Pokémon GO !

Pokemon GO !

The Pokémon Company has announced a new mobile game called Pokémon Go, produced in collaboration with Nintendo and Niantic, the former Google subsidiary behind the Ingress augmented reality game. Pokémon Go looks to follow in the footsteps of Ingress, letting players find virtual Pokémon and do battle in the real world, powered by GPS. Niantic broke away from Google after the Alphabet reorganization.

Nintendo is developing a companion smartwatch device called Pokémon Go Plus, designed to help you take part in the game's world without having to stare at your phone all day. The Pokéball-shaped device will vibrate and light up when you get near to a Pokémon in the real world. Tsunekazu Ishihara, the CEO of The Pokémon Company, said in a press conference today that he'd been working on Pokémon Go with late Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata for around two years.

Pokémon Go will be available in 2016 for iOS and Android — 20 years after the original Pokémon games. The game will be free to play, with various in-app purchases available. A price for the Pokémon Go Plus watch hasn't been set.

The GAME

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!