The developer of Pikmin Bloom began rolling out last month, and is now available worldwide. The app is the latest game from Niantic, best known as the developer of Pokémon GO.
Pikmin Bloom, available for both iOS and Android devices, uses AR technology to add some Pikmin flair to walking. In a similar vein to Pokémon GO, Pikmin Bloom s are able to meet characters in the real world through the app, though instead of battling and capturing, players take part in item-collecting Expeditions and watch flowers bloom along their daily walk routes. The game encourages taking daily walks and records s' steps and journeys with an in-game journal. The app comes from an official collaboration between Niantic and Nintendo, with Pikmin recently celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Announced by the official Pikmin Bloom website, the game's first official Community Day will be taking place on November 13, and will run from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm local time. During the event, players will find that planter pack seedlings will grow faster than usual when walking and planting flowers, and fruits will give additional nectar. Those who complete a 10,000 step walk during the Community Day will be rewarded with a "special badge on their profile." Players will find the following in-app rewards during the event:
- Pikmin seedlings in your planter pack will grow at about 1.5x the usual speed
- Fruits will give 2x the usual amount of nectar
- s who walk 10,000 steps or more on this day will be awarded a special “Community Day Participant” badge
- Big Flowers will bloom into pansies
See the post on Twitter here.
The first Community Day for Pikmin Bloom is likely to introduce new players to the app while simultaneously paving the way for future community events. Niantic has revealed that more Community Days are planned for the future, though what they may look like and how often they'll take place remains unclear. It's likely that Niantic plans to grow and evolve the game with new features and additions in the coming months, something that was seen with Pokémon GO.
Pikmin Bloom may be a new release, but it's already proving to be another success for Niantic. While the developer hasn't disclosed how many times the app has been ed, there are already thousands of player reviews left across the App Store and Google Play Store. Many have praised the release for giving walking a purpose and making it fun for families, while others have found it to be a useful and accurate step counter that works even when the app is closed. Others have been less happy with the latest Pikmin release due to bugs and a lack of gameplay, things which are likely to be addressed further along in the game's lifecycle.
Source: Pikmin Bloom