Pokemon Company announce Pokemon in the real world - Pokemon GO

So, remember that April Fool's joke from Google last year? Well now, The Pokemon Company wants to make it a real thing:

And maybe it'll be cool? Generally I don't think the idea of walking around to random locations in the world to find fake Pokemon is that exciting (unless you're already in to Geocaching I guess), but the sequence at the end of that trailer with giant world bosses where everyone is required to meet up could be legitimately interesting.

This seems like it could be real cool for a whole bunch of reasons. One reason being given the popularity of Pokemon and the amount of kids (or just people in general obviously...) that have smartphones these days, this could be a genius way to get people active and outside. granted, this isn't exactly a new concept, but the fact that it's Pokemon makes me feel like it'll be a lot more popular and stay relevant for longer than other similar types of smartphone games. I can imagine some potential downsides as well (dropped phones and creepers creepin on ya kids), but, for the most part, it just seems awesome.

I was hoping the next one would be Adam Jensen Go, but I suppose this is cool too...

I haven't played a Pokemon game in over 10 years, but for some reason I'm very excited for this.

Why do they so grossly misrepresent the experience in these kinds of things? Seriously it's not going to be holograms and shit it's going to be you walking to a spot on the map and then playing a minigame on your smartphone. I'd be shocked if it even used any AR and certainly not for any battles like in this ad. Who do they think they're fooling with an ad like this?

Children. And they'll succeed.

I've played that Ingress game that the devs made prior to this, it also inolves you walking around to locations and "capturing" them by pressing the screen, it is NOT a good game....its barely a game at all. There is zero chance that the AR stuff will be utilised the way it is in the ad, we might get a still image of the monster floating around but its unlikely its going to be animated. Im interested to see how this comes out but it just looks like a Pokemon themed Ingress right now and that is one hell of a dull game idea.

I got a Machop! I also got stabbed!

The Real World: Pokemon?

"This is the true story... of seven strangers... picked to go on a journey...work together and have their lives taped... to find out what happens... when people stop being polite... and start getting real...The Real World: Pokemon."

Wait a minute, aren't you supposed to wear down a pokemon before you can catch it?

Please be good. Please be good. Please be good.

duh, it's obviously not going to be anything like the trailer makes it out to be but I don't need that. Hell I'll deal with the bare minimum as far as visualization. I just want the mechanics to be engaging. I want certain Pokemon to be available in only certain types of areas. I want the encounters and catching mechanic to be fun. I just want the idea to work and not be something half-assed and poorly realized.

The idea of this is so fucking cool.

Pokémon for HoloLens when?!!!!!! I mean, that's where this is headed right? AR Pokémon hologram bullshit?

Go to these awesome outdoor locations.... and stare at your screen!

That trailer...

Cockfighting is universal!

Fantastic idea. I really want it to work out and work out well.

Hey kid, wanna see my Snorlax?

this will make one hundred million dollars in the first month.

Whoa whoa whoa! Hold up! Are you guys suggesting it WON'T work like in the ad?

You can't think that's a worse idea than what people normally do, which is usually just sit at home... and stare at their screens!

Too bad it's just Ingress.

The ad seems like a solid depiction of how Pokemon could look in the next 10 years with VR and whatnot. Obviously the three seconds of actual footage wasn't very exciting. I probably won't play this unless I get a new phone and you don't actually have to travel.

I will say, if this gets me to go outside more often I might pick it up.

Also is this first indication of the Nintendo mobile stuff they announced a while back?

I wanna see a B-movie centered around a game like this with the final reveal being that they've been capturing people the whole time.

I would like to see this trailer from Mewtwo's perspective. "Honey I'm going out for a bit, gonna go check out time square, maybe get a hot dog!" And then they straight up lynch him. 12 Years a pokemon is the obvious 2nd evolution for this.

Also, what the fuck, you can't just catch a charizard by casually tossing a pokeball at him?! Gotta work that sucker down!

I swear if a 10 year old kid walks up to me randomly and challenges me to a duel I'm gonna lose it... with laughter.

@dan_citi: Seems so. Didn't like that game.

@i_stay_puft: that's when he stabs you to get your phone and yells "for Team Rocket"

I can't wait for people to get their hands on this only to realize 90% of every location is just full of zubats and geodudes.

That last 30 seconds or so sure did get pretty uncomfortable; just a crowd of people on the streets cheering as Mewtwo gets beaten up by a gang of Pokemon.

I'm gonna add to my original comment to say that the only thing I'm hoping out of this is for it to be comparable to geocaching but with pokemon and battling. That's really all I need from it!

The only technology I could even imagine providing an experience like in that advert that exists right now is HoloLens. So maybe when that Nintendo/Microsoft partnership kicks up we'll be golden?