Niantic’s library of real-world augmented reality games now includes an officially licensed NBA product. Today the Pokemon Go developer unveiled NBA All Worlda game designed “to get players moving and show their passion for basketball”.
Not only NBA All World bringing Niantic in partnership with the National Basketball Association, it also includes a partnership with the National Basketball Players Association to introduce real-world professional basketball players into the game. Players can explore real-world locations to find upgrades , recruit players and participate in King of the Court challenges.
Pokemon Go capture mechanics have been changed for this real-world game. Instead of trying to capture basketball players, app users will be able to play short shooting drills in a basketball-flavored mini-game. Victory in these challenges will “gain a chance” to recruit these players.
NBA All World also includes mod-focused mechanics that play into the company’s ambition to create a “real-world metaverse”. Players will be able to choose “equipment” like sneakers and jerseys to customize character appearance and stats.
Niantic says this gear can also help gamers “stand out from the crowd,” and it overlaps with growing interests from the fashion and footwear industries to integrate real-world products into metaverse apps.
The game is currently in soft-launch and will launch worldwide during the 2022-23 NBA season.
To see the Pokemon Go Developer partner with the NBA shows how Niantic continues to market itself as a metaverse access solution for brand owners who can’t move as quickly in the gaming space. It has already partnered with Nintendo for the release of Pikmin Flowerand Hasbro for the release of Heavy Metal Transformers.
It’s also interesting to see partner Niantic adapting its real-life gameplay mechanics to the world of professional sports. While there’s obviously a lot of money in the professional sports business, it’s also a way to connect with basketball fans who may not have been interested in these kinds of games based on augmented reality and aspiring to the metaverse.
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