Augmented reality games really took off in 2016 the launch of Pokémon Go. This kind of game had been around for a while before that, but that game was such a mainstream event that others tried to jump on the bandwagon.
A New Augmented Reality Challenger Appears
Now, six years later, the developers of Pokémon Go, Niantic, are making an NBA augmented reality game. This will be designed for mobile devices and titled NBA All-World. In the game, players will get to roam around their own neighborhoods and search for major NBA stars like Steph Curry, James Harden, and Chris Paul. They can also compete against other players virtually, challenging them to games and then adding them to their own teams. Most of the games will be played in short bursts, more like a minigame than a full-fledged sports title.
So, gamers can think of NBA All-World as a minigame collection with augmented reality and team-building features. Players will also be able to dress up their NBA stars, using customized apparel. While roaming the world, players can search for convenience stores and sporting goods shops to find new items for upgrading their team with.
Special encounters like one-on-one matches will be made available at a variety of hot spots around players’ local neighborhoods. Some of these hotspots will even include basketball courts in the real world. This sounds like a great way for people to enjoy basketball during the offseason or hang out at the basketball court when they’re not actively playing or the weather is not very pleasant.
The NBA has never been bigger, and augmented reality is still a popular gaming genre. This new NBA game could really take off and be a huge success for the developer. That’s especially true if it gets good reviews and excellent word of mouth, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it experience the same kind of success as Pokémon Go.
What Else Is on the Way from Niantic?
The developers of Pokémon Go and the upcoming NBA All-World, Niantic, are doing more than just launching this single sports game. They’re also prepping a Transformers game call Transformers: Heavy Metal. That game is in the beta stages and is limited to only a small number of countries.
They had success with Pikmin Bloom and are expanding their repertoire for Peridot, which is an augmented reality game that fits into the same category of digital creature care as Tamagotchi.
Augmented Reality Everywhere
The appeal of augmented reality games is that they can be played pretty much anywhere and create a unique experience depending on where someone is playing them. They encourage exploration of the real world, even if that sometimes interferes with real world activities. There was a lot of controversy some years ago about Pokémon Go interfering with peoples’ lives and leading to some bad behavior from some of the players.
Niantic and other developers have learned from their mistakes with augmented reality and have taken steps to make sure that there’s less likelihood of the people playing their game causing problems in the real world.
We’re seeing augmented reality expand to more gaming genres. It is expected to transform the gambling game genre and slots categories. Will it be very long before we see สล็อตแตกง่าย with augmented reality hotspots that provide additional bonuses? With a few runaway successes for augmented reality already on the books, we expect to see more releases that take advantage of this technology in the near future. When developers start to figure out new ways to integrate augmented reality, this could become a rapidly expanding and exciting video game niche.
Closing Thoughts There’s not a release date yet for Niantic’s NBA All-World, although it is scheduled to start a soft launch very soon. Interested gamers can go to the Niantic website and sign up for updates to be notified about news on the game. No matter how the game turns out, it’s sure to be a cultural moment just like Pokémon Go was, with a lot of people talking on both sides about how augmented reality is both good and bad for society and gaming.