Pokemon Go has announced its first major sponsorship deal in the US, teaming up with Sprint to add thousands of new Pokestops and gyms to the game. These new hotspots will all be located at Sprint stores and retail locations. The store itself will get in on the fun as well, allowing Pokemon Go players to come inside and charge up their phones.
“We are thrilled to announce that we are working with Sprint to create a special Pokémon GO experience at over 10,500 Sprint locations around the United States. As part of this collaboration, Sprint, Boost Mobile and Sprint at Radioshack stores will become PokéStops and Gyms, giving you even more places to stock up on Poké Balls and Razz Berries and to battle your friends. Sprint locations will also feature in-store charging stations to keep your Pokémon GO sessions going even longer.”
This announcement comes alongside Niantic finally confirming that more Pokemon are about to be added to Pokemon Go. This is widely believed to be Gen 2, which could add up to 100 Pokemon to the game. I explained why I thought this was a bad idea, but there are many players excited for this change, so maybe I’m alone.
Pokemon Go has seen its playerbase dwindled as of late, but various events and changes to the game have brought many back. There are still inherent problems with the game though, including a very broken tracking system for anyone outside of a major city. These sorts of issues, lingering this long, have definitely caused a backlash against the game, which launched to unprecedented excitement from hardcore and casual gamers alike. Could the addition of Gen 2 Pokemon and more Pokestops and gyms help bring back some of that initial excitement? We’ll find out soon, with the announcement planned for December 12th.
