Niantic, the creator of Pokémon Go and Ingress, is collaborating with Nintendo on new apps that will integrate augmented reality (AR) technology and the library of Nintendo characters. A Pikmin-based augmented reality game will be released first as part of the agreement.
Niantic’s version of Pikmin, according to a news release from Nintendo on Monday, would have gameplay that “encourages walking and makes the activity more fun.” In 2021, the app will go live. The Niantic Tokyo studio, which was founded in 2018, is creating it.
The director of Niantic Tokyo Studio, Tatsuo Nomura, stated on Twitter that the game would be substantially different from “Pokémon Go.”
According to John Hanke, CEO of Niantic, “as we continue to extend our games portfolio, it was a natural next step to link up with Nintendo.” We’re excited to work together to shape the future of augmented reality while bringing the world’s most adored video game characters to life for mobile game players.
Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo continued, “Niantic’s AR technology has enabled us to view the world as if Pikmin are quietly alive all around us. “Our objective is to give people a fresh experience that’s different from typical games, based on the notion of making walking fun. The Pikmin and this software are meant to work together in your life, we hope.
The Pikmin franchise, which debuted on Nintendo’s GameCube in late 2001, will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year. In the fall of 2020, Nintendo will rerelease Pikmin 3, a Wii U game, as Pikmin 3 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch.
With the 2016 release of Pokémon Go, Niantic significantly increased the popularity of its Ingress AR game platform. In addition to creating or collaborating on titles based on the Catan board games and a Pokémon Go companion called Pokémon Sleep, the business debuted a new augmented reality game based on the Harry Potter IP in 2019 called Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
In recent years, Nintendo has dabbled with mobile games to varying degrees of success. Super Mario Run, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Fire Emblem Heroes, Mario Kart Tour, Dr. Mario World, and Dragalia Lost are among the mobile games offered by the company.
