Niantic has announced the latest patch notes for Pokémon GO which updates the game to version 0.55.0 for Android and 1.25.0 for iOS.

Pokémon GO updated to version 0.55.0 for Android and 1.25.0 for iOS

Trainers, Pokémon GO is in the process of being updated to version 0.55.0 for Android and 1.25.0 for iOS devices. Below are some release notes and comments from our development team.

• Reduced the starting load time on Android devices.
• Resolved Android connectivity issues for the Pokémon GO Plus accessory.
• Integrated iOS wheelchair support for use with Apple Watch.
• Minor text fixes.

Source: http://pokemongolive.com/en/post/ver-update-012817/

Niantic has announced that a special Pokémon GO Christmas Event will take place from December 25th, 2016 until January 3rd, 2017.

The holiday season has arrived! Celebrate it with us!

Trainers, As the year draws to a close, we want to give you a great way to celebrate the end of the year with Pokémon GO. For the next couple of weeks, you’ll have even more reason to explore the world with your friends and family while you enjoy our year-end event.

Don’t miss out on an increased chance to hatch a Togepi (and other Pokémon)! Starting the morning of December 25, 2016, and through the afternoon of January 3, 2017 (PST), PokéStops will award one single-use Incubator each day after your first Photo Disc spin. As you visit PokéStops during this time period, there will be a greater chance of finding Eggs that hatch Togepi, Pichu, and several other recently found Pokémon, originally discovered in the Johto region. Special Pikachu wearing festive hats will also be staying around a bit longer! You are more likely to find these limited-edition Pikachu during the time period of this celebration.

In addition, from the afternoon of December 30, 2016, through the afternoon of January 8, 2017 (PST), the first partner Pokémon and their Evolutions, originally discovered in the Kanto region, are more likely to be encountered. This means a greater chance to catch Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur, as well as Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard, plus Squirtle, Wartortle, and Blastoise! As a way to increase your chance to encounter one of these Pokémon, Lure Modules will also last for 60 minutes instead of 30 minutes.

Get up and go!

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/holiday2016/

Pokémon GO is now on the Apple Watch. It was release on December 22nd, 2016. Below are the details from Niantic's press release.

Pokémon GO is now on the Apple Watch, just in time for the Holidays

Trainers, Pokémon GO is now available on the Apple Watch! You will now be able to explore and experience the world around you directly from your wrist, whether you’re searching for wild Pokémon or trying to hatch the Pokémon originally discovered in the Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver video games.

Apple Watch is particularly well suited to Pokémon GO as it seamlessly combines gameplay and imagination with getting exercise and exploring the real world. You can easily interact with Pokémon GO on Apple Watch, using quick taps to discover nearby Pokémon and collect items from PokéStops. Once you encounter a Pokémon, you can catch it from your iPhone. You can log your play sessions through the Apple Watch app as a Workout that will count toward your personal Activity rings, while also counting distance toward hatching Pokémon Eggs.

To recap the core features of Pokémon GO on Apple Watch, you’ll be able to

• Log each play session as a workout, with gameplay counting toward personal Activity rings
• Receive notifications about nearby Pokémon
• Count distance toward hatching Pokémon Eggs and receiving Candy with your Buddy Pokémon
• Receive notifications about PokéStops nearby and collect items from them
• Receive notifications when Eggs hatch and medals are awarded

This holiday season, experience Pokémon GO and the world around you in a whole new way on Apple Watch. It’s the perfect companion for bundled-up winter walks in the Northern Hemisphere and for fun summer activities in the Southern Hemisphere. And hey, what great timing—you can get a head start on that New Year’s fitness resolution by having some fun now!

Source: http://pokemongolive.com/en/post/apple-watch/

Niantic has announced new patches, game statistics and partnerships in their latest press news posts.

Pokémon GO Statistics - As of December 7th, 2016

• 8.7 Billion KM Walked
• 88 Billion Pokémon Caught

Pokémon GO updated to version 0.51.0 for Android and 1.21.0 for iOS

Trainers, Pokémon GO is in the process of being updated to version 0.51.0 for Android and 1.21.0 for iOS devices. Below are some release notes and comments from our development team.

• The bug that caused incorrect vibration notifications has been fixed.
• Day and night modes have changed to more accurately reflect the Trainer’s current time of day.
• Minor text fixes.

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/ver-update-121916/

200,000 trips around the Earth!

Trainers, You know that we are fans of a little walk every now and then. That’s why we were excited back in September to announce that Pokémon GO Trainers had walked more than 4.6 billion kilometers since we launched. Trainers have since racked up some impressive stats.

We are pleased to share that—as of December 7—the Pokémon GO community has collectively walked more than 8.7 billion kilometers. That’s more than 200,000 trips around Earth! Fun fact: A commercial jetliner would take more than 1,000 years to cover the same distance. While covering this distance, Trainers also caught more than 88 billion Pokémon along the way. That’s roughly 533 million Pokémon a day!

Get out and go this holiday season, and let’s add some more kilometers to that total! Thank you for your continued support!

Source: pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/milestones/

YouTube Clip - 200,000 trips around the Earth!

Reliance Jio is now an official partner of Pokémon GO in India

Trainers in India, We’re happy to announce that Reliance Jio Infocomm is an official partner of Pokémon GO in India! Reliance Jio has disrupted the Indian digital services space by providing high speed 4G LTE mobile data at very affordable prices to enable the vision of Digital India for 1.2 billion Indians. We’re excited to join them on this journey. With this partnership, nearly 3,000 Jio stores and partner locations will become PokéStops and Gyms that Trainers can visit to collect items and to battle over.

During Jio’s “Happy New Year” offer, their SIM customers will be able to download and play Pokémon GO without incurring data charges. Step outside and explore to catch many Pokémon today!

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/jio/

Niantic announced via Twitter that Pokémon Go is indeed still coming out soon after reports began circulating on Saturday that the app had been shelved. The Tweet by Niantic though seems more like damage control rather than an actual announcement of the apps release date. The Pokémon Go app was announced to be released before the end of 2016.

Pokémon Go for Apple Watch is coming soon. Stay tuned.

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) December 17, 2016

9to5Mac reported that they had a confirmed source with knowledge of Niantic's plans that the Pokémon Go Plus app for Apple Watch had been canceled for now. On September 7th, 2016, Apple had a Special Event at San Francisco’s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium where they announced some their new products for the upcoming year. At the event, Niantic CEO John Hanke had a segment during the presentation where he discussed the current status of Pokémon GO and he announced that Pokémon GO Plus for Apple Watch would be released by the end of 2016.


Source: https://9to5mac.com/2016/12/17/pokemon-go-for-apple-watch-cancelled/

Niantic has announced the much anticipated update to Pokémon GO that adds some Johto Region Pokémon to the game. Also, a limited edition Pikachu will be available all over the world and these Pikachu are wearing a festive hat to celebrate the Christmas season.

More Pokémon and a limited edition Pikachu are coming to Pokémon GO

Trainers, Professor Willow has discovered Togepi and Pichu hatching from Eggs! Starting later today, Trainers will have the opportunity to hatch these and several other Pokémon that were originally discovered in the Johto Region in Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver video games. These are the first of more Pokémon coming to Pokémon GO over the next few months. Be sure to use the hashtag #PokemonGO on Twitter to share your experiences as you explore your local neighborhoods with family and friends, walk to hatch these Pokémon from Eggs, and register them to your collection this holiday season. We can’t wait to see what Pokémon you’ve hatched!

We also have another special treat for you. Starting later today through December 29, 2016, 10:00 A.M. PST, you’ll find limited edition Pikachu all over the world. These Pikachu will be wearing a festive hat to celebrate the season! Use the Pokémon GO AR camera when you encounter them in the wild to take their picture and share it with us using #HolidayPikachu.

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/johto-holiday/

YouTube - Pokémon GO - More Pokémon are here!

Niantic and Starbucks have announced the Special-Edition Pokémon GO Frappuccino and that approximately 7,800 Starbucks stores in the United States will begin to turn into PokéStops or Gyms starting on December 8th, 2016.

Hello, Starbucks!

Trainers, We are happy to announce that Starbucks is now an official partner of Pokémon GO.

Starbucks has a long-standing commitment to providing spaces for social interaction and real-world community building in its extensive network of locations. We appreciate their role in creating safe, welcoming locations for people from all walks of life to come together for refreshment and social engagement. Starting 11 A.M. PST on December 8th, this new partnership will transform 7,800 company-operated Starbucks stores in the United States into PokéStops and Gyms, giving Trainers even more places to play and to engage with their local Pokémon GO communities. And to cap it all off, Starbucks is creating a special-edition Pokémon GO Frappuccino® for everyone!

Whether you’re on your daily morning commute or just out exploring your neighborhood with your loved ones, make sure you collect items from the new Starbucks PokéStops or battle in the new Gyms with your favorite Pokémon!

Source: http://pokemongolive.com/en/post/starbucks/

Discover the Pokémon GO Frappuccino at Starbucks

People across the country have been playing Pokémon GO since its release and Starbucks customers and partners (employees) are among them. To join in with the fun and excitement, starting today (December 8) at 11 a.m. PST, approximately 7,800 Starbucks® stores in the U.S. will begin to turn into PokéStops or Gyms.

By locating a Starbucks® store within Pokémon GO, players will discover the Pokémon GO Frappuccino® blended beverage. The Pokémon GO Frappuccino® starts with a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino® blended beverage and raspberry syrup blended with freeze-dried whole blackberries and topped with whipped cream. It's the perfect treat for any Pokémon Trainer on the go.

The Pokémon GO Frappuccino® blended beverage will be available at participating Starbucks® stores for a limited time while supplies last.

Source: https://news.starbucks.com/news/starbucks-pokemon-go

Starbucks Twitter

Discover the Pokémon GO @Frappuccino at Starbucks https://t.co/nWLiOuGV3c pic.twitter.com/r8CTnLKwuV

— Starbucks News (@Starbucksnews) December 8, 2016

On November 17th, 2016, it was announced that Pokémon GO was available in eight new countries in the Middle East: Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

On November 21st, 2016, Niantic announced that a special celebration for Pokémon GO that will double the amount of XP and Stardust from November 23rd, 2016 at 00:00 UTC to November 30th, 2016 00:00 UTC when players complete in-game actions.

A Celebration to Say Thank You

Trainers, It has been an incredible experience since we launched Pokémon GO a few short months ago in July. We are passionate about creating experiences that encourage exploration and promote exercise. We are humbled that hundreds of millions of you around the world have joined us on this journey. So we would like to say thank you - and what better way to say thank you than to celebrate our community.

So, starting November 23rd at 00:00 UTC and going through November 30th 00:00 UTC, we will double the amount of XP and Stardust you receive when completing in-game actions.

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/celebration-nov2016/

Pokémon GO updated to version 0.47.1 for Android and 1.17.0 for iOS

Trainers, Pokémon GO is in the process of being updated to version 0.47.1 for Android and 1.17.0 for iOS devices. Below are some release notes and comments from our development team.

• Fixed an issue where the Egg-hatching cutscene animation would sometimes be briefly visible from the map view.
• Minor text fixes

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/ver-update-111816/

Niantic announced a new feature for Pokémon GO adding Daily Bonuses to encourage players to login and play the game daily.

More bonuses, more fun! Daily bonuses are coming...

Trainers, We want to provide you a detailed look at a new feature coming soon to Pokémon GO - Daily bonuses! Trainers will soon be able to receive a bonus for certain daily activities, including catching a Pokémon or visiting a PokéStop once a day. You’ll earn a larger bonus if you do this seven days in a row!

Catching a Pokémon every day will earn the following bonus:

• 500 XP
• 600 Stardust

Catching a Pokémon every day for 7 days straight will earn the following larger bonus:

• 2,000 XP
• 2,400 Stardust

Visiting a PokéStop and spinning the Photo Disc every day will earn the following bonus:

• 500 XP
• A number of additional items

Visiting a PokéStop every day for 7 days straight will earn the following larger bonus:

• 2,000 XP
• A greater number of additional items

If you catch a Pokémon at any time on Tuesday local time, you’ll be eligible for the next daily bonus on Wednesday at 12 AM local time.

Source: http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/en/post/daily-bonus/

When Nintendo, Niantic and The Pokémon Company announced that they would bring a mainstream Pokémon game to the Apple iOS and Google Android mobile phone market, there was much speculation that this was Nintendo finally caving to public pressure to finally release games on non-Nintendo manufactured systems which would reduce sales and overall profit for Nintendo. The reverse actually came true as Nintendo announced during their October 27th, 2016 Earnings Release for the Six-Month Period Ended September 2016 that the release of Pokémon GO in July helped the sales of the Nintendo 3DS and related Pokémon games.

Nintendo also announced that combined Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire sales have reached 13.18 million copies sold worldwide as of September 2016.

U.S. Nintendo 3DS Hardware Sell-Through Trends

"This graph shows Nintendo 3DS hardware sell-through trends in the U.S. compared with sell-through for the previous period. In the U.S., the previously-released Nintendo 2DS was dropped to an even more affordable price, and promotional activities aimed at children and parents were effective in increasing sales. The release of Pokémon GO on July 6th also led to a major increase in sales of the Nintendo 3DS family systems, where consumers can enjoy past titles in the Pokémon series. The trend here is higher than that for the previous period, and we are maintaining this momentum as we head into the holiday season."

U.S. Nintendo 3DS First-Party Software Sell-Through Trends

"This graph shows Nintendo 3DS first-party software in the U.S. compared with sell-through for the previous period. In the U.S., promotional activities aimed at children and parents were effective in increasing sales, and there was solid growth in sales for evergreen titles and Nintendo Selects games such as The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. The release of Pokémon GO also provided a bump in sales for the Pokémon series, and as a result, sales here have also surpassed those in the previous period."

Europe Nintendo 3DS Hardware Sell-Through Trends
	"This graph shows Nintendo 3DS hardware sell-through trends in Europe compared with sell-through for the previous period. As in the U.S., the release of Pokémon GO across Europe starting in July spurred momentum for hardware sales."

Europe Nintendo 3DS First-Party Software Sell-Through Trends

"This graph shows Nintendo 3DS first-party software sell-through trends in Europe compared with sell- through for the previous period. In the European market, we again see the boost in Pokémon series titles in July, but this is supported by new titles such as Kirby: Planet Robobot, Fire Emblem Fates Birthright/Conquest, and Monster Hunter Generations, for which Nintendo provided distribution in Europe. Evergreen titles and Nintendo Selects titles also sold well. Overall software sales are vigorous, outpacing the previous period. "

Pokémon GO increased Virtual Console Sales

"Over the summer, the smart device application Pokémon GO became a major hit and a social phenomenon. This has sparked increased interest in Pokémon-related software. Previous entries in the Pokémon series playable on the Nintendo 3DS system were Pokémon X and Pokémon Y in 2013 and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire in 2014. We also released the original games in this series, Pokémon Red, Pokémon Green, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Pikachu, as downloadable Virtual Console titles in February this year. These Pokémon series titles have seen an increase in sales despite having been on the market for some time already. "

Pokémon Series Sell-Through Trends

"This graph shows the month-on-month sales of titles in the Pokémon series in Japan, the U.S. and Europe, as mentioned earlier in the presentation. As you can see, the release of Pokémon GO in July led to a major upsurge in sales, particularly for the U.S. and European markets. We can clearly see that the release of Pokémon GO has raised interest in Pokémon and contributed to a resurgence of sales for previously-released Pokémon titles."

Nintendo 3DS Hardware Sell-Through Trends
	"Similarly, this graph shows the month-on-month sales for Nintendo 3DS family systems. You can see that there is a peak in July for hardware as well, following the release of Pokémon GO."

Pokémon GO Plus
	"We launched the Pokémon GO Plus accessory on September 16th to provide a more comfortable play experience for Pokémon GO. Demand far exceeded our expectations and production has not caught up, leading to product shortages. We apologize to the consumers and distributors affected by this. We are planning to expand production as needed, and will continue to produce and ship additional units."

Sources: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/161027_2e.pdf and https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/161026_2e.pdf