A new video of the eagerly-anticipated augmented reality (AR) game Pokémon Go has surfaced on YouTube, supposedly revealing what we can expect when it eventually releases.
Pokémon Go is gearing itself up to transition the incredibly popular Japanese gaming series from the Game Boy to mobile devices using the power of AR in the real world.
The game is being designed by Niantic, a game development company and former Google spin-out start-up that develops games within the rapidly-developing AR market.
As for what we know about its plans for the game, Pokémon Go would use a phone’s camera to project a Pokémon character on screen and then let the player ‘catch ‘em all’, with the first field tests for the game expected to get underway rather soon.
The concept of Pokémon in the real world was first really mooted back in 2014 when Google Maps decided to have a little fun and include some of the game’s characters in random spots around the world, calling on people to try and locate them.
Now, according to Kokatu, a video released on YouTube by user Eric F appears to show Niantic’s CEO John Hanke give a walkthrough and demonstration of how the game will actually work.
If it is indeed genuine, then it looks as if it’s exactly as you’d expect, with a player needing to venture into a surrounding area and hunt down a Pikachu or a Charmander and fling invisible Pokémon balls at them
The game is trying to be more than just an app for smartphones, however, with plans to release a smartwatch-like device that will notify the player when a Pokémon is nearby, as well as being a way to play the game via a Bluetooth-connected phone.
No specific launch date is confirmed so far bar it being this year, but it will be a freemium (free with in-app purchases) game on both iOS and Android.
A Deerling from Pokémon image via enchanted_fairy/Shutterstock
