'Pokemon Go' release date to coincide with franchise's 20th anniversary in February 2016?
The first "Pokemon Go" trailer revealed that the highly anticipated mobile game would release some time in 2016. A new report from Movie Pilot points to an unnoficial "Pokemon Go" YouTube video that speculates the game may release specifically on Feb. 27, 2016 since the date would coincide with the franchise's 20th anniversary.
"Pokemon Red" for the original Game Boy released in Japan on Feb. 27, 1996, which is why it is speculated that "Pokemon Go" may launch worldwide on the 20th anniversary as part of a global celebration. However, neither The Pokemon Company nor Niantics has confirmed that this is indeed going to be the case.
It is also speculated by fans that the mobile game might not release with the Japanese anniversary but instead with its original North American release, which falls on September 28. However, this would no longer be part of the 20th anniversary celebration given that "Pokemon Red" released in North American in 1998, not 1996.
According to Movie Pilot, there is also little to substantiate the claim that The Pokemon Company and Niantics will indeed launch the game alongside the franchise's anniversary, citing that Feb. 27, 2016 may a bit too early and that the game might not be ready at that point for launch.
The report also explains that the time between the game's announcement and release would be too short if the Feb. 27 release date were to be followed. It explains that even a game such as "Fallout 4," which was released just a few months after it was unveiled, still had a five-month turnaround period.
Niantics did offer a recent update on its official blog. However, this announcement only states that they are still preparing for the game's 2016 launch, without detailing a specific release window:
"We are hard at work in our new San Francisco and satellite offices preparing for a series of massive, global Ingress events this Fall, readying 'Pokémon GO' for launch next year, and extending our platform to support a variety of experiences that support our core values of exercise, discovery, and fun."
