Niantic’s new game Peridot is Pokémon GO meets Tamagotchi

techcrunch.com:

From the makers of Pokémon GO comes another mobile game that brings cute little creatures to our fingertips: Peridot.

Like a ‘90s Tamagotchi toy, Peridot is a pet simulator, but it takes place completely withinaugmented reality (AR). You can feed, play, walk, breed, forage and socialize with your Peridots, but don’t worry: if you take a break from the game, your creatures will not poop all over your screen and/or die.

Peridot is Niantic’s only game with original IP since Ingress, its first game, which was released ten years ago. The so-called “real world metaverse” company has tried to replicate Pokémon GO’s smash success by making games for franchises like Harry Potter, Pikmin, and the NBA; its Marvel and Monster Hunter games are also expected to launch this year. But without Pikachu, it’s hard to catch lightning in a bottle. Niantic shut down its Harry Potter game, and after a round of layoffs, it canceled four projects, including a Transformers game.

Peridot might not come with a built-in fanbase, but by doing something different, Niantic has a shot at success again.

When you start the game, you choose between three Peridot eggs to hatch – it almost feels like choosing a starter Pokémon. From there, your new baby gets a name (I named mine Brandon Marsh, after my favorite Phillies player, who kind of looks like he’s from the swamp), and you can start collecting XP points by feeding your Peridot, teaching it tricks, going on walks to real-world destinations and completing daily tasks. When your baby Peridot grows to a teen, it gets a personality trait (Brandon Marsh is “pensive,” while his brother/teammate Alec Bohm is “wild”), and when it becomes an adult, it can start breeding with other players’ adult Peridots.

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