Niantic Labs reported on November 4, Thursday its augmented reality (AR) game "Pokémon Go" is getting the "Nearby" feature. The tracking feature was beta-tested in the San Francisco area and now Seattle and parts of Arizona can also get some new features. Fans of this summer's hit mobile game can enjoy some new ways to track Pokemon and use Pokestops besides collecting Pokeballs, potions, and eggs.
The game's original tracking system broke soon after launch. Nearby was then launched to the City by the Bay three months ago.
Niantic announced on Facebook the Nearby tracking feature will be rolled out to other U.S. regions, which would likely include major cities in Arizona.
This feature could later get a global rollout. The Pokémon screen shows which pocket monsters are in the area and which one if they are near a Pokestop, according to Android Headlines. Selecting the Pokestop then provides a helpful map to show which direction gamers should go.
The tracking system of "Pokémon Go" has been one of the biggest complaints about the smartphone game. Its original tracking system was dropped within one week after launch due to pressure on the game's servers.
Pokémon gamers used do-it-yourself tracking systems that used data from Niantic's application program interface (API). Niantic then locked down its API, which caused many of the sites to shut down.
The new tracker is different from the original system. Niantic's first system used footprint icons to show distance, which helped gamers learn if they were walking in the right direction to catch a Pokemon, according to Tech Crunch.
This is not the first time Niantic has changed the way Pokémon are tracked. It shows the Google spin-off is tweaking the game to improve user experience.
Niantic's game-changing AR game "Ingress" was launched before "Pokémon GO." It used a smartphone's GPS service to build the game interface over places in the real world.
The Bay Area-based company is now beta-testing crowd-sourcing to improve the user experience of AR gamers. John Hanke's company shared that after receiving feedback it will make tweaks and include the Nearby feature in a wider rollout to other regions.
Niantic has recently added other new features and content to the game. That included an announcement about daily play bonuses and a Halloween event during the past week. The daily bonuses will give people extra points for playing again.
Here's a video on Pokemon Go daily bonsues: