Rumors suggesting that Pokemon GO for Apple Watch would be canceled were debunked by Niantic Labs through their Twitter account.
Users were bewildered by an image posted on Reddit suggesting that “the game port for the Apple Watch has been shelved.” Curiously, on the subsequent lines the email posted on the imageboard reads: “Although development has been shelved if demand for an Apple Watch port increases, we will continue development of the port.”
It is unclear whether the email is completely false or if it was a stunt pulled out by Niantic or Apple to raise expectations, but the truth is that Pokemon Go for Apple Watch will be a reality.
There is no precise release date for Apple Watch’s Pokemon GO, although Rene Ritchie from iMore reports that development is still “on track” and aiming for a 2016 release.
Pokemon GO for Apple Watch was first revealed in September, teasing trainers that the port would be launched by “the end of the year,” but the wait has made everyone anxious, getting to the point of creating potentially fake emails to boil the unrest.
Pokémon Go for Apple Watch is coming soon. Stay tuned.
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) December 17, 2016
For even more evidence, folks at Tech Crunch reached out to Niantic Labs to confirm the rumors, to which they responded:
“Thanks for checking with us! The image in that Reddit post is not real.
Development on Pokémon GO continues, as it has since before the Apple announcement. We’ll have more news on the product soon.”
Controversy had Reddit users flame hi1307, the Redditor who published the image, but he stood by his remarks and even hypothesized what might be going on backstage with the development of Pokemon GO for Apple Watch:
“It’s probably because they agreed on some kickback that Niantic will get because Pogo will encourage people to get the Apple Watch, but Apple never held their side of their deal or something. If Apple didn’t give Niantic bags of money Niantic could have made it for Android Wear,” responded hi1307 to some of the comments.
Even if Pokemon GO went past its prime, it is still a successful game with many opportunities for investment and exploitation. Recently, it reached 500 million downloads on both iOS and Android app stores, leading the company to go ahead and announce peripherals for playing the game. This is the case of Pokemon GO Plus, a wearable accessory that lets its users play the game without holding a smartphone.
Pokemon Go Plus is a wristband that connects to the trainer’s smartphone via Bluetooth and will light up whenever there is a nearby Pokemon to catch. By pressing its button the trainer will collect any nearby item or catch Pokemon in the vicinity.
But Pokemon Go Plus doesn’t seem to compare to an Apple Watch port, which lets the player see the Pokemon that they are going to catch besides enjoying many more options for interacting with the game’s features.
Pokemon GO Plus is sold by $34.99 and will be compatible with most iPhone models and Android devices that also support Pokemon GO.
Source: Tech Crunch