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Did You Know Gaming Tackles The Making Of Pokémon Go
Did You Know Gaming, a YouTube channel specifically surrounding gaming trivia, has their newest episode dedicated to the making of Pokémon Go. The episode delves into the history of Niantic as a company, and how the team became acquainted with both Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.
Back in 2014, Google conducted an April Fool's prank, which allowed users to capture Pokémon through Google maps. The stunt became a big hit, and this connection between Google and The Pokémon Company would eventually influence the creation of Pokémon Go. Niantic, originally a start-up within Google, had some of its staff work on this prank. CEO John Hanke even had a hand in the creation of Google Earth. Niantic became independent from the corporation in 2015 and soon reached out to The Pokémon Company to pitch their idea of combining Pokémon's brand with the technology from Niantic's previous mobile game, Ingress.
Ingress, similar to Pokémon Go, is an augmented reality game. However, the goal of the game is to capture different hotspots in your world that are referred to as portals. During Pokémon Go's development, Ingress players were encouraged to submit landmarks and points of interest, and this data was soon used to form PokéStops and gyms.
Read more about Pokémon Go in our round-up of the most bizarre stories surrounding the game, and how it was an incredible phenomenon at San Diego Comic-Con.
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