Pokémon to Go Mobile

Niantic and Nintendo creating innovative new game app.

The Pokémon Company has collaborated with mobile game developer Niantic and Nintendo to bring its franchise to smartphones with the upcoming app "Pokémon Go."

Featuring groundbreaking, location-based technology, "Pokémon Go" will challenge players to search in the real world to discover Pokémon. The game will launch in the Apple App Store and Google Play in 2016.

“Our challenge was to develop a great game for smartphone devices that expressed the core values of Pokémon,” says Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and chief executive officer, The Pokémon Company. “'Pokémon Go' is the answer to that challenge.”

The Pokémon video game series has frequently used real-world locations such as the Hokkaido and Kanto regions of Japan, as well as New York and Paris, as inspiration for its fantasy settings. "Pokémon Go" will take that one step further, allowing players to catch, trade and battle in the real world by using geolocation technology. Players will explore their neighborhoods and communities to discover Pokémon alongside friends and other players.

Players will also be able to enhance their "Pokémon Go" experience with a new device called the Pokémon Go Plus. By pressing a button on Pokémon GO Plus, in-game actions like catching a Pokémon can be performed. Developed and manufactured by Nintendo, the Pokémon Go Plus will connect to smartphones via Bluetooth, and by flashing and vibrating, will notify players about events like the appearance of a Pokémon nearby.

“'Pokémon Go' is a wonderful combination of Niantic’s real-world gaming platform and one of the most beloved franchises in popular culture,” says John Hanke, founder and chief executive officer, Niantic. “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.”