Augmented reality mobile game Pokémon GO had a blazing launch, setting a new record in Apple's App Store as the most downloaded app despite having released for only a week and rolling out only to a few countries at a time.
In the game, players take on the roles of Pokémon trainers as they catch Pokémon in the real world through the cameras of their smartphones, and then train them up and use them in battle with other players.
However, it seems that there is much more to the game than what players are currently experiencing.
At the San Diego Comic-Con, John Hanke, CEO of Pokémon GO developer Niantic Labs, teased the future of the massively popular game, generating more excitement among players.
Hanke first apologized for the server issues that Pokémon GO players have been experiencing, explaining that the servers of Niantic were not prepared for the massive number of players who would be hooked to the app. Niantic's engineers, however, will be working to keep the servers up and improve their reliability before rolling out new features, in addition to fixing problems such as broken radar systems.
Hanke then said that there will be some rare Pokémon that are not yet found in the game that will soon appear. This is an expected announcement, as only 145 out of the original 151 Pokémon have been caught by Pokémon GO players all over the world.
The Niantic CEO then added that the choice of which Pokémon GO team to join between the yellow Team Instinct, the red Team Valor and the blue Team Mystic will soon become more important.
The team leaders have also been revealed, with Spark for Team Instinct, Candela for Team Valor and Blanche for Team Mystic, who will start to provide players with advice soon. Hanke also noted that one each of the three Legendary Bird Pokémon will be associated with the teams, and it is possible that players will only be able to acquire the one linked to their teams.
The Pokéstops in the game were also hinted to be possibly turned into Pokémon Centers, where players will be able to heal their Pokémon similar to the function of the structures in the video games and animation.
It was also hinted by Hanke that there are more easter eggs in Pokémon GO, in addition to the ones that players have previously found. These include the trick to begin the game with Pikachu as the starter Pokémon and the method of choosing which Eeveelution will appear when evolving an Eevee.
Hanke also confirmed that Pokémon trading, one of the social aspects of the video games on mobile gaming consoles, will also soon be coming to Pokémon GO.
In closing, Hanke told the attendees to always spin, use their lucky eggs and always keep in mind the spirit of Pokémon GO.
