SXSW is a massive event for all forms of media, which means a lot of people were there to talk about video games. John Hanke, the CEO of Niantic, was at the event, and it certainly seems like he showed off one of the most anticipated mobile games of 2016. That’s right, some SXSW people got a look at Pokémon Go . And, thanks to a YouTube user named Eric F. who was recording the panel, we all get to see it too.
Here’s the look at Pokémon Go . It’ll only take you about a minute to watch.
The Pokémon Go footage begins with a trainer on the map in front of a Pokémon (an Ivysaur, to be exact). You’ll then go to a first person view, where you see the Pokémon appear in the real world, thanks to your mobile device’s camera. The Ivysaur moves around, and the player has to throw a Poke Ball at it. It escapes the first time, so Hanke explains he can switch to a different kind of Poke Ball.
The Pokémon Go SXSW demo ends with a Master Ball being used to catch the Ivysaur. The app then says its health is 94/94, mentions it’s a grass and poison type, and makes a brief reference to some sort of crystals.
Pokémon Go will be released worldwide in 2016, with an accompanying Pokémon Go Plus device. The app will go through a beta phase in Japan sometime this month.