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Pokémon Go beginner's guide: How to get started in 2024
Start your Pokémon GO journey with a handbook that won’t go out of print
Niantic's Pokémon Go is one of the best Android apps to bring outdoors. Since the app's release in 2016, Pokémon Go has sent Pokémon trainers into the wild (also known as our backywards). Thanks to its steady monthly earnings, the game has stayed afloat with new updates and features. As new generations of Pokémon get added, Pokémon Go sees a healthy amount of installs to attract new prospective players. Even today, you won't find another AR-based game like Pokémon Go.
Pokémon GO has been an unstoppable force in gaming for the past seven years, generating millions of dollars for its developer Niantic by using the surgical application of FOMO to drive Pokémon fans to spend their real-world cash on in-world PokéCoins. As with any free-to-play game, you don't need PokéCoins to play the game, but having them will ensure you have a more enjoyable experience, allowing you to purchase items that are difficult (if not impossible) to obtain through regular gameplay.
Pokémon Go's success looks like a fluke Niantic will never replicate
Niantic's latest string of flops have failed to capture the magic of its 2016 hit
In 2016, Pokemon Go hit our mobile devices with the force of a nuclear bomb. In its first quarter, people downloaded the game 226 million times, turning Niantic from a relatively unknown developer to a household name. Aiming to capitalize on Pokemon Go's success, it partnered with recognizable franchises like Catan, Harry Potter, Pikmin, and Marvel. Unfortunately, nearly all these projects were canceled during or shortly after release. Today, Niantic's success with Pokemon Go seems like a fluke.
Niantic's augmented reality juggernaut, Pokémon GO, is an unstoppable phenomenon at this point. Between nine generations, over 1,000 pokemon, and numerous monthly events, Niantic always has something new to drop on us. To make the most of your Pokémon GO experience, you need to equip yourself with some in-game items like Potions and Star Pieces. Normally, to get your hands on these kinds of goodies you'd have to spend some coins at the in-game store or wait for a level-up reward, but if you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you have access to another source of items via Amazon Prime Gaming. And before you go out to use those new items, don't forget to get yourself a nice power bank.
Niantic's Pokémon Go companion app, Campfire, ignites confusion instead of convenience
Niantic wants players to use two different apps to raid in Pokémon Go
Not content with its recent uninspired release of Peridot (a feeble attempt at recapturing the glory days of Pokémon Go), Niantic, in its seemingly limitless capacity for recycling old ideas, has brought us another baffling development decision. Amid a storm of less-than-spectacular releases and a seemingly stagnant innovation culture, Niantic, the creator of the phenomenal Pokémon Go, has introduced its latest brainchild — Campfire.
Niantic is making a Pokémon Go clone with the Monster Hunter franchise
The Pokémon Go developer is aiming for a 2023 release date
Niantic's business strategy remains the same as ever. Gain rights to a popular IP, release an AR game using the Pokémon Go formula, and cross its fingers. From the dizzying success of Pokémon Go to the relative failures of every subsequent attempt thereafter, Niantic has touched on everything from Transformers to the NBA. Announced today, Monster Hunter will be the next franchise to be given the AR treatment by Niantic.
Pokémon Go starts sidestepping the Play Store for coin sales
Players may soon get better deals on PokéCoins thanks to the new Pokémon Go Web Store.
Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store are the two biggest mobile app stores around, and a major source of revenue for both companies. Anyone releasing a commercial app must pay Google and Apple a commission not just for each sale, but any IAPs and subscriptions, too. Unsurprisingly, both companies have aggressively protected that revenue source, as Fortnite creator Epic Games learned when it tried to circumvent Apple and Google's rules. Now Niantic, the maker of Pokémon Go, is taking a page out of Epic's book, rolling out its own store to bypass Apple and Google's cut of any purchases.
How to transfer your Pokémon Go collection to Pokémon Home
Here's how to find a new home for your favorite Pokémon
Niantic is not generous with our Pokémon Go storage space, granting a measly 300 spots when you start the game, pressuring you to increase storage space by buying into the premium upgrade packs. With over 700 Pokémon in Pokémon Go and 900 registered in the data, those 300 spots fill up quickly, and this doesn't count the special editions you get every seasonal event.
Pokémon GO Eeveelution guide: How to evolve to the best forms
Go from Oak’s afterthought to the top of the Masters Eight
Although Pikachu may have stolen the hearts of elementary schoolers everywhere in 1996 to become the face of the Pokémon franchise, Eevee embodies the core mechanics of the game. Eevee may appear to be a mundane normal-type Pokémon at first glance, but what makes it special is its ability to evolve into different, more powerful forms with specialized strengths and attacks.
Pokémon Go players on Android will end up paying for Apple's price hikes
In-app purchase pricing across ecosystems is inexplicably linked
Pokémon Go developer Niantic won fans over during the pandemic by lessening the requirement to catch from home. The developer has since faced backlash from loyal fans of the game as it restored mechanics to pre-pandemic levels. Now, Niantic finds itself in the thick of more backlash for tying an in-app price hike across Android and iOS in response to the recent change in Apple’s App Store pricing tiers.
Niantic's upcoming virtual pet AR game sounds like Pokémon GO crossed with Pikmin Bloom
You'll raise and breed adorable creatures
Niantic has just announced a brand-new collection-based augmented reality game. Seeing that this is just about the only style of game the developer creates, it comes as no surprise. What is surprising is that there's no brand attached; this is a fresh creation directly from Niantic, known as Peridot, and it would appear that pet rearing is a focus. Peridot offers Tamagotchi-like mechanics where you'll raise and unlock new forms of adorable pets, combined with daily walks, and it will enter soft-launch on Android and iOS sometime soon.
Pokémon GO reverses course: You'll be able to hit that Pokestop from the other block again
The boosted distance for gyms and stops is here to stay
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pokémon GO developer Niantic was met with a conundrum: how do you keep people playing a game that's all about going outside and congregating in specific places when doing so will literally kill people? Among other player-friendly changes, the company boosted the distance it took to activate stops and gyms from 40 meters to 80 meters, making it a lot easier to hit from across the street (or the parking lot).
Registration is open for early access to The Witcher mobile game
The developers say they'll be selecting players at the end of April
It's been eight months since CD Projekt announced that it's working on an augmented reality mobile game set in its beloved Witcher franchise. Think Pokemon Go, only with a lot more swearing and murder. The developers say that the game will hit Android in an early access soft launch this summer, and you can apply to be a beta tester now.
Pokémon Go plans to keep players around by increasing level cap to 50
Plus leveling up will be easier for newbies
Pokémon Go might not be as popular as it once was, but there are still plenty of trainers out there catching 'em all. Now the game has announced tweaks that should help make the leveling up process more fun than ever, as well as allow for players to reach up to level 50 — although that won't be easy to do.
Pokémon Go now lets you transfer your pocket monsters to other games
Your critters can now be moved to Pokémon Sword and Shield
Pokémon Go might not be as popular as it was at launch, but it still has a massive player base across Android and iOS. However, you've never been able to transfer Pokémon caught in Go to other games, even though official transfer tools (starting with Pokémon Bank) have existed for years. Thankfully, that's finally changing.
Pokémon Go removes some temporary bonuses introduced due to COVID-19
But other lockdown changes are sticking around
Remember Pokémon Go? The global phenomenon came to Android in 2016 and was downloaded from the Play Store over a million times in a single month. Players have kept on "catching 'em all" since then, with Niantic making some temporary changes to the game earlier this year due to the pandemic. Now it looks like some of those changes are going permanent — but others are vanishing faster than a wild Rattata.
Taiwan's Pokémon GO Grandpa is back with 64 phones mounted on his bike
Forget the game, watch where you're going!
The legendary Pokémon GO Grandpa — known for biking the streets of New Taipei City, Taiwan, with his "peacock of phones" — has gone public with his biggest, baddest rig yet. In 2018, he had 15 phones mounted to his handlebar. This year, he's up to 64.
While Apple phased out the use of 32-bit applications on iOS back in 2017, Google still has millions of 32-bit Android phones and tablets to support. That hasn't stopped some games and applications from dropping 32-bit devices though, and now Pokémon Go is phasing out compatibility with older phones.
Pokémon will soon be able to hide behind real-world objects in Pokémon GO
The feature will be tested with a random selection of gamers in June
Pokémon GO might not be as popular as it used to be, especially amid a pandemic that has many of us staying home as much as we can, but the company behind it is nevertheless working on improving the game. As such, Niantic has announced that it will start testing reality blending next month, which will allow Pokémon to hide behind real-world objects that block your view, just as though they were real.
Returning to Pokémon Go in 2020: What's new, different, and improved
If you gave up in 2016, maybe now is the time to come back
The summer of 2016 was a strange time to be outdoors. Every public space was jam-packed with people playing Pokémon Go. After the initial hype died down, Niantic continued adding new features, and the experience is very different today. With many of us at home and looking for ways to pass the time, there's an understandable desire to return to the familiar. However, it can be daunting to get back into Pokémon Go after four years of changes. There are tons more Pokémon, a completely revamped gym system, and even remote raids. Here's what returning Pokémon Go players can expect in 2020.