NBA All-World is the demonstration that 2023 could be the year of the consecration of augmented reality. 7 years after the launch of Pokemon Go, the creators themselves (Niantic) are trying to collect its heavy legacy by re-attempting the historic worldwide success that followed the launch of the app starring the little animals made famous by Nintendo between the years Ninety and two thousand. But where Pokemon Go tried to involve the coaches by stimulating them in the search for the rarest little monsters, NBA All-World wants to try to complete the big leap towards that AR revolution still only sketched: thanks to the forthcoming launch of a series of smart glasses that should maximize augmented reality, the video game could only be at the dawn of its development. “Sports are a big part of people’s lives and pop culture. Our take on an NBA basketball game starts with an exciting one-on-one game and expands from there to include key elements of basketball culture, including music, fashion, sneakers, and more, all integrated into real-world locations » declares John Hanke, Founder & CEO of Niantic.
Don’t expect a pure basketball game (for that there is NBA 2K2023) but a more fluid and fun hybrid where the games are designed for the mobile environment and are over in a couple of minutes. Basketball courts around the world become the playground for playing and competing with the best players. As you move around the map while walking, you may come across shoe shops, arenas, or other Drop zones where you can collect many items and accessories to use to customize your players, such as sneakers, t-shirts, balls, and many other items inspired by the culture of basketball. Players can also find, challenge and compete with current NBA players right in their neighborhood, then recruit them to their team before proving their worth on the court.
How to play NBA All-World?
The mechanism is the same that led to the success of Pokemon Go: putting together the map of the surroundings with the video game, players can explore the real world to find the stars of the NBA, challenge them, and include them in their roster, which from time to time it can be enhanced, improved and expanded through encounters, special objects, and particular boosts. Instead of throwing the Poké Ball, challenge players in your path and engage them in other games to earn more credits, improve their stats, and practice their throwing accuracy. The more the level of the team increases, the more it will be possible to recruit stronger and stronger players. And the more powerful you are the more you will be forced to power up your champions to make sure that the Offense, Defense, and Fitness stats are always high for every player before every match. Each user can climb the world leaderboard based on over 100,000 real-world basketball courts to become the king of the court and take first place. To rank up you have to challenge friends and other players.
From a first test, NBA All-World manages to convince despite the gameplay being simplified to the maximum with a couple of movements available, the jump shot and a couple of classic fakes to support. But for enthusiasts, it may be more than enough to get back to playing in a mobile landscape where free-to-play is becoming increasingly impoverished by advertising and paid content. NBA All-World tries to take a different path, taking advantage of AR and geolocation technologies, through which users can search and challenge the NBA stars in their surroundings, recruit them to their team, and prove their worth together on the field.
The real-world metaverse
In short, Niantic’s goal is to try to push us outdoors and play sports, using the hook of basketball and NBA stars. Not surprisingly, to support the launch, he also designed a marketing campaign entitled to go. all. out. , and a mini-docuseries Where I’m From, which will star US major league players such as Jalen Green, Jordan Poole, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Andrew Wiggins. So, where the metaverse bubble is exploding all around that wants to force us to split into digital versions for shopping, work, and much more, Niantic is betting on the ” real world metaverse”i.e. focusing on live interaction and support for local communities. You can download NBA All-World for iOS and Android.
It could cover a range of topics related to health, wellness, beauty, personal growth, and social issues, all from the perspective of striving for beauty, intelligence, youthfulness, and impartiality