There has been a lot of talk about the upcoming “Pokemon Go” among fans of the franchise, and many are curious to see what the developers have come up with. The new gameplay style is something that many people want to see, and while there have been lots of rumors about the game, official information has been somewhat scarce. Now, we finally have a chance to see what the new title looks like, thanks to the first publicly released footage showcasing some gameplay aspects.
While the video isn’t an actual trailer but rather a recording during a presentation, it still managed to show enough of the game to get fans excited, and it successfully reignited interest in its release. It looks like the developers are on the right track, and “Pokemon Go” might have a lot of potential to breathe some fresh life in the “Pokemon” franchise.
In the video, we can hear John Hanke, CEO of Niantic, explaining some of the game’s features in more detail. There don’t seem to be any issues in the development right now, which is certainly good to hear. Hopefully that won’t change in the near future.
Soon enough, we should start getting some impressions from the game from actual fans, after the field test launch in Japan commences next month. The release schedule of the game was met with some criticism by some members of the community, but in the end the developers obviously can’t please everyone simultaneously. Plus, it would definitely benefit everyone if the studio is given a chance to polish the gameplay a bit more before making the game available to everyone.
The game itself isn’t all that’s planned for avid “Pokemon” fans, however. According to reports, the release will be accompanied by a special device tied to it. Called the “Pokemon Go Plus”, it will have a design similar to a typical smartwatch but with features focused on improving the game experience. Players will be able to receive real-time notifications about Pokemon that are lurking around them, and many players expect the device to make the experience very close to something that everyone who grew up with the franchise has been dreaming of.
It remains to be seen how much the device will be tied to the game itself, as well as if there are any other similar products planned to accompany the release of “Pokemon Go”. Some players have expressed skepticism towards the idea of requiring real-life hardware to make progress in the game, but others are more content with the situation and actually see this as a nice move by the developers.
One thing is clear though – the landscape of gaming is going to change very rapidly over the next few years thanks to the advance of virtual reality technology, and this will also impact the mobile market. Developers are already experimenting with the different ways the new tech allows them to make their games more immersive and exciting, and we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of how much games are going to change.
Some players even see it as highly likely that the future will have even more cases of games being tied to specific hardware. In the eyes of some, we are already moving in this direction with the advance of “companion apps” for games. Ubisoft are one of the studios that take this idea more seriously lately, but we’ve seen some mixed responses to their different implementations so far.