'Pokemon Go' update: Niantic CEO says some Pokemon will be rare, location-based

Pokemon Go logo The Pokemon Company / Niantic

"Pokemon GO" has been conceived as early as 2013, but was only officially announced in Sept. 20 of this year, reports The Verge. It has no release date set yet, but fans are already excited about the prospect of being real life Pokemon trainers. The game will be released on mobile devices and will interact with "Pokemon GO Plus," a wristband device that notifies users when there's Pokemon in the vicinity.

The game is co-produced by The Pokemon Company with software developer Niantic, which also came up with the augmented reality game "Ingress."

Niantic CEO John Hanke recently spoke with Venture Beat, where he finally released a few more details about what gamers can expect from this most-awaited Pokemon game.

"Our goal is to make it so you can walk out of the house and within five minutes, you can find Pokémon. It may not be the most rare Pokémon in the world, but there'll be a population of Pokémon living near all our players. Gyms will be a bit more rare. You want to find gyms so you can level up your Pokémon and battle there, so it will take a little more effort to get there," he says.

Hanke also added that Pokemon may be found in various parts of the world and they may be strategically located based on their type. For instance, a water Pokemon may only be found near the bodies of water like the sea or lakes.

This means that some trainers may have to travel the whole world to actually find all the Pokemon as some can only be found in rare places. The good thing is that players can trade Pokemon and other items in their loot, too.

More details are expected, such as the release date, about "Pokemon GO" as 2016 nears. Stay tuned for updates.

News
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day
Fire severely damages historic Amsterdam church on New Year’s Day

A major fire tore through one of Amsterdam’s best-known historic buildings in the early hours of New Year’s Day, seriously damaging the property and forcing people to leave nearby homes.

Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures
Rwanda’s president on the defensive over church closures

Rwandan President Paul Kagame defended the government's forced closure of Evangelical churches, accusing them of being a “den of bandits” led by deceptive relics of colonialism. 

We are the story still being written
We are the story still being written

The story of Christ continues in the lives of those who take up His calling.

Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas
Christians harassed, attacked all over India at Christmas

International Christian Concern reported more than 80 incidents in India, some of them violent, over Christmas.