Looks like we’ve got some new updates on Nintendo and Niantic’s upcoming mobile title Pokémon Go! In a recent interview the folks at Venturebeat had with the Chief Executive, John Hanke, and the chief marketing officer of Niantic Mike Quigley, several details were revealed about how exactly the Pokémon world will be interacting with the real world. So let’s talk about those details.
By Jerry Maynard
1.) Pokémon Gyms
It appears that there will in fact be real Pokémon gyms to level up and battle your Pokémon in. What remains to be seen is whether or not there will be some form of badge collecting system or an elite four or Pokémon League to challenge at higher levels. This is still fun news however and will definitely provide some milestones and challenges to most trainers
2.) Catching them all will be REALLY HARD
For the first time ever, rare Pokémon will actually be genuinely rare and incredibly hard to come by. With the way the game is functioning Pokémon will actually be found according to your geographic location on planet earth and because of that you will only be able to find certain Pokémon based on where you live. Don’t despair though, there will in fact be populations of Pokémon found near all players of the game but it does mean that you may not find some of the rarer ones in your city or that your options are going to be limited according to where you are. For example Water types will generally be found in places near the water and not you know in the desert or near a volcano or in your local downtown city area. This doesn’t necessarily mean if you don’t live by the ocean that you will be screwed out of having a water type on your team but it does mean your options might be a little more limited if the only water source you can find near you is a lake or a pond.
3.) There will be events for trading and battling!
Niantic has hosted many events for its other GPS based game Ingress in which players can come to the same actual real world location and interact with one another and have several in game rewards and gain access to things in game that one would normally not be able to due to geographic limitations. Pokémon Go will continue this trend in exactly what would seem appropriate for a Pokémon game by having real world events where people can come together and trade various Pokémon with one another in order to finish out their Pokedex or create the perfect battling team or just to plain old trade until they obtain their favorite Pokémon. Since your Pokémon choices will be limited to the Pokémon that populate the areas you actually physically go to, this will prove to be a very vital tool to becoming the very best, like no one ever was.
4.) Real world locations like Historical Sites, Artwork or special local businesses are a big deal
John Hanke was very big on the idea of actually getting out in the world and seeing what’s out there and actually you know ….GOING OUTSIDE so he brought this attitude into Pokémon Go as well by at least making it seem like places such as historical monuments or various nooks and crannies in the cities where we live will serve a special purpose in helping us catch new Pokémon that we otherwise would not be able to find, perhaps even some of our favorite rare Pokémon as well. There even appears to be a pedometer system of some sort that measures how far people have walked and will result in specific payoffs for players in Pokémon Go!
Many of us couldn’t be more excited at all of this news (My friend and I have already set out to be each other’s rivals.) Pokémon Go! is proving to be incredibly revolutionary in the gaming world, which is nothing new for the adventurous Nintendo, and has many trainers on edge and itching to do what we all have done in the beginning of each and every Pokémon game to date: Step out into the great wide world and begin our own Pokémon journey. Well…that and kick team Rocket in the rear.
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