Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
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Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was an mobile game developed by Niantic and WB Games San Francisco, and published by Niantic, under license from Portkey Games. The game is based on the Harry PotterWizarding World media franchise, created by J. K. Rowling. It was launched for Android and iOS mobile devices on June 20, 2019. A beta version was released in New Zealand in April 2019, and in Australia in May 2019. On November 2, 2021, Portkey Games announced the closure of game, which happened at 12:01 a.m. EST on January 31, 2022.
Can I Play It On My Phone And In My Country
Transporting with a Portkey.
Niantic and WB Games San Francisco said, to start, the game should be available in 19 languages — including English, French, Spanish, Japanese and both simplified and traditional Chinese — but didn’t commit to which regions the game would be available in at launch. Likewise, while it said the game would run on a broad variety of iOS and Android phones — from high-end devices to older models — it wouldn’t discuss specific devices. Nor would it comment on whether the game would work with hardware accessories, like maybe a wand, or have smartwatch integration.
There’s good news for those who worried the game would be stuffed with microtransactions: Mary Casey, Executive Director of Product for WB Games San Francisco, said the goal is to allow people to play through the game without paying or hitting microtransaction walls. Inns and Greenhouses have a cool-down period after you gather supplies, much like a PokeStop does. And as in Pokemon Go, you’ll be able to buy supplies if you want.
Is There Room For Both
Its likely that Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will be of similar or higher quality than Pokémon Go, but quality isnt the issue. The bigger problem is whether theres enough room for players to enjoy both games. I argue no, as loyalty is paramount for this type of game. After all, regular play sessions are how players are best able to progress in the game and it seems unlikely that theyll want to combine the two in their daily walks.
Where Harry Potter: Wizards Unite may succeed is when you look at the numbers of players that tried Pokémon Go and moved on quickly. Within a few months of launch, it was reported that Pokémon Go had lost 79% of its players since launch. Given its phenomenal success, that wasnt catastrophic by any means but it is interesting to understand why those players left. Some may have left due to Pokémon Go not being their sort of game, but what about those that werent hooked by the Pokémon story? Or were confused by unwieldy game mechanics? Those are the players that Harry Potter: Wizards Unite could draw in.
The mechanics of both games may be similar but its likely that Niantic will be taking a different approach to how it portrays the world of Harry Potter over Pokémon. Its that form of world building that could make the difference in attracting a new audience.
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The Real Reason Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Wins
I’m not surprised that Harry Potter Wizards Unite does a better job of implementing AR: You’d expect its maker, Niantic, to build on all it learned from its Ingress and Pokemon Go games to create a rich, refreshed experience for your phone.
But does that make it a better AR game? Harry Potter has an expansive backstory to pull from — between the original Harry Potter books and movies and the more recent Fantastic Beasts movies — and the game’s AR experience goes a long way toward creating the charm and richness of Harry Potter’s magical world on your phone.
I wonder if Pokemon Go would benefit from such an immersive experience. With the goal of catching them all, Pokemon Go is in some ways much more about tossing pokeballs and battling for gyms and not about exploring a new and charming magical world, and that’s the game’s true strength.
In thinking about the game like an epic, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite weaves the AR tightly into a universe you want to return to again and again.
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How Do I Play
On your game map, youll see magical buildings, supplies on the ground and glowing magical traces that signify someone or something displaced by what the game calls the Calamity. The buildings include Inns, where you collect wizarding foods to use as energy for spells, and Greenhouses, where you gather potion-making ingredients. You can also find potion-making materials on the map, including items that appear only in distinct biomes and during different weather conditions.
Along with Inns and Greenhouses, youll find Fortresses on the map. A bit like a Gym in Pokemon Go, a Fortress is where you join forces with up to four other players to dispel magical creatures and Death Eaters. You battle in real time with the other players in a shared arena. After you defeat one opponent, you can move on to another until the Fortress is cleared.
The map, with points of interest.
But the main attractions are the magic traces you discover on the map. Magic always leaves traces, sometimes very distinctive traces, Professor Albus Dumbledore told Harry. It is true in the books and movies, and its true in the game.
The magical traces are items the unexplained Calamity has displaced from elsewhere in the wizarding world, past or present. Each trace points to a pair of items: a Foundable and a Confoundable.
And finally, you can find on the map and then use a Portkey to transport to an immersive VR-like magical location to explore and gather supplies.
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Wizards Unite launched June 21 with a muted $1.1 million and 3 million installs in its first weekend, quite different tallies from the $28 million and 24 million installs of Pokémon Go in 2016. Overall, worldwide digital revenue grew two percent in June, year-over-year, to $9.2 billion, Nielsens SuperData Research firm reported Tuesday. That figure was boosted by a nine percent increase in revenue from the mobile market. Despite being released more than three years ago, Pokémon Go was the second-highest grosser over the period, while Wizards Unite didnt crack the top 10.
While the technical AR mechanics are better , at the end of the day, gamers are largely still walking to specific local hotspots to collect things and perhaps engage in multiplayer battles, says Ward. Theres a real question as to whether the core mechanics are different enough from Pokémon Go to attract a large base of users and whether that mechanic is a good fit for the Harry Potter universe.
Niantic has a history of pushing out significant updates to its games, and Im sure theyre busy working on improvements now, so its too early to say Harry Potter: Wizards Unite wont ever become a top 25 mobile game, says Ward. Its clear, though, that Niantic and its partners missed the mark out of the gate, and it can be really tough to recover from a lukewarm reception in the highly competitive mobile games market.
Bisa Bertemu Karakter Ikonis
Saat memulai bermain Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, kalian langsung disambut dengan karakter ikonis, yaitu Harry dan Hermione. Walau hanya muncul dalam bentuk gambar statis dan muncul saat percakapan, kemunculan mereka bisa membangkitkan nostalgia terhadap filmnya.
Sayangnya, hal ini enggak bisa kalian temukan di game AR pendahulunya. Walau bisa merasakan pengalaman menjadi Pokemon Trainer, kalian enggak bisa bertemu dengan berbagai karakter ikonis di dunia Pokemon, seperti Ash, Misty, dan Brock.
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Gyms Or Greenhouses: Structures In Harry Potter Give You More To Do
A Portkey transports you to a mysterious room you can walk around.
The Harry Potter: Wizards Unite map is dotted with inns, greenhouses, fortresses and even banners warning of dark-arts traces, and they all provide jumping-in points to the game. Tap an inn, for example, and you’re whisked into an AR dining room to gather food and replenish your energy to cast spells.
Inside the structures, dinner platters float, potted plants rotate in front of you, and you feel a bit like you’ve entered a magical room. And when you place a Portkey, you’re transported to a room in the Borgin and Burkes shop in Knockturn Alley. In this AR room, you can move around, walk up to and examine objects and gather five Wrackspurts to earn rewards.
Pokemon Go, with its pokestops and gyms, has fewer structures to engage with, and of the two, only gyms really feel like you’ve entered a room, to battle Pokemon. I can spin pokestops in my sleep.
Winner: Harry Potter: Wizards Unite offers a more diverse AR experience and feels more realistic. If the only new bit of AR the Harry Potter game offered was the room you reach via a Portkey, it’d be worth it.
Could It Be As Big As Pokemon Go
Uniting the wildly popular Harry Potter and Pokemon Go franchises looks like a solid bet for a hit game. The game developers also have done a good job of building excitement among Harry Potter fans, providing community members with early access to promotional videos and hints.
A demiguise, confounded.
This isnt the first time Warner Bros. has tried to create a game for Potter fans. Last year, Portkey Games worked with Jam City on Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, a roleplaying game set in the 11 years between Harrys birth and his entering Hogwarts. While players seemed to enjoy the story and gameplay, they complained that much of the game was driven by microtransactions. In the year since its release, Jam City has worked to make the game less dependent on transactions.
Fans will also have to hope Niantic learned from Pokemon Gos launch three years ago. The company wasnt prepared for how quickly the game blew up in the summer of 2016 and spent months catching up with the demands of the passionate and vocal player community that shot up. After early stumbles with wobbling game servers and an inauspicious first festival, Niantic has done a better job of rolling out updates over the last year.
Originally published March 11.
Update, April 11: Adds information on reserving your name.
Update, April 17: Adds information on beta testing.
Update, May 2: Adds information about expanded beta testing.
Update, June 19: Adds official launch date.
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Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Is Pokemon Go With Magic Wands
The long-anticipated Harry Potter video game is out now in the US, and we arent disappointed.
Clifford Colby
Managing Editor
Clifford is a managing editor at CNET, where he leads How-To coverage. He spent a handful of years at Peachpit Press, editing books on everything from the first iPhone to Python. He also worked at a handful of now-dead computer magazines, including MacWEEK and MacUser. Unrelated, he roots for the Oakland As.
Out now in the US, the Harry Potter: Wizards Unite augmented reality game will be familiar to anyone whos played the wildly successful Pokemon Go and even Niantics first game, Ingress. Relying on your phones GPS, you move around the physical world and interact with beasts, objects, points of interest and other witches and wizards you come across on your games map.
The game, first announced in 2017, is a joint effort from WB Games San Francisco and Niantic under the Portkey Games label. The game is out now in the US for iPhone and iPad and Android devices, coming to the UK on Friday, June 21, and to international territories soon after.
Back in the spring, the Harry Potter wizarding AR mobile game was far enough along in development that Niantic invited a handful of journalists to its offices to get an update and then play a prerelease version. Following out short runthrough, Niantic made the game available for beta testing in New Zealand and Australia.
Pencipta Pokemon Go Rilis Game Harry Potter Wizards Unite
Los Angeles, Gatra.com – Pencipta gim fenomenal Pokemon Go mengeluarkan gim baru yang menampilkan Harry Potter dan karakter lain dari dunia sihir yang sudah terkenal dengan buku-buku terlaris dan belasan film blockbuster.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite dikembangkan bersama oleh pengembang Pokemon Go Niantic Inc. dan Warner Bros dari AT& T Inc., yang memiliki hak untuk mengembangkan program hiburan berdasarkan penulis J.K. Rowling dengan seri Harry Potter. Wizards Unite tadinya dijadwalkan untuk debut pada Jumat, tetapi para pemain di Amerika Serikat ternyata sudah dapat mengunduhnya pada Kamis sore.
“Anda melihat semua karakter dan artefak favorit Anda. Termasuk Topi Seleksi atau Buckbeak, atau apakah itu Harry sendiri atau bahkan Newt Scamander,” kata Kepala Studio Warner Bros Games San Francisco, Jonathan Knight dikutip dari Reuters, Jumat .
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Seperti Pokemon Go, Wizards Unite menggunakan dan pemetaan Google untuk membuatnya terlihat seperti karakter yang muncul di dunia nyata. Pemain melihat karakter, makhluk, dan elemen lainnya pada lanskap yang mereka lihat melalui kamera ponsel saat mereka bergerak.
Di Wizards Unite, pengguna memainkan peran untuk membantu memecahkan misteri. Para pemain dapat menemukan artefak, merapalkan mantra, dan menemukan karakter dari film-film Potter dan seri film prekuel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
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Pokmon Gos Advantage: Time
Being first out of the gate is often an effective move in mobile gaming. Pokémon Go has the edge in terms of being established. Its been part of its players lives since July 2016 and many of them are intensely loyal and likely to stick around, no matter how much they might adore Harry Potter.
Something like Pokémon Go becomes part of ones daily routine and its going to take a lot to shake that off. After all, after spending potentially hundreds of hours playing one game, does anyone really want to cast it aside in favor of something different yet similar? Thats an even bigger issue for those players that have invested money in the game.
Top Ar Games Like Pokemon Go In 2022
The new era of technology is advancing in every field with the latest inventions for the users. Apart from the digital aspect, Augmented Reality is the new face of playing games. There is no doubt that games like Pokemon Go are an excellent example of how AR is changing the way you play. Also, players love this technology as it decreases the gap between fiction and reality.
Thus, the game became a massive hit in the international community with millions of downloads. However, playing a single game can be quite boring, especially in the long run. Hence, we have compiled some of the top AR games like Pokemon Go for you. All these games have the concept of that will make you go crazy. Therefore, make sure to check out these games and have fun with your friends today!
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Lessons Learned From Pokemon Go
What’s evident about Wizards Unite, though, is how much Niantic has learned from its early struggles with the game’s predecessor. Pokemon Go was famously short on content there were plenty of Pokemon to find in the world, but in its early days, expected elements of the Pokemon experience like trading and raids were missing. It would be months or years before quality-of-life improvements and additional content made it into the game, but today, Pokemon Go includes features like story quests and increased social support that make it feel more complete.
Wizards Unite, by comparison, is launching with what feels like a more robust content package. For starters, there’s a smattering of quest objectives to complete right out of the gate that boost your experience gains and dish out rewards like potion-brewing materials. You can immediately start adding people to your friend list, and playing along with them in some activities also offers greater in-game rewards. There are multiplayer “Wizarding Challenges” found at specific locations called Fortresses, battles to fight against dark wizards and other creatures by casting spells and using potions, and a Profession system that lets you unlock abilities in RPG-like skill trees, which can make you more effective against certain types of enemies.
Tak Sesukses Pokemon Go
Para pemain yang masih memiliki Gold dan item di dalam game, juga masih bisa menghabiskan sisanya sebelum permainan tersebut ditutup tanggal 31 Januari.
Meski begitu, para pemain tidak bisa menerima pengembalian dana atas pembelian yang sudah dilakukan, kecuali diwajibkan lain oleh hukum.
Mengutip Engadget, Niantic pertama kali meluncurkan Wizards Unite di 2019. Namun aplikasi ini tidak sesukses game berbasis AR mereka sebelumnya yaitu Pokemon GO.
Pada September lalu, Niantic juga mengumumkan penghentian pengembangan Catan: World Explorers, bahkan sebelum game tersebut tersedia secara luas di beberapa pasar.
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Top Ar Games Like Pokemon Go In 2020
We put together a short list of augmented reality games with location-tracking that are already time tested and trusted by users.
Ever since Pokemon GO launched in 2016, Augmented Reality games have gone from strength to strength in the mobile gaming market. Pokemon GO introduced a range of capabilities to the mobile gaming market based around the innovative AR principles. For example, the real world became an entire fantasy realm where important landmarks were made into Pokestops and Gyms. This meant players would venture into new places searching for opportunities to find new rewards and items. And with GPS tracking players journeys, the ability to be rewarded simply for covering a certain distance became available.
It was an unprecedented leap forward in mobile gaming, combining a smartphones GPS, camera, mobile data and more to enable players to experience a fictional world based on the real one. Placing the loveable Pokemon in the real world was a thrill for players everywhere. And it brought about superb opportunities to play together, as the Pokemon that appear can be seen and captured by everyone. In the early months, enormous crowds would gather as opportunities to catch the rarest Pokemon arose. And the health benefits of getting people out and walking around enabled the game to break the common stereotype of gamers being lazy couch potatoes!
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