Nintendo and Niantic (developer of Pokémon GO) have announced a new partnership between the two companies. In a new blog post, Niantic says they are “honored that Nintendo has chosen Niantic to be its publisher of real-world AR applications.”
The new Niantic partnership with Nintendo will take advantage of Niantic’s real-world AR technology. All the while, it will be mixing it with Nintendo’s formidable cast of characters and franchises. The first game coming from the partnership is a Pikmin AR mobile app. The announcement says it will be published sometime later this year by Niantic. Pikmin 3 Deluxe is the most recent game in the franchise, which launched for Nintendo Switch last year.
The upcoming AR (augmented reality) Pikmin game is meant to “encourage walking and make walking more delightful.” Niantic says more details on this AR game will be revealed in the coming months. For now, the official artwork (top of this page) is all we get to see for the first game in the new Niantic parternship.
According to a Nintendo of Japan news post, famous game designer Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo Representative Director, Fellow) was quoted on the matter. He spoke exclusively about the Pikmin AR game:
“Niantic’s AR technology has made it possible for us to experience the world as if Pikmin are secretly living all around us. Based on the theme of making walking fun, our mission is to provide people a new experience that’s different from traditional games. We hope that the Pikmin and this app will become a partner in your life.”
Niantic is most well-known for the hit mobile game, Pokémon GO.
Niantic CEO, John Hanke, also commented about the new cooperation between his company and Nintendo in the previously mentioned news post. In it he discussed its implications for the future:
“As we continue to expand our games portfolio, it was a natural next step to team up with Nintendo. We’re looking forward to shaping the future of AR together, bringing Nintendo’s beloved game characters to life for mobile game players around the world.”
