Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: HRL, Niantic Labs, nintendo, pokemon go, the pokemon company

Pokémon Go is Running in 8-bit Graphics Today for an April Fool's Gag

Yes today might be Easter Sunday, but it is also April 1st, meaning that the video game dev gags are in full swing. Niantic Labs have gotten in on the fun this year by running Pokémon Go in 8-bit graphics to give you that retro feel.

As far as April Fools gags go, this one is pretty tame. The game is exactly the same as it was yesterday, just more pixelated, because why not go back to 8-bit sprites? As someone who has a lot of fond memories of the original Pokémon games, and even the Gen 2 games, the characters just look better in 8-bit. But that could just be me showing my age.

Niantic has not announced when the game will go back to its usual graphics, but I'm certain things'll turn around in short order.

Niantic made the announcement on the official Pokémon Go website, saying:

Trainers,

We always want to bring you the most immersive graphics experience possible, and we're excited to share our latest breakthrough with millions of Pokémon GO Trainers around the world. Starting later today, you can be one of the first to experience this all-new graphics engine.

Experience Pokémon GO like never before with cutting-edge 8-BIT GRAPHICS! Registering approximately twice the definition of 4K, the chunky squares of each pixel provide realistic detail and unbelievable definition. Your Pokédex will feel lifelike in ways previously unimagined on any handheld device ever created.

We feel 100% confident in saying that you've never seen Pokémon like this in Pokémon GO! We're looking forward to your feedback on this brand-new feature. Tell us your thoughts on our latest update with #PokemonGO, and be sure to include a picture of your favorite Pokémon!

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what the community does with this, because the Pokémon Go community can get pretty darn creative.

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