Nintendo announced a new mobile game called Pokémon GO last September. Developed by Niantic, the studio behind Ingress, the augmented reality game lets players find, capture and battle their Pokémon in a real world setting. While an official launch date has yet to be announced, Nintendo is kicking off a beta in Japan later this month.
The Pokémon Company and Niantic will be inviting users to field test Pokémon GO in Japan later this month. The Pokémon GO field test program will give users the opportunity to share early feedback and help improve the Pokémon GO experience.
Registration will be limited to local Japanese players who have either an Android or iOS device and a Google account. Niantic warns that not all applicants will be invited to participate. Those that are will have to keep the contents of the game confidential. Niantic also plans to expand the beta to other countries in the coming months but there are no specific details yet as to where and when.
There is no word on whether players will be able to use the the Pokémon GO Plus wearable to detect and capture nearby Pokémon. At this point, it appears though that the beta will be limited to the smartphone app.
Nintendo is expanding beyond its reach beyond gaming consoles with plans to release five mobile games by 2017.
Sources : Polygon // Niantic Labs