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| (Image Source: Miketendo64.com/Nintendo) |
Globally-renouned Japanese video game giant Nintendo has partnered with Pokemon GO developer Niantic to develop mobile games that will utilize augmented reality (AR) technology, and their first joint venture will involve Nintendo's lovable half-vegetable, half-animal Pikmin characters in a game that is expectedly slated to launch sometime within the year.
Augmented reality (AR) technology allows images and animations to be superimposed on real-world view seen on the smartphone's rear camera. It was the major defining factor in the phenomenal success of Pokemon GO which has thrilled users across the globe with the appearance of Pokemon characters in their neighborhoods. According to Sensor Tower, Pokemon GO earned more than a billion dollars in just the first ten months of 2020. "Niantic's AR technology has made it possible for us to experience the world as if the Pikmin are secretly living all around us," said Nintendo representative director Shigeru Miyamoto in a press release. Also, according to the legendary gaming creator behind Super Mario and Donkey Kong, the Pikmin mobile game would be designed around "making walking fun".
“The deal could help address complaints among investors that Nintendo hasn’t been able to earn much from smartphone apps,” Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute, told Bloomberg News. “As we continue to expand our games portfolio, it was a natural next step to team up with Nintendo,” Niantic CEO John Hanke said in a joint press release. “We’re looking forward to shaping the future of AR together,” he added, without offering details on which other Nintendo characters might be in line for AR games. In the past, Nintendo was reluctant to let its characters venture outside traditional consoles and into the increasingly popular world of smartphone gaming. In recent years, it has released a string of mobile gaming titles including Super Mario Run and Mario Kart Tour.
Aside from its partnership with Nintendo, Niantic has also partnered with a number of mobile carriers around the world, including Globe Telecom, for Codename: Urban Legends, a multiplayer demo experience that offers a glimpse into the future of augmented reality (AR) and 5G networks. The game will leverage on 5G’s ultra-low latency and high bandwidth capabilities to deliver a deeply immersive, highly social AR experience. By teaming up, players cast magic spells to blast monsters and rescue mythical allies, including Doty, the original Niantic Explorer. Details on its release are yet to be disclosed, but it will be interesting for us to see how this would turn out when more 5G sites are being rolled out across different parts of the country.
