Get ready to lend your power – Niantic set to field test Pokemon Go in Japan

Niantic has unveiled a dedicated site for its new game, the hotly-anticipated Pokemon Go, with a “field test” scheduled to take place in Japan later this month. The downer? It’s currently only interested in Japanese users.

The company posted a short blog post announcing the field test:

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.

The use of Japan as a testing ground for the game isn’t surprising – Nintendo, owners of the Pokemon property, are headquartered there and the company recently opened an office in Tokyo. Niantic’s Ingress also enjoys ridiculous popularity in the country with massive attendance at the game’s anomaly events.

Further information has been made available through machine translation:

Please lend your power.

Thank you for your interest in Pokémon GO. Pokémon GO is a mobile game of the iPhone and Android, which is scheduled for release in 2016, Niantic with the cooperation of The Pokémon Company, is Inc has developed.

Pokémon GO is a realistic world game to progress by moving players actually go out. Because the thing that a lot of you play on the stage of the world, when many of the people who played at the same time, whether or not the various functions to move properly, whether play in a variety of regions and location, is that you must make sure before publishing, We have a lot.

For this reason, everyone in I am in actually playing the app in development, improve the quality of the game, we want closer step by step to complete. Using your smartphone, try is actually playing in your area, do not offer cooperation in the field test.

Since the app is still developing, or there is a limit to the function, there may be a place that may or may not work properly. Upon was also our understanding such a place, along with the development of supporters who can cooperate, we believe that if Ikere to grow to more good work.

If Keru can join immediately, read the following notes, please register from the registration button.

Niantic Inc. – Working with The Pokémon Company
About field test]
Field test is intended to be carried out in the official version published a test version app limited to part of the user application before the release of the purpose to improve the features and game balance.
● implementation period
scheduled to begin in late March 2016
implementation period of the field test, it is subject to change without notice.
● entry requirements
in your in-Japan, and for those who have an Android device or iOS device.
· Android is a version 4.3 or higher, iOS will target the iPhone 5 or later.
　※ There is no guarantee that to successfully operate in all of the terminal.
　※ For technical reasons, we will be greatly limited the number of recruitment for the iOS version.
● notes

to your application -, privacy policy you’ll need to agree to. Field application of the test, there is a case where I am be closed without notice. And participation in the test, if necessary on the development, your terminal, based on such as this to your experience with the realistic world of the game, we will sequentially guide you through methods such as lottery or invitation. In the case of many applicants, it does not necessarily mean that you can participate in the person of all, please understand in advance. To those who are elected, we will send you a notification email with the participation such as methods and precautions to field test. – For technical reasons, to signup, you will need a Gmail or Google account. – By reason of input mistake etc. of your registration our e-mail address, if it is not able to receive the prize notification e-mail from us, also, I have been treated by mistake on your own as a case or junk e-mail that had been deleted the e-mail such as the case was, you can not re-issue of the winning notification e-mail in any case. Or when you get your application in which e-mail address can be received correctly, please be sure to confirm. Field test implementation period accounts and data that has been created during the you can not take over at the start of the official service. In addition, during the implementation period, it is scheduled to reset a few degrees data is carried out. Please note. Field there is no compensation and benefits due to participate in the test. Through your participation, thank you towards the join us who can think itself is reward that your app will be better. – Winning the buying and selling of the rights of development supporters, transfer, acquisition or use of account loans, and the act of borrowing, etc., it will refuse regardless of the paid and unpaid. · In order to deliver the joy and surprise to more people in the official version, the contents of the application under development, it will be considered as confidential information of the only participants. · Upon field participation in the test, any accident during game play, such as trouble, for any damage, etc., Niantic assumes no responsibility. We pay attention to safety, please participate in the test.

We can see that Niantic is planning to support both Android and iOS devices at launch, with iPhone 5 and above and Android 4.3 and above devices.

It also looks like field test players will be subject to an eventual reset, with machine translation revealing that stats will not be carried over into the finished product. This isn’t too surprising, given the amount of data that will be generated during the text. Niantic’s other major game, Ingress, is said to have been subject to a couple of major full game reset events before it eventually went public.

Speaking of Ingress, there’s an area on the registration form for you to enter your Ingress agent name and level, if you want to show your enthusiasm for everything Niantic.

We’ve also got some pics of the registration process courtesy of a friendly registrant:

Lastly, though unsurprisingly, it looks like there’ll be a confidentiality agreement surrounding the field test. Maybe someone will disregard that and let us all in on the Pokemon Go fun. Here’s hoping!

Are you excited to play Pokemon Go when it’s eventually released? Will you sign up to participate in a local field test? Tell us in the comments!