While The Pokémon Company and Niantic have yet to come out with a specific release date for the upcoming augmented reality game "Pokémon GO," it has been hinted that there will be multiple roll-outs of the title for its global release.
According to a post on Serebii, The Pokemon Company President Tsunekazu Ishihara gave some details in an interview on how the release for "Pokémon GO" will proceed. Published on the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, the Pokémon Company head hinted that the global release of the title may occur on multiple dates across multiple locations. The roll-out dates will be different, with fans in Japan, Europe, and North America getting to experience the game first. After the initial release, "Pokémon GO" will then roll out for fans in South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Ishihara also alluded to "another big project" that they are working on aside from "Pokémon GO."
However, the industry follower reiterated that this is just an interpretation of the interview, and Ishihara did not actually confirm a multiple launch, much less a specific release date for "Pokémon GO."
Meanwhile, it seems that fans need to wait longer for details on "Pokémon GO" as it is reported that Niantic is backing out of its GDC commitment.
Game Informer mentioned the Niantic page on the Game Developers Conference 2016 website has been taken down, meaning the presentation is cancelled.
As a confirmation, Niantic sent a statement to the industry follower, saying that, "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."
Niantic CEO John Hanke, who is supposed to be the presenter at the event, continued: "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."
