[Mobile] Pokemon Go for Android and iOS NEWS

Replying to #43

2016. 8. 22
Pokémon GO updated to version 0.35.0 for Android and 1.5.0 for iOSTrainers,Pokémon GO is in the process of being updated to version 0.35.0 for Android and 1.5.0 for iOS devices. Below are some release notes and comments from our development team.

• Implemented Pokémon Appraisal: Trainers will now be able to learn about a Pokémon’s attack and defense capabilities from their Team Leader (Candela, Blanche or Spark) to determine which of their Pokémon have the most potential for battle.
• We are still working hard on several new and exciting features to come in the future of Pokémon GO.
• Minor bot fixes

The Pokémon GO team

UPDATES
2016. 9. 2
Go out and explore with your Buddy Pokémon!Hi everyone,It’s been a busy summer and, in addition to battling bots and fixing bugs, we’ve also been busy working on some new features for our Pokémon GO Trainers. As you know, we recently released the new Pokémon Appraisal feature, which helps Trainers identify which Pokémon has the most potential for battle. Today we wanted to let you know about a new feature for the game that is just around the corner.The next addition to Pokémon GO will be Buddy Pokémon. You will be able to pick your favorite Pokémon from your collection to become your buddy, opening up unique in-game rewards and experiences. Buddy Pokémon will appear alongside your Trainer avatar on your profile screen, adding helpful bonuses such as awarding Candy for walking together. You’ll also have the ability to change your Buddy Pokémon at any time.We’ve got a lot more in the works this fall. Stay tuned here for all the details.Thanks,
The Pokémon GO Development Team

UPDATES
2016. 9. 7
HEADS UP!Trainers,We just revealed how we’re bringing Pokémon GO to Apple Watch on stage at the Apple event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.As you know, Pokémon GO is about blending gameplay and imagination with getting exercise and exploring the real world around you. Apple Watch will add a seamless way to interact with the game through easy trackers, haptic notifications and quick taps to keep playing. Additionally, the Pokémon GO app for Apple Watch encourages workouts with summaries of your activity, which fits in nicely both with Niantic’s mission to get you moving as well as with the way many people already use their Apple Watch. Pokémon GO will come to Apple Watch later in the year so stay tuned.In other news, we have also revealed a cool milestone for Pokémon GO. In the last eight weeks, Pokémon GO surpassed 500 million downloads around the world and players have collectively walked 4.6 billion kilometers, which is the distance from Earth to Pluto. That’s pretty far out. What these numbers really show are the power of an emerging genre of new games we call “real world games” and the appeal, of course, of the beloved Pokémon universe.Today the game is played in more than 100 countries and we are working hard to bring the game to many more. Most inspiring for us as we rolled out the game internationally has been the response from people of all ages and lifestyles describing how Pokémon GO has been a force for good in their lives. Thanks for sharing those stories, keep them coming.It’s GO time!The Niantic Team

2016. 9. 7
Pokémon GO Plus, JUST AROUND THE CORNERIt’s almost here! Nintendo and The Pokémon Company just announced that Pokémon GO Plus will be available in much of the world next week, on Sept. 16.Pokémon GO Plus is a companion device that connects to your phone over Bluetooth® Smart (the Bluetooth low energy connection designed for health and fitness applications), allowing you to keep your phone in your pocket and go about your day-to-day activities while still being able to collect valuable resources and capture even the most elusive Pokémon. We’ve been testing it here at Niantic and we love the way it allows you to blend Pokémon GO even more seamlessly into family and fitness activities. Now you’ll be able to play and enjoy your walk, run, hike, park trips or visits to the library without having to look at your screen all the time.As you pass by a PokéStop, Pokémon GO Plus will vibrate and light up and alert you to the location. You’ll even be able to collect new items just by clicking the Pokémon GO Plus. If there’s nearby Pokémon hiding in your area you’ll be alerted with lights and vibrations; catch the Pokémon with a button on Pokémon GO Plus and then continue on your way (later, you can check your Journal to see which Pokémon you’ve just caught).Pokémon GO Plus will be available on September 16, 2016 in most countries and later in the year in a few South American territories.The Niantic Team

UPDATES
2016. 9. 10
Buddy Pokémon and other updates in Pokémon GO version 0.37.0 for Android and 1.7.0 for iOSTrainers,Pokémon GO is in the process of being updated to version 0.37.0 for Android and 1.7.0 for iOS devices. Below are some release notes and comments from our development team.

• Implemented Buddy Pokémon: Trainers will now be able to choose one of their Pokémon to be their buddy. A Trainer can earn Candy for their Buddy Pokémon by walking a certain distance.
• Made it easier to select smaller Pokémon on the screen.
• Fixed an issue where Eggs would sometimes hatch without displaying the animation.
• Improved performance reliability when a device switches networks to no longer cause the application to hang or stop updating.
• Pokémon GO Plus support
• Minor text fixes.

We continue to focus on eliminating bots and scrapers from Pokémon GO. Rooted or jailbroken devices are not supported by Pokémon GO. Remember to download Pokémon GO from the official Google Play Store or iTunes App Store only.The Pokémon GO team

Police caution Pokemon Go developer

Tokyo police are urging the developer of the augmented-reality game Pokemon Go to give greater consideration to the spots where its characters appear.Police summoned the developer on Tuesday after hordes of players trying to catch a rare virtual character caused a commotion in Tokyo's Odaiba district on Sunday.Police officers rushed to the scene after receiving a number of reports that the situation was becoming dangerous. Several hundred players were there when they arrived.Video footage shows players walking in the street and ignoring traffic signals despite warnings by the police.A witness said it was a bizarre sight to see so many people obsessed with capturing the rare Pokemon.The Odaiba district is known as a place where rare characters frequently appear. Players have caused problems before, though rarely on such a large scale.The developer of Pokemon Go told NHK that it has called on players to make sure they are behaving safely. It said it will also step up its own safety measures.

Pokemon Go Battle Mode Teased
"Battling is a category that we do best at Pokemon, after all."
Eddie Makuch

Pokemon Go recently added a buddy system, but that may not be the only new feature coming to the wildly popular mobile game. The Pokemon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara told The Wall Street Journal that Niantic Labs is taking its time releasing new features for the game so as not to overwhelm newcomers.A player-versus-player battle system is on the company's radar. "Battling is a category that we do best at Pokemon, after all," Ishihara said. "It's important to really carefully consider any feature that may increase the difficulty and raise the barrier to entry for more casual users."


A trading system was also mentioned in the report, but Ishihara did not comment on this specifically. In July, Niantic Labs CEO John Hanke confirmed that a trading system was on the way, but he did not share any information as to when it might be released or how it would work. Similarly, we don't know much about how a battle system for Pokemon Go might play out or when it would arrive.Pokemon Go multiplayer has been in the works for a long time, Niantic's Archit Bhargava told GameSpot in July. Early tests are promising, but there is still much work to be done."The multiplayer aspect is still something we're exploring, we're still trying to figure out what's the best way to do that," Bhargava said. "So far we've learned that multiplayer battles are a lot of fun. When two people from different teams show up at a rival gym, if they collaborate and both have their Pokemon deployed to battle at the same time, they can take down a stronger gym faster.""But we're trying our best to rethink what the experience should be; what that real-world Pokemon experience should be like. Obviously we're learning from Ingress, but it's going to be a pretty different game. We have a vision for Pokemon, we're gonna execute on it, but we're gonna learn based on what the community reaction is."Also in the WSJ interview, Ishihara said he hopes to launch Pokemon Go in China and South Korea, but that could be a problem since those countries limit Google Maps.Pokemon Go launched in July and took the world by storm--it's reached a staggering 500 million downloads. Even The Pokemon Company was not expecting it to be such a hit, as Ishihara said the reaction was "10 times or even 100 times bigger than we expected." The game has also led to significant increases in Pokemon game and trading card sales.

UPDATES
2016. 9. 22
Pokémon GO updated to version 0.39.0 for Android and 1.9.0 for iOSTrainers,Pokémon GO is in the process of being updated to version 0.39.0 for Android and 1.9.0 for iOS devices. Below are some release notes and comments from our development team.

• Capture location: The location where a Pokémon was caught will now be displayed on their information screen.
• Pokémon GO Plus and Incense: Trainers can attempt to capture Pokémon they encounter from using Incense with the Pokémon GO Plus accessory.
• Minor bug fixes

We appreciate your continued support and have some exciting features and changes coming soon.The Pokémon GO team

2016. 10. 4
Pokémon GO available in thirty-one new countriesTrainers in Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Chad, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Egypt, Morocco, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania, Niger, Sierra Leone, Togo, fill your backpack and get ready for a hike!

2016. 10. 5
Earn a New Capture Bonus to Increase the Odds of Catching Rare PokémonTrainers,We want to give you a sneak peek of a feature coming soon to Pokémon GO. We are adding a new feature which grants a catch bonus when you earn medals based on catching certain types of Pokémon (Kindler, Psychic, Gardener, etc.). These new bonuses will give you a better chance of capturing Pokémon with a related type. For example, as you reach a higher tier for the Kindler Medal, your bonus to catch Fire-type Pokémon such as Charmander, Vulpix and Ponyta increases.Trainers can work their way to a new tier by catching many Pokémon of the same type. If a Pokémon has multiple types, your bonus will be the average of your bonuses for each type. For example, Pidgey is both Normal and Flying type. Your bonus in this case would be the average of your Normal-type and Flying-type bonuses.Look forward to this new feature coming soon!The Pokémon GO team

2016. 10. 6
Gym Training Just Got Easier...Trainers,As we continue to make improvements to Pokémon GO, we have made an enhancement to the Gym experience for Trainers of all levels. In an upcoming version of Pokémon GO, when training at a friendly Gym, Trainers will be able to bring six Pokémon to battle instead of one. In addition, the CP of the Pokémon you are training against may be temporarily adjusted lower during your training session to generally match your Pokémon’s battle capabilities.No matter what your level, you can now have an impact on your team’s Gym. Walk with your Buddy Pokémon to that nearby landmark and show your Team Leader that you can battle with the best!The Pokémon GO team