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Tag: Niantic

  • Pokemon GO announces new social features and raid updates

    Pokemon GO announces new social features and raid updates

    Pokemon GO developer Niantic has just announced new social features that will be available for players in a separate app they will need to download. Early this month, the company launched a social app experience in closed beta, which was only available for Ingress players.

    During the closed beta, the app allowed Ingress players to find other players by creating local communities, add and manage friends and other players across all Niantic titles, organize chats with friends in one place and coordinate raids, as well as create and share local events, farms, or meetups with reminders.

    All, or at least some of the most important features, will be available in Pokemon GO sometime in the next few months. They are meant to make communication between Pokemon GO players easier and let them discover new communities, as well as enjoy local raid battles.

    Additionally, starting this month, Mega Energy and Rare Candy XL will be available as rewards for completing local raid battle, which will make it easier to evolve and strengthen Pokemon. Furthermore, beginning on May 23, the shop’s 1 PokeCoin Event Box will no longer include Remote Raid Passes and will instead feature a rotating array of items.

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  • Pokemon GO still going strong, scores $5 billion in lifetime revenue

    Pokemon GO still going strong, scores $5 billion in lifetime revenue

    Well, what do you know? Even though we spent the past two years mostly locked up and homebound (pandemic and stuff), the AR game sensation Pokemon GO not only survived but managed to cross the $5 billion mark in lifetime revenue.

    According to a recent report by SensorTower, the AR title from Niantic has surpassed $5 billion from player spending since its launch back in 2016. The game remains vastly popular in the US, catching $1.9 billion, or 36.6 percent of its lifetime revenue in the country.

    People spending money on Pokemon GO seem to be almost equally distributed between Android and iOS, 52.8% and 47.2% respectively. The report also shows that the game generated $642 million in the first half of 2021, a 34% increase from the same period last year.

    Pokemon GO has been downloaded 632 million times to date, and there are no signs that the Pokemon craze will subside anytime soon.

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  • The most important Pokemon GO event returns in 2021

    The most important Pokemon GO event returns in 2021

    Niantic is confident that one of the worst epidemics in the last century is almost over, so it decided to greenlit its most important outdoor event, the Pokemon GO Fest. The company behind one of the most successful mobile games confirmed today that Pokemon GO Fest will return this year as a two-day global event from July 17 to July 18.

    Unfortunately, the studio did not reveal any information about the challenges Trainers will have to tackle, nor the rewards they’ll gain during the Pokemon GO event. However, Niantic did point out that 2021 marks both the 25th anniversary of Pokemon and the 5th anniversary of Pokemon GO, fans should expect some big surprises this year.

    Since we’re only three months away from the event, we doubt that everyone will be vaccinated, but that doesn’t seem to bother Niantic. The developer advises participants to “be aware of their surroundings and follow guidelines from local health authorities when playing Pokemon GO.”

    Niantic also warns that upcoming events are subject to change, so here is hoping that nothing very bad happens during the three months until the next Pokem

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  • Niantic increases Pokemon GO storage limit

    Niantic increases Pokemon GO storage limit

    Great news for Pokemon GO players, especially veterans who’ve played the game for a very long time, as Niantic has just announced another limit storage increase for its mobile game. This means that Trainers will now be able to catch and store no less than 3,000 Pokemon without having to transfer any of them.

    Keep in mind that you will still have to pay for the extra storage space, just like you did until now. Pokemon GO has a free storage limit of 300 Pokemon and 350 items, but you can purchase additional storage space up to 3,000 Pokemon and 2,500 items.

    Last year, Niantic increased the Pokemon GO storage limit from 1,500 to 2,000, and once again to 2,500 several months ago. Well, it looks like many players have already hit that limit forcing Niantic to further expand storage limit.

    In case you’re wondering how much it will cost you to hit the 3,000 Pokemon limits, you can do the math considering 200 Pokecoins will get you 50 slots (Pokemon or items). Of course, you can buy Pokecoins for real money or get them via in-game rewards and bonuses.

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  • Niantic confirms Pokemon GO online player battles are coming in 2020

    Niantic confirms Pokemon GO online player battles are coming in 2020

    Niantic has been planning to implement a PvP system in Pokemon GO for quite some time now. The new gameplay mechanic is not yet ready for prime time, but Niantic confirmed that online player battles are coming in 2020.

    At the moment, Pokemon GO players can only battle other trainers locally, but they can battle NPCs wherever. Starting next year, Niantic will add an online PvP mechanic that will pit players against each other no matter their location.

    The new PvP system will be called GO Battle League and will make its debut early next year. Just like many other Pokemon GO features, GO Battle League will encourage players to explore the world with Pokemon. Players will be able to walk in order to earn entry into the GO Battle League, then face other players from around the globe through an online matching system.

    No other details have been revealed by Niantic in the announcement, so it’s unclear what rewards winners will receive and whether or not climbing in the ranks of the league will award any prize. The good news is we’ll find out more in a special Dev Insights video that Niantic promised to share very soon, so stay tuned.

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  • Pokemon GO drops support for older Android smartphones

    Pokemon GO drops support for older Android smartphones

    Niantic, developer of Pokemon GO smash hit, has just announced it will discontinue support for older Android smartphones after July 1, 2019. There’s no reasoning behind the decision, so we can only guess that the numerous updates the team plans to deliver in the coming months will probably make the game unplayable on older smartphones.

    The bottom line is Pokemon GO may stop working on smartphones running Android 4.4 KitKat after July 1, or those using these devices won’t be able to download any new updates for the game going forward.
    We can’t see people upgrading their phones just to be able to play Pokemon GO, but we also have no idea how many players will be affected by Niantic’s decision to discontinue support for Android 4.4 KitKat smartphones.

    Pokemon GO is not the only game developed by Niantic that will be discontinued on the older smartphones. The company announced that the same applies to their other AR game, Ingress. The only recommendation coming from Niantic is to update the operating systems to Android 5 or above for uninterrupted access these two game, and that’s what we’re recommending as well if you still want to play Pokemon GO or Ingress.

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  • Pokemon GO’s best yearly event makes a return this month

    Pokemon GO’s best yearly event makes a return this month

    Last year, Pokemon GO kicked off a special event that soon became one of the most popular Niantic, the company behind the smash hit, has ever launched. The event called Adventure Week offered Trainers sweet rewards and the possibility to catch rare Pokemon for a very limited time.

    One year later, the event is back in full force, so if you’re still playing Pokemon GO, you’re in for a treat for the next week or so. The 2019 Adventure Week is all about rock-type Pokemon, but Niantic throws in a lot of bonuses as well.

    During the Adventure Week, you’ll be getting the following bonuses: 4x Buddy Candy, 10x XP on the first spin of each Photo Disc, 50,000 Stardust and 15 Rare Candies to all Trainers who have Adventure Sync activated and walk 50 km.

    Furthermore, specially themed Field Research tasks will be available for a limited time during this event. But these are just the bonuses that you can obtain, so here is what other rewards you’ll be able to get:

    • Rock-type Pokémon like Geodude, Rhyhorn, Omanyte, Aron, Lileep, Anorith, and many others will appear more frequently in the wild.
    • Hatch Rock-type Pokémon such as Onix, Larvitar, Lileep, Anorith, and Shieldon from 2 km Eggs.
    • Challenge Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon, and other Rock-type Pokémon in raids.
    • You may encounter a Shiny Onix, Lileep, or Anorith if you’re lucky!

    Pokemon GO devs announced that this year’s Adventure Week will run from today, June 4 at 1 pm through June 11 at 1 pm PDT.

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  • Pokemon GO support for Apple Watch gets the ax

    Pokemon GO support for Apple Watch gets the ax

    The folks at Niantic, developers of Pokemon GO, have always added support for new platforms and OSes when it was needed. The most recent announcement coming from the company does exactly the opposite though.

    It looks like Pokemon GO developer Niantic has decided to discontinue support for Apple Watch, which means that those using the wearable device will no longer be able to connect it to the game after July 1, 2019.

    According to Niantic, the change was needed because Adventure Sync allows Trainers the option of tracking their steps, earning Buddy Candy, and hatching Eggs in one mobile device rather than two separate devices.

    In other words, the developers want to focus on building Adventure Sync so that players will no longer have to split their gameplay between two devices. To continue tracking their distance, Apple Watch users will have to sync their fitness apps in their phones, which doesn’t require wearable devices.

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  • Pokemon GO Fest coming to USA this June

    Pokemon GO Fest coming to USA this June

    The folks at Niantic have gone a long way since their first Pokemon Fest, which was a total fiasco. After a more than decent 2018, the company is back with another series of Pokemon GO events that have already started earlier this year in South America.

    Today, Niantic announced three new Pokemon GO events are coming to three cities around the world: Chicago, Dortmund, and another city in Asia that will be confirmed later on. If you plan to attend the Pokemon GO Fest in the United States, you’ll have to plan your visit to Chicago between June 13-16

    In the following weeks, Niantic will offer details on how to purchase tickets to this summer’s biggest Pokemon GO events, so stay tuned for more info on the matter. Also, the company revealed that a number of Safari Zone events will be coming in the second half of 2019.
    More importantly, Pokemon fans who can’t attend these events for obvious reasons will have other ways to participate in Pokemon Go Fest no matter where they are around the world, so don’t fret if you can’t make it in person.

    Finally, it appears that Niantic has important things to announce regarding the upcoming worldwide Community Day events, so mark your calendars for the following dates: May 19, June 8, July 21, and August 3.

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  • NBTC sort of maybe bans Pokemon Go

    NBTC sort of maybe bans Pokemon Go

    Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission announced it would not ban Pokemon Go, then went straight ahead and asked Niantic for a de facto ban in practice anyway.

    NBTC Secretary General Takorn Tantasit held a press conference where he showed media the list of Pokemon-free zones he would demand from Niantic.

    This is the first time since Pokemon Go was launched that the NBTC correctly attributed Niantic to the hit game. All previous mentions by the telecoms regulator mis-credited Nintendo of Japan.

    The NBTC has ordered Niantic to, “remove Pokestops and not release Pokemon in the following areas: Dangerous areas – footpaths, railroads, railway, canal bank; religious places, temples, pagodas; schools and hospital; government and military buildings / properties; private places.”

    The NBTC also asked Niantic to ban all Pokemon in Thailand at night for safety reasons.

    It did not take long for social media to erupt in a storm of frustration and disbelief and point out the obvious that nobody in the NBTC had a clue how the game actually worked.

    Since Pokestops have a 40-meter radius (more for Pokemon themselves), banning Pokemon Go from the NBTC Secretary-General’s list would effectively be a total ban on Pokemon in Thailand except in royal palaces and the middle of safe, dry public parks.

    Nor did the NBTC’s letter mention Pokemon Gyms (where Pokemon battles are held).

    Adding to the confusion TrueMove has reiterated that it and it alone holds the rights to a forthcoming localized version of Pokemon Go and has already lined up 60 to 80 advertisers.

    True’s head of content Birathon Kasemsri told reporters that under Niantic’s contract with the Pokemon Company, Niantic would have to create a localized version of Pokemon Go exclusively for TrueMove.

    He said that True expected huge profits from advertising on everything from Pokeballs and items to clothing for the Pokemon Trainer avatars.

    Birathon said that the launch was still many months out as Niantic was still concentrating on the global launch of the game.

    Niantic did not respond to emails asking for clarification on the matter.

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