Jio partners Niantic to offer ‘Pokeman GO’ to mobile phone gamers

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited is partnering with Niantic, Inc, publisher and developer of Pokémon GO in association with The Pokémon Company, to offer first-of-its-kind Augmented Reality game 'Pokémon GO' to India.

Reliance Jio has made the much-sought-after Pokémon Go augmented reality game through thousands of Reliance Digital Stores and select partner premises in India.

The Pokeman Go game is being made available in India as 'PokéStops' or 'Gyms' in the stores beginning today.

This launch is in line with Jio's mission to empower Indians with opportunities that are fuelled by the power of data and a Digital Life and to delight them on an ongoing basis with entertainment-based apps, such as 'Pokémon GO,' the leading app in the gaming category, Reliance Jio stated in a release.

''We are delighted to partner with Jio to launch Pokémon GO in India,'' said John Hanke, chief executive officer and founder of Niantic. ''It's exciting to see Pokémon fans in India step out and explore their neighbourhoods in search of Pokémon and Jio's disruptive high speed 4G LTE Network will be an excellent way to experience the game.''

''The two companies will work together to bring Indians a richer and more enjoyable mobile entertainment experience for Pokémon GO, including activating Jio retail locations and charging stations as PokéStops and Gyms within the game and allowing Indians to catch, train, and battle at any of Jio's outlets throughout the country.

''On Jio's social messaging app, JioChat, Pokémon players have access to an exclusive Pokémon Go Channel. The Pokémon Go Channel will enable Pokémon Go players to collaborate and be part of an exciting community of players with daily tips, contests, clues, and special events. The Pokémon Go Channel on JioChat a fun way to socialize with other players and level-up faster.

''With over 500 million downloads globally, we are excited to launch Pokémon GO officially in India on the Reliance Jio network,'' said Mathew Oommen, president Reliance Jio. ''Our partnership with Niantic not only brings access to the Pokémon GO app but also opens the door to more opportunities for our customers to enjoy content on Jio's one-of-a-kind mobile broadband network.''

The partnership puts Pokémon GO players on a world-class all-IP data strong network, and during the New Year Offer, Jio SIM customers will be able to download and play  Pokémon GO without incurring data charges, like any other apps and content, till 31 March 2017.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), has built a world-class all-IP data strong future proof network with latest 4G LTE technology. It is the only network conceived and born as a Mobile Video Network from the ground up and supporting Voice over LTE  technology. It is future ready and can be easily upgraded to support even more data, as technologies advance on to 5G, 6G and beyond.

Jio has revolutionised the Indian telecom landscape by making voice calls for Jio customers absolutely free, across India, to any network, and always, also making India most affordable data market in the world.

Niantic, Inc builds mobile real-world experiences that foster fun, exploration, discovery, and social interaction. Originally incubated within Google, Niantic, Inc., spun out in 2015, with investments from Google, The Pokémon Company, and Nintendo.

The company's immersive real-world mobile game Ingress has been downloaded more than 15 million times and is played in more than 200  countries and territories worldwide.

Niantic, Inc., also developed and published Pokémon GO, the real-world Pokémon game for iOS and Android mobile devices that was downloaded more than 500 million times in its first two months.