Still gotta catch 'em all? The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, and Niantic today announced that a real-world adventure game for fans of Pikachu and other "pocket monsters" is coming to iOS and Android next year.
For two decades, gamers have been roaming real world-inspired landscapes—Japan, New York, Paris—capturing and training virtual Pokémon to fight. The upcoming Pokémon GO, however, takes users out of the digital game and into the physical world, using smartphone location information.
Players will explore their neighborhood, community, and beyond to discover Pokémon with friends and other users—supplemented by-app purchases.
"Our challenge was to develop a great game for smartphone devices that expressed the core values of Pokémon," Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company, said in a statement. "Pokémon GO is the answer to that challenge."
Staring at your smartphone, you may miss some monsters roaming the streets. Strap on the wrist-worn Pokémon GO Plus (left), though, and you can catch Pokémon and complete other in-game actions.
Developed and manufactured by Nintendo, the wearable connects to smartphones via Bluetooth, and flashes and vibrates to notify players about nearby Pokémon.
Junichi Masuda, Game Freak director of the Pokémon video game series, will contribute to the project.
"Pokémon GO is a wonderful combination of Niantic's real world gaming platform and one of the most beloved franchises in popular culture," Niantic Chief John Hanke said. "Our partnership with The Pokémon Company and Nintendo is an exciting step forward in real-world gaming and using technology to help players discover the world and people around them."
Google's Niantic is best known for augmented-reality mobile game Ingress, which utilizes GPS technology to fuel a science-fiction story. In March, reports suggested the popular title may be heading to the small screen.
Nintendo, meanwhile, has slowly been moving into mobile gaming, but its first games are not expected until March 2017.