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Home sellers and landlords use Pokémon Go to lure buyers

By Albert Khoury Published July 22, 2016

The Pokémon Go craze continues, and savvy business owners all over the world are taking advantage of the phenomenon, offering discounts and schwag to visiting trainers. Even the real estate market has entered the fray, as home sellers and landlords use Pokémon Go as a selling feature. Zillow Porchlight, the blog for the multibillion dollar online real estate database, reports listings on the site that mention elements from the game.

Would you purchase a $276,000 home for its “3 Pokémon Go Gyms, and 5 PokéStops”? The motivated sellers sure seem to think so. To sweeten the deal, they confirm a Squirtle sighting in the backyard. Also, there “may or may not be” a level 7 Charizard “in the neighbor’s shed.”

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The sellers in another listing pride themselves on a house that is “right down the block from The Franklin Inn (currently the home to a Pokémon Go gym, as well as the best Bloody Marys in Richmond).” Another listing states that a gym is less than five minutes away on foot, and that there are three PokéStops within seven minutes.

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One listing takes the opposite approach, opening right up with the line, “There are ZERO Pokémon Go features.” Surely, there are prospective homeowners out there who don’t play the game, and here’s the perfect pocket-monster-free house.

Zillow isn’t the only place to find sellers that lure buyers and renters with tall tales of rare creatures. An ad on Craigslist lists the price and square footage in the title, but also describes the apartment as a “Pokémon GO Paradise!”

If you just need a place to lay your head and charge your exhausted phone for a few days, hop on over to Airbnb, and crash at a pad where “Ingress and Pokémon GO portals are abundant.” The hosts are thoughtful enough to mention the lack of a TARDIS. Too bad.

Pokémon Go is played by people of all ages, so there is a chance that someone entering a listed home to catch a rare Pokémon could have the means to walk out a new homeowner. And for the sellers, getting you in the door is half the battle.

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Al started his career at a downtown Manhattan publisher, and has since worked with digital and print publications. He's…

Gaming

NBA All-World aims to replicate Pokémon Go’s success starting today

A player walks around their neighborhood's map in NBA All-World.

Niantic launched NBA All-World, its basketball-themed, location-based mobile game, on iOS and Android today. Ahead of this release, Digital Trends attended a presentation to learn more about how the sports AR title works.
If you've played any of Niantic's games before, many elements of NBA All-World will feel quite familiar. The mobile game tracks players' location and encourages them to explore. While doing so, players will find Drop Zones that grant them new gear. Niantic says Drop Zones will often be placed near real-world counterparts, so players can find money near a bank or shoes near a shoe store.
There will also be Player Encounters, where they can face off against current NBA athletes. Niantic tells Digital Trends that classic athletes aren't currently in the game, but feels that idea "is a good one."

In Player Encounters, users face off against athletes in one of four minigames: 3-Point Shootout, Beat the Clock, Around the World, and First-to-Five. While they feature some impressive and realistic animation for a mobile game, Niantic says these minigames only use simple swipe controls because the studio wanted to make something that is easy to play while someone is walking around their neighborhood. If a user wins a Player Encounter, they can recruit that athlete to their team, customize them with items found at Drop Zones, and upgrade them by playing with them. Players can also challenge players they already recruited again to earn more currency.
The title also includes "Rule the Court" neighborhood leaderboards, many of which are placed at real-world basketball courts, where players can compete for the highest score. Currently, there are no player-versus-player elements in NBA All-World, although Niantic understands players like competitive modes in their sports games and may add them in the future. In fact, many features are still in the pipeline for post-launch updates, including Niantic's trademark AR support. Early in the second quarter of 2023, Niantic plans on adding AR support to NBA All-World to enhance the loot drops from Drop Zones to make it look like they're happening in the real world.
One thing that will be in the game at launch is microtransactions, which Niantic says will be similar to the ones available in its other games and allow players to increase their athletes' stats with Offense, Defense, and Fitness boosts.
Despite the undeniable success of Pokémon Go, Niantic has never been able to completely replicate its success with games like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite or Pikmin Bloom. However, the studio seems confident that basketball has the global mass appeal to make NBA All-World another massive hit for the company. The early footage we saw of the game does leave us optimistic for NBA All-World's prospects, but we'll ultimately have to wait and see if the game will make it past its rookie season.
NBA All-World is available now for iOS and Android.

Gaming

Marvel World of Heroes is the next AR game from Pokémon Go studio

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A new augmented reality game from Niantic is on the way, and this time it's being created in partnership with Marvel and will feature plenty of iconic faces from the comics. The game was announced today during Disney & Marvel's games showcase and has a 2023 release window.

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Gaming

Pokémon Go studio cancels four titles, including its Transformers game

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Niantic, the hitmaker behind Pokémon Go and Pikmin Bloom, is buckling up for some hard times. The company announced it has canceled the production of four games and laid off 8% of its staff.

According to a report from Bloomberg, Niantic CEO John Hanke wrote a companywide email saying that around 85 to 90 employees were getting laid off. Hanke explained that the company has been "facing a time of economic turmoil" and has resorted to "reducing costs in a variety of areas." That meant canceling four games, including Transformers game, Heavy Metal, and Hamlet.