NBA All World Is Niantic's Next Pokemon Go-Style Augmented Reality Game

gamespot.com:

Niantic makes a very specific type of game that combines exploring the real world with GPS-based, augmented-reality mechanics. It has original games like Ingress and the upcoming Peridot, but its greatest success has been the established property, Pokemon. It even announced a game based on Transformers last year. Following Ingress, all of Niantic's games have been based in some kind of fictional world, but its next partnership and game borrows from reality. NBA All World is a Pokemon Go-style game based on the NBA. To quote Niantic's senior producer on All World, Marcus Matthews, the game is «The NBA lifestyle meets the real-world metaverse,» though Niantic has seemingly developed its own definition of what the term «metaverse» means.

All World is functionally similar to Niantic's other augmented reality games where players explore the real world in order to collect items, be the top player on their local court, and play against NBA players (whose likenesses will appear in the game). It will feature authentic NBA music, merchandise, and footwear. For one example, Matthews said a nearby convenience store will become a location you must visit in order to collect stamina for your player, and a nearby sporting goods store will be a place to pick up the latest brand-name shoes to customize your team.

Matthews has a history of working on sports games, including the very first 2K basketball and football games on the Dreamcast. His pitch for NBA All World is to take the video game basketball experience and move it outdoors. Matthews referenced being a kid and walking to the park to play basketball with friends and claim bragging rights, and how he hopes that NBA All World can deliver a comparable experience.

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