky app, this is a new game. I do enjoy The Pokémon Company's 3DS freemium outings so far - Shuffle and Rumble World - but I don't know if I'd actively play this. I don't think I want to travel around - even around my block, just to play. Also, why the Plus device? My phone can vibrate and produce notifications. I don't get the need. And I was kind of bothered by how salesmanly Miyamoto came off today. That's not usually a role we see him in. (hey, Google, I'm still pissed I never got my Pokémon Master business card)
So first we get Super Mario Maker so Nintendo doesn't have to make another 2D Mario game ever again. Now the next Pokemon game exists in real life. It's as if Nintendo is trying to figure out how to end their franchises.
Except we know that the next Pokémon game is in development And no way Super Mario Maker is the last 2D Mario game. Nintendo's not going to throw away that money printer. And I'd imagine they might want to make a game beyond NES mechanics some day (like slopes)
I'm interested in this. It seems really cool! But the promo video was..... very much a promo video. People are getting super excited about this and I just feel like everyone's going to be really disappointed because there's no way the final experience we get is going to be anything like the PV. People are expecting to be able to hold their phone up in a camera mode and Pokémon will be overlaid on top of the scenery in augmented reality and... lol... no......... even if we had the technology to do that easily in a free app like this, it would drain your battery so quickly that it wouldn't be worth it. The final product is just going to be very different from the artist's concept we saw in the trailer and I hope people are prepared for that. >_>; I wonder what the microtransactions will be. Extra Pokeballs? Health regen? Items? Rare spawns? Well, the whole point of the app seems to be constantly checking it to see if there are any Pokémon nearby. Assuming it already uses your GPS positioning to tell if you're near one, that + data connection + a screen on (with lots of brightness because you're probably walking around during daytime) = horrible battery drain. (I know if I have to turn screen brightness up, that's what eats at my battery faster than literally anything else while I'm out.) So cutting that part out and allowing you to ignore the phone in your pocket until your wrist buzzes at you? I can see the demand for that. It'll be completely optional but I already know a lot of people who intend to get it. (I wonder if there'll be an app for the Apple Watch so that people who already wear a smart wrist device don't have to double up? Hmm.) Not to mention for us girls whose pockets are completely useless because that's how fashion has decided our clothing must be made, our phones have to go in our purses where we can't feel any vibration from them. A watch fixes that. :P
Yeah, that's fair. The need for the watch doesn't jump out at me because I can feel my phone vibrate and already check whenever I feel that. But, if you can't feel it, then yeah, that makes sense. For what it's worth, that's also a horrible trend I'm noticing in men's pants when I've been trying on new ones lately :\ My gigantic Nexus 6 sticks half out of the newfangled pockets
I'm not too sure how to feel about it yet but it seems okay. I'll wait for some more footage before I make any more judgements on it.
I don't think I'll be jumping the second it's released, but I'll get it when I get a smartphone. Also... Can't wait to catch my Bulbasaur!
