I will be getting a new phone just so I can get this. Just hoping they don't make it to hard to find a fair variety of Pokemon.

 

Am I the only one hoping this game causes gang wars? Where the physical locations of Dratini are guarded by cosplaying Dragon trainers?

I'm not really interested in the game, but I'm dying to see stories like this...

 

I'd hope not, but I could totally see that happen, ugh.

 

What's that other AR Google map game thing this company made called again? People were doing it with that.

I want to see the Samurai cosplaying bug trainers in Central Park assaulting people for trying to catch a Weedle.

 

Ingress. I started playing that game when it first released but it honestly became too much work after a few weeks playing. Hopefully Pokemon Go is better...

 

Beta testing announced for Japan

 

So what phones will be able to realistically run this? There's been so much back and forth on what this entails, I'm left slightly concerned.

 

Not 100% if this is accurate, but I've heard for the beta they are requiring:

"On ios you will need an iPhone 5 or later if you want flawlessly run this game. On Android you will need to be running 4.3 Jelly Bean (2013) or higher."

 

Footage leaked today of what may well be the game's beta

The lack of battling wild poke's in random encounters in this stage of development would be a total turn off for the fact that I'm really hoping that the reason you don't fight them is they're trying to get down perfect everything that isn't the part they've got right for the last 20 years.

 

It's still too early to say anything, as we don't have enough information.

I like the graphics tho.

 

Looks good to me, if I'm taking a nice walk on the beach and decide to scan for a Pokemon I might not always want a large battle. Half the appeal of this is finding random Pokemon in IRL locations.

 

It uses the camera. RIP, phone battery.

Still, greatly approve of the graphics. I have to admit, I thought it'd be a lot shittier than it looks so far.

 

That's a fair point. my daily walk is 3-4 miles along waterfront and through a big park nearby, so hopefully that means I'll have a rich variety of early monsters.

Spoiler

I'm worried they'll charge for Pokeballs [SPECULATION]

 

Spoiler

I reckon you'll get ingame currency every day for logging on, posting to facebook, and so on. You'll be able to use this to buy potions, pokeballs, and the basic status heals (antidote, burn heal, etc).

But you'll have to pay for anything more than the mos basic stuff - so great balls, super potions, full heals, etc.

If they make people pay for the pokeballs up front, then they'll probably lose a bunch of their younger audience, unless they make it pennies at a time, so a pokeball is like £0.05 or something. They want to get you hooked first, because remember: the first hit's free.

On top of that, there's no guarantee of a capture. If you buy £5 of balls, and they don't catch anything because the RNG doesn't smile on you, I know I'd end up ragequitting.

Aiming the pokeball to throw seems like it might be a challenge later. That Ivysaur was just standing there, but can you imagine trying to catch a pidgey flying around your head or something?

 

Yea, I'm glad battery life is a priority as I look for a new phone the way it looks.

Maybe with the aiming thing. Even the Charizard in the trailer wasn't moving when captured, so I guess we'll see.

Spoiler

I'd be pretty steamed if they charged for pokeballs outside of the top of the line ones + vanity ones, especially if it's tough to capture with the basic ones

 

Alright folks! time for the Big Shot Roundup!

That video is now confirmed, here's a big meaty explanation of what the game is (no monetization news) and some screens!

 

That actually sounds really cool.

Can't wait.

 

From the sound of things, it really is going to be just an Ingress re-skin with very minor changes. Maybe I just had too high expectations, but I'm disappointed.

 

Wait, we don't fight them to catch them first? BOOO! What about trainer battles? Do I HAVE to join a Team?

That sounds boring as hell, and I hate being forced to join any sort of team.

 

My worry is that assigning pokemon and pokeshops ("Also look for PokéStops located at interesting places, such as public art installations, historical markers, and monuments") will happen mostly in major cities, and nowhere else. It'd be a shitton of work just to handle assigning a single state worth of this, much less the entire US.