Pokémon GO begins field test in Japan this month

The hotly anticipated Pokémon GO is taking the next step towards being fully released by carrying out a full field test sometime in March.

A statement on Niantic’s official blog stated;

The Pokémon Company and Niantic will be inviting users to field test Pokémon GO in Japan later this month. The Pokémon GO field test program will give users the opportunity to share early feedback and help improve the Pokémon GO experience.  Please stay tuned for information about expansion of the field test to other markets.  

Thank you for your interest in Pokémon GO.

— The Pokémon GO Development Team

Although the field test is currently only available in Japan there it is hinted that it will possibly be extended to other regions if all goes well. It will do the hugely important job of working out any bugs or glitches and ensuring that anything that doesn’t work is fixed before the game goes on sale.

Considering that the game is scheduled to be released to consumers en masse later this year, the announcement of the field test is surely a sign that the game is currently on track.

Pokémon GO will be released on iOS and Android free of charge, however, it will contain optional in-app purchases, the nature of which has not yet been identified. Players will be able to search for Pokémon in the real world, catch them, train them and battle against others. It’s basically what fans have wanted since 1996!