NBA All-World, Niantic’s new game combines augmented reality egg hunting and basketball.
Take Pikachu, Charmander, and Charizard, swap them out for LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Ja Morant, and you’ve got the main recipe ingredients for NBA All-World, the new augmented reality game from original publisher Niantic. of the Pokémon Go phenomenon. Unveiled in world preview in Paris today, the game should be accessible to the rest of the world from January 24th.
On the eve of the NBA game in Paris, a game of the American basketball championship relocated to France, it was John Hanke himself, the CEO of Niantic, who came to promote the publisher’s new title, NBA All- World. For Pokémon Go players, the principle of the game and certain mechanics will seem familiar. For others, it’s a game based on AR and whose objective is to “collect” NBA players encountered by chance on one’s walks. The game therefore uses the basic rules of Pokémon Go, namely real-time geolocation and augmented reality. Hanke explains that he found in this project a way to combine his two great passions, “new technologies and basketball”, he who grew up watching the exploits of Larry Bird on TV.
Play basketball without getting tired
So much for the presentations. But how does NBA All-World play? What is the game really worth? And what are its chances of reproducing the Pokémon Go phenomenon?
The principle of the game is quite simple, you play as one of the 80 players currently available (Niantic plans to add dozens more out of the approximately 450 players in the league). Your goal is to find other players, battle them, and ultimately get them into your team. During your wanderings, in the geolocated world of NBA All-World (which corresponds in real life to the route that leads from your home to the bakery), you will also encounter various bonuses, play areas or physical stores that allow improve or customize your player (the sneaker race promises to be intense).
As for the clashes, they take place in the form of 1 vs 1. The type of duel is determined randomly, but it allows the player to measure himself against his virtual idols through small games well known to basketball fans (competition at 3 points, world tour, first to 5 baskets, etc.). The game mechanics are very basic which makes the game particularly accessible. Indeed, the shoots use the well-known principle of the cursor that must be stopped at the right time. As for the matches themselves, they only rely on a handful of finger movements (scrolling right, left and tapping). Admittedly, we are far from NBA 2K, but the game is intended for the general public.
NBA-style fashion week
Where NBA All-World wants to go further is on the part that does not concern basketball, but the culture that surrounds the game, the one that mixes fashion and music. Thus, Niantic has particularly taken care of the soundtrack of its application, calling on artists such as T-Pain, Compton Av and YoungBoy for the occasion. As for the brands present, whether with clothing, on and off the field, or on sneakers, the game is not lacking in commercial partners…
However, can Niantic hope for its augmented reality NBA game the same success as for its illustrious Pokémon-based predecessor? John Hanke is betting on the fact that basketball would be the most popular team sport among 18-25 year olds around the world, ahead of football. But for one day Nikola Jokic to dethrone Pikachu in the top of the applications that marked their era, NBA All-World will have to seduce beyond basketball fans. Niantic’s new game is available for free download on the PlayStore and on the AppStore only in France. It will be available worldwide from January 24
