Pokémon Go Announces In-Game and Real Life Anniversary Events as Niantic Touts Apple's ARKit

[MacRumors]

It's just under a month until the one year anniversary of Pokémon Go, which began appearing on the iOS App Store in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand in early July of 2016. To celebrate the occasion, developer Niantic today revealed a few events coming to Pokémon trainers both inside of the game and outside, in the form of real-life Pokémon Go Festivals.

Starting off within the game, the Solstice Event will kick off next week on June 13 and feature Fire-type and Ice-type Pokémon prominently in the wild, increased XP bonuses for accurate Poké Ball throws, and Lucky Egg discounts in the shop. Further updates and events were left vague by Niantic, but the company said that trainers can look forward to a new update soon "focused on collaborative group gameplay."

Gyms will be temporarily disabled for a period of time to prepare for the Solstice Event, but the developer didn't specify when that will happen. Additionally, Niantic announced that its game has reached 750 million global downloads.

We're celebrating two amazing milestones--Pokémon GO's one-year anniversary and 750 million global downloads--and you're invited to join in on the fun! Over the next few months, we're hosting real-world and in-game events planned alongside some very exciting new features that will get you outside exploring the world with family and friends. Get ready for an action-packed couple of months!

Staying true to Pokémon Go's gameplay, Niantic also announced Pokémon Go Fest Chicago, which will encourage players to get outside and visit downtown Chicago's Grant Park on July 22 to participate in various Pokémon-themed activities. Tickets for the event, as well as more detailed information, will go live on June 19. Similar festivities will be held across Europe from June to September, as well as in Yokohama, Japan where a "Pikachu Outbreak" event will debut in August.

Earlier this week, Apple announced a new augmented reality developer platform called ARKit at its WWDC keynote, describing how the technology will generate more true-to-life AR interactions within games like Pokémon Go. At the Brilliant Minds conference in Stockholm this week (via Bloomberg), Niantic CEO John Hanke reinforced the idea that Apple's push into AR should not be taken lightly.

"I don't think anyone should bet against Apple," John Hanke said at the Brilliant Minds conference in Stockholm. "I personally think AR is going to be a really important next computing platform that can succeed the mobile phone. It's a few years off."

According to Hanke, the new and ARKit-backed version of Pokémon Go will be released this fall. During WWDC, Apple's senior vice president of Software Engineering Craig Federighi presented ARKit and the Pokémon Go update enhancements coming soon, stating, "The Pokémon is so real, he's right there on the ground. As the ball bounces, it actually bounces right there in the real environment. It's AR like you've never seen it before."

Article Link: Pokémon Go Announces In-Game and Real Life Anniversary Events as Niantic Touts Apple's ARKit

 

[macduke]

Can't wait for the twice daily updates from MacRumors as these events unfold. /s

 

[Scellow]

PokemonGO trend faded away, time to find something else

 

[scuac]

I hope they don't go and do something stupid like releasing exclusive (legendary) pokemon at these events. That will piss off the vast majority of their playerbase that cannot attend.

 

[Abazigal]

"I don't think anyone should bet against Apple," John Hanke said at the Brilliant Minds conference in Stockholm.

Perhaps the truest thing ever said.

 

[nburwell]

PokemonGO trend faded away, time to find something else

I was surprised to read that PokemonGO is still a thing in 2017.

 

[Jeremy1026]

I hope they don't go and do something stupid like releasing exclusive (legendary) pokemon at these events. That will piss off the vast majority of their playerbase that cannot attend.

Nintendo gave out event exclusive Pokemon at Premier Video Game tournaments, so its not unprecedented.

 

[sudo1996]

I think they had a chance to make this game great but totally did not.

 

[WRChris]

Go screw yourself niantic. You screwed up a sure thing.

 

[CrAkD]

PokemonGO trend faded away, time to find something else

If you say so. Myself and millions of other people still play every day. So don't speak for other people.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Can't wait for the twice daily updates from MacRumors as these events unfold. /s

Sounds like you're talking about iMore...

 

[CarlJ]

PokemonGO trend faded away, time to find something else

Yes, because nobody should enjoy anything unless everyone else likes it too. Individuality is okay as long as we all do it together.

(I bet most other games would love to have the number of active players PokemonGO still has.)

 

[Scellow]

Yes, because nobody should enjoy anything unless everyone else likes it too. Individuality is okay as long as we all do it together.

(I bet most other games would love to have the number of active players PokemonGO still has.)

My point was game news has nothing to do on macrumors, PGO was an execption because it was an iOS exclusive and worldwide hit, but one year later, right before summer again, this **** sound like a sponsorised article, and if it is one, macrumors has to mention it since they are based on the US

 

[mrchrisbee]

Im still enjoying Pokemon Go, the Mrs and I do a lot of walking so PG is often running down our batteries. Looking forward to whats coming soon.

 

[macduke]

Sounds like you're talking about iMore...

Don't really read much over there but MR was pretty bad about this last summer. This is probably true everywhere though, but it was just especially annoying here because they usually don't jump onto clickbait trends like that.

 

[danieleilertsen]

#14
Question, how often will ARkit be updated? Or will apple update the arkit all the time, as the codes etc behind the scenes get better?

 

[WRChris]

#14
Question, how often will ARkit be updated? Or will apple update the arkit all the time, as the codes etc behind the scenes get better?

No one here can answer that. Only Apple knows
[doublepost=1497469890][/doublepost]

Im still enjoying Pokemon Go, the Mrs and I do a lot of walking so PG is often running down our batteries. Looking forward to whats coming soon.

You must live in a city if you are still playing this turd sandwich
[doublepost=1497470078][/doublepost]

Yes, because nobody should enjoy anything unless everyone else likes it too. Individuality is okay as long as we all do it together.

(I bet most other games would love to have the number of active players PokemonGO still has.)

It's not okay that some people can enjoy it and others can't. I want to have as good of a chance as anyone else and the game penalizes me because I don't live in a densely populated area.

Niantic are not good at making and supporting software. The Pokémon company should pull their rights and let gamefreak make it correctly.