'Pokemon GO' release date news 2016: Beta testing arriving in the US; Different method to capture a Pokemon revealed by beta tester?

After making the beta test rounds available in Japan, New Zealand and Australia, the much-anticipated augmented reality mobile gaming app "Pokemon GO" is expected to hit the United States with the beta test versions of the game. Those who are interested in the forthcoming Pokemon game and have waited for months to try it out may now submit their application online to be among the first in the country to experience Niantic's latest offering.

The registration process to become a beta tester for "Pokemon GO" has already begun in the United States and Niantic is now ready to cater its American audience and take note of their preferences in the upcoming mobile game. The application process is quite easy as the applicant residing in the United States must only visit the official website of Niantic and provide his e-mail address. The e-mail domain is preferred to be Gmail, and the applicant must also indicate if they own a device with iOS or Android smartphone operating system. The applicant has the option to share his name and state whether they played a previous augmented reality mobile game similar to "Pokemon GO" called "Ingress" in the past. If the applicant did, he needs to specify the highest level he attained in the game.

However, submitting the application does not guarantee that the applicant will among the first batch of beta testers in the United States. Niantic will pick a few individuals to experience "Pokemon GO" for the first time. If an applicant is luckily chosen, he is expected to provide his feedbacks to the gameplay and suggest a few points which he believes will help improve the current version of the game. However, the chosen beta testers will be strictly reminded to not share the contents of the game during the beta phase in order to keep the element of surprise from the public until the final version of "Pokemon GO" is finally released.

Regarding the gameplay, a Reddit user claiming to be a "Pokemon GO" beta tester revealed that the battle mechanics in the mobile game will be different from the traditional battles in other Pokemon games. As reported by Neurogadget, players can deal more damage with a single charge attack which is different from the usual Pokemon battle style where the player must use four attacks.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Niantic may be able to release "Pokemon GO" to digital markets by summer 2016, that is if everything will go smoothly during the beta test rounds. The final version of the mobile game will require the smartphone's GPS and location features, similar to Ingress' settings.