Pokemon Go slated for Android, iOS in July

MANILA, Philippines – Budding Pokemon trainers will be able to search for, train, and fight Pokemon on their own time in their own cities very soon. 

Nintendo announced during the E3 gaming expo that Niantic’s Pokemon Go, a free, augmented reality game for iOS and Android, will be going live in July.

The augmented reality game will allow players to become Pokemon trainers, with the smartphone serving as a player’s Pokemon Index, or Pokedex. Players will be able to level up their Pokemon and their trainer status by engaging in battles.

Nintendo also said that additional features should be coming post-launch to enable monster trading. Eventually, the plan is to integrate Pokemon Go with their upcoming titles, Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon.

Nintendo will also be working on Pokemon Go Plus, which is a hardware device that functions much like your smartphone when playing Pokemon Go. It will allow players to catch Pokemon in the wild and pick up items at set locations without needing to check their smartphone. 

The Pokemon Go Plus accessory has no firm release date yet, but is expected to cost $34.99. Pokemon Go, meanwhile, will be free to download and play. – Rappler.com