Latest 'Pokemon GO' News: Release Date Still Uncertain, As Game’s Global Scope Highlighted
"Pokemon GO" may not yet have an official release date yet, but latest news indicates that its developers are working hard to ensure that the highly-anticipated game will be worth the wait.
In an interview with Venture Beat, John Hanke, CEO of Niantic revealed interesting details about "Pokemon GO," as he also shared his views on how he thinks the game will revolutionize the mobile gaming industry.
According to Hanke, "Pokemon GO" takes its inspiration from "Ingress," an augmented-reality, location-based game he developed to promote exercise and appreciation of public art.
"We've learned a lot on those fronts with Ingress," said the San Francisco-based senior executive. "If we're going to build a game that works with location, it has to be fun for people anywhere to play..."
He explained that Niantic not only wanted to build a game which gave players a local feel, but at the same time, was also global in scope,
This concept will be at the core of "Pokemon GO's" gameplay whose release date still remains under wraps based on current news.
"If we designed something that only worked in San Francisco, it wouldn't be a real success," he continued. "We wanted it to work globally."
Asked on how Niantic, which is collaborating with Nintendo and the "Pokemon" Company to produce "Pokemon GO," intends to distribute items in the game, he explained that this will be determined by the location of the players.
"Pokémon will live in different parts of the world depending on what type of Pokémon they are," Hanke said, adding that, "Very rare Pokémon may exist in very few places. But you can trade."
The CEO is optimistic that "Pokemon GO" will be able to capture the imagination of fans with its innovative gameplay.
"This is the first time there will be a real Pokémon experience on a mobile phone," Hanke said. "Now Pokémon is available to, what, 100 times more people in terms of market potential?"
Followers of the popular "Pokemon" franchise got their hopes up that "Pokemon GO" might be gearing up for a February 2016 release date based on a YouTube video posted by a fan, reported Parent Herald.
However, this may be highly unlikely, as the game was only announced by Niantic in October of last year.
"It's speculated that the short period of time between the announcement and the alleged release date might make it impossible for the game to be ready," the online news portal said.
Fans will just have to stay tune on the latest news, as Niantic and its co-developers decide on a final release date for "Pokemon GO."