'Pokemon Go' Beta, Trailer & Release Date: Location Changes, Shared 'Ingress' Functions, MMO Events & More! [Rumors]

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Dec 21, 2015 04:30 AM EST

Ever since "Pokemon Go" was announced by Nintendo in 2014 together with their partnership with Niantic, the anticipation among gaming fans to try out the tech company's very first mobile game has been growing. Despite this, Nintendo has been keeping the game's details under wraps until recently.

"Pokemon Go" game developers John Hanke and Mike Quigley recently talked with Venture Beat to discuss game elements that should answer some of the assumptions by fans. In it, Hanke and Quigley confirmed that the game will be tied to actual geographic locations of the players, where certain Pokemon characters can only appear. "Water Pokémon will live near the water. It may be that certain Pokémon will only exist in certain parts of the world. Very rare Pokémon may exist in very few places," said Hanke in the report.

Trading will be a huge deal in "Pokemon Go" because of its gameplay, which would make interaction among other players a lot more exciting. Trades can also be done during events, which will usually happen every Saturday. The developers are actually taking cues of the gameplay from "Ingress," which Niantic developed for mobile devices before their Nintendo partnership, per IGN.

Players can join teams, either as heroes or villains, to be able to participate in the MMO events. Comic Book noted that this was already hinted during the first teaser released for "Pokemon Go," which showed dozens gamers trying working as a group to capture a Mewtwo located in Time Square.

Those familiar with "Pokemon" on the console might have to make a few adjustments playing the game on mobile, though, especially when Nintendo plans to release "Pokemon Go" in a separate gadget called the Pokemon Go Plus later on. "It's more limited, but it's heads-up gameplay," said Hanke, in explaining its usability and "Pokemon's" functionality compared to other devices. "It's very slightly bigger, a bit heavier, but this is pretty much the size of it. It comes with a bracelet so you can wear it like a wrist device."

The bracelet is still a prototype and there are still no confirmed dates for its release. For now, Nintendo and Niantic are putting their heads together to beta test and complete the development of "Pokemon Go" for the mobile, which might be released during the game's 20th anniversary next year, per Yahoo News. It's worth noting that "Pokemon" first came out in Feb 1996, per the official site.

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