Earlier this week we reported on leaked footage that appeared to show the first real gameplay footage of Pokémon GO in action. Now, a press release from The Pokémon Company and Niantic – the developers of Pokémon GO – confirms that the footage was in fact real.
Now, even more details have been revealed about the forthcoming mobile title that tasks players with using their phones as augmented reality devices to hunt down and capture Pokémon all around the physical world.
From the press release, it sounds like Niantic is putting it’s history of geolocation and GPS tracking to good use. All Pokémon will be mapped to their logical environments in the real world. For example, if you were trying to capture a water type Pokémon, you can only find them near actual lakes and oceans in the real world. You can see some official screenshots of the game below, just click the images to expand for a better view.
Players capture Pokémon by throwing Poké Balls via their phone’s touch screen. These can be purchased at PokéStops that are located at landmarks and monuments around towns. Additional details regarding player progression, social features, and other content are detailed as follows:
As players progress through Pokémon GO, their Trainer level will increase, enabling them to capture more-powerful Pokémon and gain access to more items. Some Pokémon can be evolved if the same species is caught on multiple occasions. Pokémon Eggs, which can be found at PokéStops, will hatch after players walk a certain distance. Players will be able to impress their friends by unlocking achievement medals that are earned by completing a variety of challenges.
During gameplay, Pokémon GO players will be encouraged to join one of three teams and engage in Gym battles with other teams. Once they have joined a team, players will have the ability to assign their Pokémon to empty Gyms. Like PokéStops, Gyms can be found at real locations in the world, and because only one Pokémon per player can be placed at a given Gym, team members will need to work together to build a strong defense. A Gym claimed by one team can be challenged by the other two teams.
No release date has been set yet, but Pokémon GO will be coming to both the Google Play store and the iOS App store presumably at some point later this year.
