This has led to PokéStops and Pokémon Gyms being placed at dangerous or inconvenient locations, such as a now-deleted Gym at the Korean Demilitarized Zone and Bagram Airforce Base, which was abandoned by U.S. These locations were initially re-purposed portals from Ingress, Niantic's previous augmented reality (AR) game. PokéStops and Gyms are typically located at places of interest. Gyms serve as battle locations for team-based king of the hill matches. These PokéStops can be equipped with items called 'Lure Modules', which attract additional wild, and occasionally rare, Pokémon. Features on the map include 'PokéStops' and 'Pokémon Gyms'. Once created, an avatar is displayed on a map based on the player's geographical location. Augmented reality gamingĪfter establishing a game account, players create and customize their own avatars.

The game had over 147 million monthly active users by May 2018, over a billion global downloads by early 2019, and grossed more than $6 billion in revenue by 2020.Įncountering a Treecko while in the augmented reality mode the Poké Ball must be 'thrown' to capture it by tapping on the ball and flicking it up towards the Pokémon. Various governments expressed concerns about security, and some countries regulate its use. However, it attracted controversy for contributing to accidents and creating public nuisances. It is credited with popularizing location-based and AR technology, promoting physical activity, and helping local businesses grow due to escalated foot traffic. It was one of the most used and profitable mobile apps in 2016, having been downloaded more than 500 million times worldwide by the end of the year. Pokémon Go was released to mixed reviews critics praised the concept but criticized technical problems. The game launched with around 150 species of Pokémon, which had increased to around 700 by 2021. The game is free-to-play it uses a freemium business model combined with local advertising and supports in-app purchases for additional in-game items. It uses mobile devices with GPS to locate, capture, train, and battle virtual Pokémon, which appear as if they are in the player's real-world location. Pokémon Go (stylized as Pokémon GO) is a 2016 augmented reality (AR) mobile game, part of the Pokémon franchise, developed and published by Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for iOS and Android devices.

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