For fans, a Pokemon game for mobile devices is considered long overdue. The popular console game has never been ported into Android and iOS platforms except for a mini game called Pokemon Shuffle, available in the App Store.
However, the situation will soon be rectified as The Pokemon Company announced that it is developing a new mobile game called Pokemon Go.
Pokemon Go follows the core values of Pokemon wherein players catch, trade and battle pocket monsters, Nintendo said in a press statement. The most interesting feature, however, will be the input of Niantic Labs, a partner in the game development.
Niantic was part of Google, until it became independent during the recent reorganization that saw the founding of the Alphabet. It is perhaps best known for its game, Ingress, which allows its players to explore real world locations. The company's technology will be integrated in the Pokemon game. The concept will utilize Niatic's location-based backend to catch, trade and battle monsters in real world, according to Engadget. The released teaser video (see below) demonstrates a potentially exciting and immersive game.
Pokemon Go has been under development for two years, according to Tzunekazu Ishihara in a report by The Verge. It was reportedly a pet project of the late Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata. It will be released next year, 20 years after the original game was first released. It will also come with a Pokeball-like Bluetooth wearable smartband, that will alert the owner if they are near a pocket monster, Pocket-lint reported.
