Niantic, the developers of Pokémon GO, are venturing into a new project. But this time it’s not about collecting fighting monsters, but about real basketball stars.
What kind of game is it? The game is officially announced as “NBA All-World” and is being developed in collaboration with Niantic, the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).
Here, basketball fans in particular should take notice, as the US NBA is probably the most famous basketball league in the world. Since there is an official collaboration, real sports stars are likely to be represented in the game.
When will it start? An official release date is still unknown. But you can already pre-register on the official website.
How is it played? Niantic is known for games that want to send you outdoors with your smartphone. This principle is also followed by “NBA All-World”.
You are to explore your surroundings just like in Pokémon GO. However, this time you won’t collect monsters, but look for NBA players. You can then challenge them and recruit them for your own team.
How exactly the gameplay will look like is still completely open. The short teaser trailer provides little insight. So for now, it’s a wait for more information.
Marcus Matthews, Senior Producer at Niantic, says: “NBA All-World is an industry innovation in the field of sports games. It is an original, realistic mobile game that will appeal to both casual players and real NBA fans.”
On the Niantic blog, he explains: “Our team at Niantic has worked hard to develop a new kind of sports game that connects the real world with 1-on-1 basketball action, collecting, fashion and more. Our development partner in Orlando, HypeGames, has excellently utilized its expertise in sports games to create a fantastic experience that will appeal to both casual and die-hard basketball fans.” (via nianticlabs.com)
It seems that not only Niantic’s side is focused solely on basketball fans: “We are developing and designing a game that allows players to showcase their individual style.”
Matt Holt from the NBA, however, emphasizes that NBA All-World aims to give fans around the world an “opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the excitement of the NBA.”
Not the first new project alongside Pokémon GO
In the past, Niantic has released games that at least resemble Pokémon GO in principle.
- There is the predecessor Ingress, which laid the foundation for Pokémon GO.
- After Pokémon GO, the next big franchise was Harry Potter. But “Wizards Unite” already died after two and a half years.
- With “Pikmin Bloom”, Niantic released another game that focuses primarily on walking.
None of these games have reached the enormous hype that Pokémon GO experienced, especially at its peak. Will this change with NBA All-World? Especially in the USA, where the NBA holds a high status, the game could attract a lot of interest.
To what extent the game will appeal to the broad masses worldwide remains to be seen. However, there are also basketball fans here at home – and especially for them, or also players who are looking for an alternative to Pokémon GO, NBA All-World could be it.
Also, in terms of monsters, Niantic is still working on something – but not necessarily on Pokémon. Because the new project “Peridot” is also in the works and could compete with Pokémon.
