Nintendo teams with Pokémon Go studio Niantic on AR apps

San Francisco-based Niantic becomes Nintendo’s fourth smartphone app development partner, potentially giving the Kyoto-based company’s mobile efforts a much-needed push. — AFP

Nintendo Co has struck a long-term deal to develop augmented reality smartphone apps with Niantic Inc, the Google spinoff whose smash hit Pokémon Go introduced AR to a mainstream gaming audience.

The pair announced a long-term agreement in Tokyo on March 23 to turn Nintendo content into AR apps, which work by superimposing digital images onto the physical world. They will start by releasing a Pikmin app in 2021, based on the puzzle-solving series created by Nintendo’s creative fellow Shigeru Miyamoto in 2001.