Niantic shares its contribution to the augmented reality landscape and vision and mission for India – From the emergence of the first video game in the 1950s to the new generation of online gaming backed by advanced technology, online gaming has seen a commendable evolution over the years. While working towards the development of the newest and best gaming technologies, Niantic, a leading augmented reality company launched ‘Pokémon GO’, a breakthrough AR gaming app that made it possible for augmented reality to blend into the background and allow the game experience to lead. Read on for detailed info on the same. For future updates on gaming and esports, follow InsideSport.IN.
While many of the gaming trends could not sustain for long and were replaced with better versions, augmented reality has been a sensation in the world of gaming since its advent. The integration of game visual and audio content with the user’s real surroundings in real-time has been attracting a large set of audience as it offers them an immersive user experience. Bridging the gap between the two realities, physical and virtual, Niantic took augmented reality (AR) from a niche technology to mainstream with one of the biggest titles ‘Pokémon GO’. With the use of a smartphone, the game transforms the real world into a landscape filled with Pokémon.
Niantic shares its contribution to the augmented reality landscape and vision and mission for India
The journey of Niantic dates to 2001 when John Hanke, Founder and CEO of Niantic (present), found a company called Keyhole with a bunch of experts in geospatial technology launching a video game ‘Keyhole’ letting users zoom into interactive 3D maps of the planet. After Keyhole was acquired by Google Earth, John formed Niantic Labs with a motive to utilize the team’s knowledge of maps and create a new kind of gameplay for players on their smartphones. In 2012, Niantic released its first location-based mobile app, ‘Field Trip’ which used the GPS of smartphones to guide users to different hidden locations. Later, Ingress, the first game by Niantic was launched which became a hit with over 25 million downloads.
Over the years, Niantic has been dedicatedly working on creating a new and interactive experience for players around the world. While digital games have created a notion of playing games while sitting on a couch/sofa and using a PC/TV as a gaming console, Niantic focused on its mission to inspire people to explore a ‘real-world metaverse’ and provide a product experience where people could play games while moving and getting out and can still have fun.
Not only for gamers but the company has been contributing a lot to the growth of augmented reality as a concept. It recently launched the Lightship AR development kit (Lightship ARDK), a platform for developers to build products using Niantic’s AR and location technologies, such as VPS (visual positioning system.) Also, partnering with the NBA and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), Niantic announced pre-registration for NBA All World, a real-world mobile game for all basketball fans.
As India is progressing towards becoming a leading country in the gaming sector with a projection of crossing 450 million gamers by 2023, Niantic has been concentrating on making its presence prominent in India. With some strategic investments to boost its operations and expand its footprint in India, the gaming giant is looking at India as one of the key markets. Owing to the huge engagement from Indian gamers on Pokémon GO, Niantic has been identifying and adding new PokéStops (point of interest for Pokémon GO players) and Gyms (ground for battles for players) to the game. Interestingly, there are now over 5,00,000 PokéStops or Gyms in India.
The company has also been organizing several on-ground events such as the ‘Community Day’ monthly series in several cities of India including Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi. Niantic is always experimenting with its games, and everyone can expect some surprises in the near future.
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