Pokemon GO update: Today's Thanksgiving pre-celebration event
This morning the newest in-game event for Pokemon GO began, providing a sort of wink and nod to the rest of the Pokemon universe in the process. Today, users will be able to access a new set of clothing in celebration of the release of Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon! And don't mistake this for the final event of this month – that'll be coming up soon enough!
Out Today
The latest release in Pokemon GO is a set of accessories for the user's avatar. A hat, a shirt, and some new shoes, too. They're made to remind the user that there are other Pokemon games out in the universe, new games, games that they should also be buying as soon as they can.
Thus it is that Niantic worked with The Pokemon Company and/or Nintendo to make the games cross over. No, they probably wont allow trading between games, and no, this does not mean PvP battles are almost here. It means that Niantic is no longer just licensing the Pokemon brand, they're actively participating in the larger Pokemon universe.
"To celebrate the upcoming launch of Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, new avatar outfit items from the Alola region are now available in Pokemon GO," said Gentry, a representative of The Pokemon Company. "Beginning today, Trainers can dress their Pokémon GO avatars in the colorful tropical outfits worn by the main male and female characters seen in the Pokémon video games launching worldwide on November 17,"
Niantic Expanding
The original tie was back before the beginning. The Pokemon Company wasn't the first company to have the idea for a global Pokemon game. Nintendo didn't do that, either. It was in April of 2014 that the Google Maps team released their April Fool's joke that this idea was – sort of – born.
Once that video went viral, Niantic (still part of Google at the time,) brought the idea of the game to The Pokemon Company. In August of 2015, the company known as Alphabet was formed as an umbrella corporation for what once were Google's many projects. At that same time, Niantic separated from Google to become their own independent company.
In October of 2015, Niantic announced that they'd be getting $30-million in investment cash from Google, The Pokemon Company, and Nintendo. Niantic remains an independent company today, and also has plans to work on another major brand IP game: Harry Potter: Wizards Unite! But don't expect any House Cups or magic wands to be appearing in Pokemon GO any time soon – that'd be just too much.