Niantic announced a new feature for Pokémon GO adding Daily Bonuses to encourage players to login and play the game daily.

More bonuses, more fun! Daily bonuses are coming...

Trainers, We want to provide you a detailed look at a new feature coming soon to Pokémon GO - Daily bonuses! Trainers will soon be able to receive a bonus for certain daily activities, including catching a Pokémon or visiting a PokéStop once a day. You’ll earn a larger bonus if you do this seven days in a row!

Catching a Pokémon every day will earn the following bonus:

• 500 XP
• 600 Stardust

Catching a Pokémon every day for 7 days straight will earn the following larger bonus:

• 2,000 XP
• 2,400 Stardust

Visiting a PokéStop and spinning the Photo Disc every day will earn the following bonus:

• 500 XP
• A number of additional items

Visiting a PokéStop every day for 7 days straight will earn the following larger bonus:

• 2,000 XP
• A greater number of additional items

If you catch a Pokémon at any time on Tuesday local time, you’ll be eligible for the next daily bonus on Wednesday at 12 AM local time.

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/daily-bonus/

When Nintendo, Niantic and The Pokémon Company announced that they would bring a mainstream Pokémon game to the Apple iOS and Google Android mobile phone market, there was much speculation that this was Nintendo finally caving to public pressure to finally release games on non-Nintendo manufactured systems which would reduce sales and overall profit for Nintendo. The reverse actually came true as Nintendo announced during their October 27th, 2016 Earnings Release for the Six-Month Period Ended September 2016 that the release of Pokémon GO in July helped the sales of the Nintendo 3DS and related Pokémon games.

Nintendo also announced that combined Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire sales have reached 13.18 million copies sold worldwide as of September 2016.

U.S. Nintendo 3DS Hardware Sell-Through Trends

"This graph shows Nintendo 3DS hardware sell-through trends in the U.S. compared with sell-through for the previous period. In the U.S., the previously-released Nintendo 2DS was dropped to an even more affordable price, and promotional activities aimed at children and parents were effective in increasing sales. The release of Pokémon GO on July 6th also led to a major increase in sales of the Nintendo 3DS family systems, where consumers can enjoy past titles in the Pokémon series. The trend here is higher than that for the previous period, and we are maintaining this momentum as we head into the holiday season."

U.S. Nintendo 3DS First-Party Software Sell-Through Trends

"This graph shows Nintendo 3DS first-party software in the U.S. compared with sell-through for the previous period. In the U.S., promotional activities aimed at children and parents were effective in increasing sales, and there was solid growth in sales for evergreen titles and Nintendo Selects games such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. The release of Pokémon GO also provided a bump in sales for the Pokémon series, and as a result, sales here have also surpassed those in the previous period."

Europe Nintendo 3DS Hardware Sell-Through Trends
	"This graph shows Nintendo 3DS hardware sell-through trends in Europe compared with sell-through for the previous period. As in the U.S., the release of Pokémon GO across Europe starting in July spurred momentum for hardware sales."

Europe Nintendo 3DS First-Party Software Sell-Through Trends

"This graph shows Nintendo 3DS first-party software sell-through trends in Europe compared with sell- through for the previous period. In the European market, we again see the boost in Pokémon series titles in July, but this is supported by new titles such as Kirby: Planet Robobot, Fire Emblem Fates Birthright/Conquest, and Monster Hunter Generations, for which Nintendo provided distribution in Europe. Evergreen titles and Nintendo Selects titles also sold well. Overall software sales are vigorous, outpacing the previous period. "

Pokémon GO increased Virtual Console Sales

"Over the summer, the smart device application Pokémon GO became a major hit and a social phenomenon. This has sparked increased interest in Pokémon-related software. Previous entries in the Pokémon series playable on the Nintendo 3DS system were Pokémon X and Pokémon Y in 2013 and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire in 2014. We also released the original games in this series, Pokémon Red, Pokémon Green, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Pikachu, as downloadable Virtual Console titles in February this year. These Pokémon series titles have seen an increase in sales despite having been on the market for some time already. "

Pokémon Series Sell-Through Trends

"This graph shows the month-on-month sales of titles in the Pokémon series in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, as mentioned earlier in the presentation. As you can see, the release of Pokémon GO in July led to a major upsurge in sales, particularly for the U.S. and European markets. We can clearly see that the release of Pokémon GO has raised interest in Pokémon and contributed to a resurgence of sales for previously-released Pokémon titles."

Nintendo 3DS Hardware Sell-Through Trends
	"Similarly, this graph shows the month-on-month sales for Nintendo 3DS family systems. You can see that there is a peak in July for hardware as well, following the release of Pokémon GO."

Pokémon GO Plus
	"We launched the Pokémon GO Plus accessory on September 16th to provide a more comfortable play experience for Pokémon GO. Demand far exceeded our expectations and production has not caught up, leading to product shortages. We apologize to the consumers and distributors affected by this. We are planning to expand production as needed, and will continue to produce and ship additional units."

Sources: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/161027_2e.pdf and https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/161026_2e.pdf

A new update for Pokémon GO is now available for iOS and Android. Details of the update were announced on Niantic's site.

Pokémon GO updated to version 0.43.3 for Android and 1.13.3 for iOS

Trainers, Pokémon GO is in the process of being updated to version 0.43.3 for Android and 1.13.3 for iOS devices. Below are some release notes and comments from our development team.

• Professor Willow discovered that Eggs have different patterns depending on the distance required to hatch them.
• Pokémon type icons have been added to the information screen for each Pokémon.
• Low battery indicator added for the Pokémon GO Plus.
• Minor text fixes

Source: http://pokemongolive.com/en/post/ver-update-102316/

Niantic announced a new promotion for Halloween 2016 that takes place from October 26th, 2016 until November 1st, 2016.

Halloween is approaching...

Trick-or-Treat, Trainers! It’s Halloween season and we have a treat for you! From October 26th to November 1st, you’ll earn double the amount of Candy every time you catch, hatch and transfer Pokémon! Don’t forget your Buddy Pokémon, because they will help you earn Candy four times as fast.

If you encounter more spooky Pokémon than normal, don’t be startled, they want to enjoy the fun too! Scare up some friends, grab your buddy and enjoy this spooky, fun celebration with us! Happy Halloween!


Source; http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/halloween2016/

Niantic announced that a new Capture Bonus to increase the odds of catching rare Pokémon in Pokémon GO will be coming to the game soon.

Earn a New Capture Bonus to Increase the Odds of Catching Rare Pokémon

Trainers, We want to give you a sneak peek of a feature coming soon to Pokémon GO. We are adding a new feature which grants a catch bonus when you earn medals based on catching certain types of Pokémon (Kindler, Psychic, Gardener, etc.). These new bonuses will give you a better chance of capturing Pokémon with a related type. For example, as you reach a higher tier for the Kindler Medal, your bonus to catch Fire-type Pokémon such as Charmander, Vulpix and Ponyta increases.

Trainers can work their way to a new tier by catching many Pokémon of the same type. If a Pokémon has multiple types, your bonus will be the average of your bonuses for each type. For example, Pidgey is both Normal and Flying type. Your bonus in this case would be the average of your Normal-type and Flying-type bonuses.

Look forward to this new feature coming soon!

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/elemental/

A new update for Pokémon GO is now available for iOS and Android. Details of the update were announced on Niantic's site.

Pokémon GO updated to version 0.39.0 for Android and 1.9.0 for iOS

Trainers, Pokémon GO is in the process of being updated to version 0.39.0 for Android and 1.9.0 for iOS devices. Below are some release notes and comments from our development team.

• Capture location: The location where a Pokémon was caught will now be displayed on their information screen.
• Pokémon GO Plus and Incense: Trainers can attempt to capture Pokémon they encounter from using Incense with the Pokémon GO Plus accessory.
• Minor bug fixes

We appreciate your continued support and have some exciting features and changes coming soon.

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/ver-update-092216/

On September 7th, 2016, Apple had a Special Event at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium where they announced some their new products for the upcoming year. At the event, Niantic CEO John Hanke had a segment during the presentation where he discussed the current status of Pokémon GO.

Highlights from the September 7th, 2016 Event:

• 500 million copies of the game have been downloaded around the world since launching in July.
• Players have walked a cumulative 4.6 billion kilometers.
• Pokémon GO Plus launches on September 16th, 2016
• Pokémon GO Plus for Apple Watch will be released in 2016

POKÉMON GO EXCEEDS 500 MILLION DOWNLOADS WORLDWIDE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — September 8, 2016 — The Pokémon Company and Niantic, Inc. announced today that Pokémon GO, the global mobile game that invites players to go out and explore their surroundings to find and catch Pokémon, has surpassed more than 500 million downloads around the world since launching in July. The game, which holds the App Store record for the most downloads in its first week of launch, is based on the iconic Pokémon franchise and is published and developed by Niantic, Inc.

Pokémon has been a leader in gaming and at the forefront of emerging technologies since the first game launched in Japan 20 years ago. The Pokémon brand quickly became a global sensation and hasn’t left the zeitgeist of popular culture since. Icons of the franchise, such as Pikachu, are beloved and recognized by generations of fans around the world and the brand’s total retail sales exceed $2 billion annually across video games, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, animation, licensing, and more.

“The phenomenal success of Pokémon GO during the brand’s 20-year celebration is an incredible reminder of how many people around the world love Pokémon,” said Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company. “The team at Niantic developed a unique experience that merges their expertise in cutting-edge location-based technologies with the beloved characters and classic gameplay of Pokémon. This ideal match of the right brand and the right technology has resonated with hundreds of millions of existing and new fans around the world.”

Earlier today at Apple’s event in San Francisco, Niantic unveiled early details about Pokémon GO for Apple Watch. Fans can look forward to Pokémon GO for Apple Watch to launch later in 2016.

“The globally loved Pokémon brand paired with Niantic’s platform and game design that encourages exploration, exercise and making real world social connections has inspired millions of people of all ages to go outdoors together,” said John Hanke, CEO of Niantic, Inc. “We are encouraged by the fast adoption of the game and are pleased to see so many people walk and play every day. Pokémon GO for Apple Watch will be another way people can incorporate the game into their daily lives, even more seamlessly.”

Apple – September Event 2016

Pokémon GO Plus Compatibility Information

IOS: Compatible with iPhone® 5 / 5c / 5s / SE / 6 / 6s /6 Plus / 6s Plus devices with iOS Ver. 8–9 installed.

• Not compatible with 5th generation iPod Touch devices or iPhone 4S or earlier iPhone devices.
• Compatibility with tablet devices is not guaranteed.
• Compatibility is not guaranteed for all devices.

Android: Compatible with Android devices that have 2 GB RAM or more, have Bluetooth Smart (Bluetooth Ver. 4.0 or higher) capability, and have Android Ver. 4.4–6.0 installed.

• Not compatible with Android devices that use Intel Atom processors.
• Compatibility with tablet devices is not guaranteed.
• Application may not run on certain devices even if they have compatible OS versions installed.
• Recommended Devices: Android Devices: AQUOS Xx2 mini, AQUOS Xx3 506SH, ARROWS Fit F-01H, Galaxy A8 SCV32, GALAXY Active neo SC-01H, GALAXY Note Edge, Nexus 5, Nexus 6(XT1100), Nexus 6P(Softbank), Qua phone KYV37, TORQUE G02 KYV35, Xperia Z2 SO-03F, Xperia Z3 SO-01G, Xperia Z5 Compact SO-02H

Notes:

• It is recommended to play while connected to a 3G/4G network in order to obtain accurate location information.
• Compatibility is not guaranteed for devices without GPS capabilities or devices that are connected only to Wi-Fi networks.
• Compatibility information may be changed at any time on either iOS or Android platforms.

Source: http://www.pokemongo.com/en-us/pokemon-go-plus/

The Pokémon GO panel at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con was moved into the larger Hall H as the popularity of the game created a lot of fans. Niantic CEO John Hanke was at the panel discussing the game with host Chris Hardwick. During the panel, the Team Leaders were revealed. Team Valor: Candela. Team Mystic: Blanche. Team Instinct: Spark. Many in attendance were disappointed though with the lack of new details or update news and that no special Legendary Pokémon was distributed at the event panel.


Sources: https://twitter.com/PokemonGoApp/status/757328428169322496 and http://www.wired.com/2016/07/pokemon-go-closes-out-comic-con/

Pokémon GO has been all over the news this week with the public launch of the game in some countries. Niantic is currently addressing a few issues that have arisen before the game will be pushed to further countries. Below are a few of the news and issues that players should be aware of.

iOS version of Pokémon Go requests full access permission for the user's Google account

"We recently discovered that the Pokémon Go account creation process on iOS erroneously requests full access permission for the user's Google account. However, Pokémon Go only accesses basic Google profile information (specifically, your user ID and e-mail address) and no other Google account information is or has been accessed or collected. Once we became aware of this error, we began working on a client-side fix to request permission for only basic Google account information, in line with the data we actually access. Google has verified that no other information has been received or accessed by Pokémon Go or Niantic. Google will soon reduce Pokémon Go's permission to only the basic profile data that Pokémon Go needs, and users do not need to take any actions themselves." (Niantic)


Source: http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/07/pokemon-go-on-ios-gets-full-access-to-your-google-account/

Servers Overloaded causes a pause on the International Rollout of Pokémon Go

Niantic CEO John Hanke told Business Insider that they are aware of the problem many users are having with server availability and working hard on fixing the problem. While they fix the server capacity, the international rollout of the game to countries like the United Kingdom and the Netherlands is “paused until we’re comfortable”.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/pokemon-go-international-rollout-paused-2016-7

Pokémon GO sends Nintendo's Stock Soaring up 25%

Nintendo shares surged 25% in Tokyo on Monday, July 11th, 2016 as a result of the launch of the game a few days earlier and it's stock continued to rise on Tuesday up 34%. It has also boosted the market value of Nintendo Co. by over $9 billion.




Source: http://www.wsj.com/articles/pokemon-chasing-investors-send-nintendo-shares-soaring-1468228206

Infected Pokémon GO APK carries dangerous Android backdoor

While users maybe waiting for the game to launch in their country, some players may attempt to bypass the Google Play store and manually install Pokémon GO via a downloaded APK. Players may download an infected version of the game by not downloading it from an official source.

Proofpoint researchers discovered an infected Android version of the newly released mobile game Pokemon GO. This specific APK was modified to include the malicious remote access tool (RAT) called DroidJack (also known as SandroRAT), which would virtually give an attacker full control over a victim’s phone. The DroidJack RAT has been described in the past, including by Symantec and Kaspersky.

Source: https://www.proofpoint.com/us/threat-insight/post/droidjack-uses-side-load-backdoored-pokemon-go-android-app

E3 2016 is taking place from June 14th, 2016 until June 16th, 2016 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Nintendo and Niantic showcased Pokémon GO during an Treehouse Live broadcast and revealed new information and Pokémon for the games.

Pokémon GO - Demonstration - Nintendo E3 2016 - Highlights

• Treehouse Live broadcast participants - Developers, Translators and Field Testers: Pokémon CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, GAME FREAK Junichi Masuda, Niantic senior product manager Tatsuo Nomura, Nintendo Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo Translator's David Numrich and Raymond

Pokémon GO - Demonstration - Nintendo E3 2016

Press Release - More Pokémon GO Updates

Our team has been making the most of the sunny California weather by walking long distances and enthusiastically testing all of the refinement and new features in Pokémon GO. Many of these refinements have been inspired by feedback received from our field testers in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and United States. Thank you for testing the app and for giving us such great feedback.

We have a few exciting updates to share. We’ve added a new Camera feature that enables Trainers to take photographs of their wild Pokémon encounters. Now you can take a photo of Squirtle next to that scenic lake or Ivysaur hanging out by the park. The photos will be saved to your phone’s camera roll to share with whomever you’d like. We can’t wait to see the varied environments in which trainers will find wild Pokémon.

We’re also thrilled to announce that Pokémon GO’s all-new music track is composed by GAME FREAK’s Junichi Masuda. We’ve been working closely with Masuda-san on several of the core game design elements of Pokémon GO and feel very fortunate to also have drawn from his decades of experience composing original music for the Pokémon games.

We enjoyed participating in Nintendo’s Treehouse Live Pokémon GO developer Q&A session at E3 today. With each day, we’re getting closer to launch and we can’t wait to share this game with everyone. Stay tuned for more details.

Source: https://www.nianticlabs.com/blog/e3-2016/