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Niantic Labs’ upcoming augmented reality adventure game for iOS and Android devices was set to have its presentation at the Game Developers Conference later this month; however, according to the event schedule this is no longer the case.
The presentation was due to be given by Niantic CEO John Hanke and was set to give industry professionals their first look at the game and how it would work in a real environment. Unfortunately, confirmation came that this presentation was indeed canceled when the event schedule was released to attendees of the upcoming conference.
Nintendo and Pokémon developer Game Freak announced their partnership with Niantic Lab last year along with the upcoming Pokémon Go game. It’s an ambitious project, to say the least, promising the use of global positioning, augmented reality, and optional wearable gear to offer players the most realistic Pokémon experience possible. Niantic Lab has had previous experience in this field too; its massively popular yet little known title Ingress uses a similar principle, albeit without the Pokémon universe, and peaked at over one million active subscribers back in 2014.
As disappointing as the canceled presentation is, Niantic Lab has been quick to come forward and offer an explanation in order to dispel any fears surrounding the game’s development. In a recent statement, the company had the following to say:
“We have decided to forego our GDC talk on Pokémon Go in order to focus on getting the product ready for beta test and launch. As much as we hate to disappoint those in the industry attending GDC, we feel our time and energy right now are best spent on making sure every aspect of the product is where we want it to be.”
Pokémon Go is due for release later this year, but an exact date has yet to be confirmed, and given this recent news, it’s unlikely to come any time soon.
Do you think Niantic Lab is right to cancel its presentation and concentrate its efforts on getting the game out, or does this put doubt in your mind as to the game’s development and that maybe the project is too ambitious? Let us know in the comments.
Source: Game Informer
