Niantic has gone from being a near-unknown to one of the most famous developers on the planet thanks to the astonishing success of Pokémon GO, the monster-catching smartphone app which the company developed in conjunction with The Pokémon Company.
Niantic's previous release, Ingress, laid down the foundations for Pokémon GO and the two share some of the same real-world data. Speaking to Game Informer, Niantic CEO John Hanke explained that the firm is already working on other projects which will adopt the same approach, building on what has gone before:
That's always been our strategy to build up a platform underneath a game that can be used for other games, and frankly other experiences that may not exactly be games, but are still within that area of exercise, discovery, and social interaction.
The Niantic platform is very much a part of our long-term vision and we have some projects that are in the early stages now that will be built on top of it so you can definitely expect to see that from us in the future.
Despite new projects beginning development, Hanke was keen to stress that Pokémon GO isn't going to be left behind. Niantic has already confirmed the new buddy system, as well as the introduction of trading and general improvements.
Hanke also acknowledged that Pokémon GO's success will attract copycat games, and welcomed the competition:
I think it's healthy. There is definitely room for multiple successful games in the category. I think it is a really fresh area for game designers, developers, and publishers to explore with new kinds of gameplay. It's an area where there can still be a ton of innovation.
It's a positive step for everyone to bring games out into the real word and give people the motivation, the excuse, to get out, get some exercise, see new places, and hopefully have good healthy interactions with other human beings.
Despite a dip in daily active users, Pokémon GO has now passed the $440 million marker after less than two months on the market, which suggests that previous predictions that it could earn $1 billion in 2016 may yet prove to be correct. It has been downloaded more than 180 million times worldwide.
[source gamespot.com, via gameinformer.com]
Comments 28
F#!*k PokemonGo. Sun & Moon is were its at.
Pokemon madness...
Wonder if Sun and Moon after released...
Now now. Finish your current project before you start on 20 other things.
If they were at the stage where they were just adding extra bits into Pokemon GO, then I'd be happy to see them moving on to other projects... but they're not at that stage yet... we're still waiting for features that should have been in the game from the start.
"We have some projects that are in the early stages now"
Pokemon Go 2 - Johto
Pokemon Go 3 - Honnen
Pokemon Go 4 - Sinnoh
Pokemon Go 5 - Unova
Pokemon Go 6 - Kalos
Pokemon Go 7 - Aloha
Obviously.
... This really means nothing. A company can plan out future projects without forgetting about the one they have.
I hope they are not just working on games, but also on growing and improving the "Platform underneath" that they are so proud of.
Their system with Ingress and Pokemon Go is definitely charming for mobile apps, but right now it's way too unbalanced with big cities having almost too much contenent and everywhere else be a desert.
Nintendo share price up nearly 5% today in Japan after a 2% increase yesterday!
@Equinox probably more like one fifth, everything is probably split between Niantic, Google, Nintendo, Gamefreak and Creatures
@Sanangelo89 can't we all just get along
Pokemon WENT
@Mega_Yarn_Poochy True but a small company only has so many resources. Pokemon Go was released in what seemed to be Beta (or even Alpha), the game lacks many features they said it would have and there are still tons of other things they could do to expand and improve the experience.
This news means that they only put a few resources into Pokemon Go, even at full force they were incompetent so take that how you will.
Anyway, I stopped playing Pokemon Go quite some time ago. It was a refreshing experience that quickly became tedious and annoying (like every F2P phone game I've played). I understand how these games can be fun beyond that for people who don't own a dedicated handheld/console but I still see F2P as a flawed concept that always ends up screwing the player.
@gardevoir7 Not how mobile game development works. Successful games are never finished. They only get abandoned when they stop making money. Pokémon Go will have plenty of resources put into updates while other games are developed on the side. The good news is that they want to build those games on the underlying technology for Pokemon GO so it means that improvements to the infrastructure and as others mentioned the geographical spread of poi, will benefit GO players and the newer games (sounds like a fitness app might be next which is a good call)
@Sanangelo89 Tell us how you really feel, but don't diminish the fact that Pokémon GO is going to make Sun and Moon way more successful and give a boost to the IP like hasn't been seen before.
Work on improving your current projects before you start moving onto other things, Niantic. From what I understand, a lot of work still needs to be done to the game itself.
Making Pokemon Go available on other platforms besides iOS and Android would be nice, too.
@rjejr You got two of the region names wrong, but that doesn't matter... I've been thinking the same thing since before Pokemon GO was even released.
@plug313 don't forget Apple
@Mega_Yarn_Poochy Not entirely true... in order to plan and work on new projects, they need to devote resources to development. Diverting resources impacts current projects, whether it be money or personnel. Given that they claim to have been caught off guard and overwhelmed (as were their servers) by the magnitude of PGos success, they are already stretched thin. They may have the revenue to divert funds and maybe they'll build new teams for these other Apps, but it sounds like they are relying on their core talent and existing platform.
It's been said above, but I have to add my voice; stop the madness, Niantic. I could care less about your 'success'... Pokemon Go is a mess and has been nothing more than a glorified public beta since day freakin' one. On top of the server issues, glitches, balance madness and broken tools, you've nerfed you own freakin' game more than once and have been unreasonably heavy-handed with bans and the like. Get your house in order, figure out how to make Pokemon Go stable and balanced and better than beta quality and then roll out your new features when they too are actually ready for prime time. Only then should you be looking to move on and divert development resources. How can you build on a borked platform?
@Dakt Pokemon Go 3: Go Hard with a Vengeance?
Making it rain!
They need to add hoenn pokemon
@KTT It's an unfortunate pressure of the churn of new games and the free to start models. The alternative traditional model the game is finished when it is released. There are trade-offs.
All online games, even if they are finished when released, have to eventually cease when players dwindle or at least hand the reigns of server costs to players. Even when servers are maintained over years, it is in support of a tiny group of people that can scarcely get together at the same time to play.
@DragonEleven I don't play Pokemon, I was asking my kid on the couch in the other room and he was just randomly shouting them out at me.
@RoomB31 ofcourse, you seem like a nice person☺☺. Still, screw PokémonGo. The only thing nice about it is that it brought Pokemon back in the popculture spotlight. Besides that it doesnt reflect the essence of the franchize at all.
@aaronsullivan " Tell us how you really feel, but don't diminish the fact that Pokémon GO is going to make Sun and Moon way more successful and give a boost to the IP like hasn't been seen before."
I highly agree with you on that. Its gonna boost the IP with the biggest Rocket ever and im glad to see that happening. Im not diminishing anything.
Still screw the game😊. We shoulnt diminish the fact that the game sucks compared to main games😝😛.
Not trolling or anything, actually didnt expect people to respond that seriously on my comment. Lets just say there's a lot going on with Nintendo right now that excite me.
@Sanangelo89 Agreed, but it was never meant to, it did what it set out to do, re-introduce people to Pokemon, and make some money at the same time, it was fun for a week, but I haven't gone back since, instead I finished Y (finally) and picked up OR, so for me it worked in getting me excited for the series again.
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