A heartwarming new Pokémon GO trailer has just been released to celebrate the game’s fifth anniversary this year. Nintendo and Niantic’s augmented reality scavenger hunt simulator took the world by storm when it first launched in 2016, with longtime Pokémon fans and newcomers alike joining together across the globe to locate and catch those ever-elusive collectible creatures.
Just like the mainline Pokémon games, Pokémon GO tasks players with finding and catching a wide variety of different Pokémon - albeit with the twist of actually going outside and searching for them on their mobile devices. Players can also meet up with friends to trade or battle their Pokémon - though this was recently the subject of controversy after Niantic altered the required distance for Gym Battles due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Niantic has held several special Pokémon GO events in the years since the game was first released, allowing players access to exclusive Pokémon variants for a limited time. Now Pokémon GO has reached its fifth anniversary in 2021, and fans are celebrating by recalling the many ways the game has brought people together during times of increasing unrest around the world.
A couple of days ago, the Pokémon GO 5th Anniversary Video “Adventures Go On!” video was posted on the official Pokémon GO YouTube channel, featuring actual footage of Pokémon GO players from all around the world. The uplifting montage starts with news reports from when the game first launched back in 2016, followed by fans joining together to look for and capture rare Pokémon in countries like the US, France, Australia, and Japan. Players are shown discussing how Pokémon GO encourages people to go out and exercise while looking for critters to acquire, and the video ultimately ends with scenes of large gatherings and special events – with fans narrating about how so many people have come together out of their love of Pokémon.
Watch Pokémon GO’s 5th anniversary video on YouTube here.
Pokémon GO’s fifth anniversary coincides with the 25th anniversary of the larger Pokémon franchise as a whole. All year long, Nintendo has announced several blockbuster Pokémon games for 2021 and beyond, including a Nintendo Switch remaster of the DS-era Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and the open-world spin-off Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Outside of the games, several rare Pikachu Pokémon card variants have been released, and celebrities like Katy Perry and Post Malone have teamed up with Nintendo for Pokémon 25: The Album, a musical celebration of the franchise that is set for release this fall.
In the meantime, the recently released Pokémon GO fifth anniversary video is a heartwarming reminder of just how much the game means to its legion of devoted players from all around the world, and a moving display of fans coming together when the world seems more divided than ever. Pokémon GO reignited the world's love of Nintendo's ever-expanding catalog of collectible monsters when it launched five years ago, and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Source: Pokémon GO/YouTube