With Niantic Kids, Pokemon Go will ultimately get a unified experience for users under the age of 13.
While a player-vs-player (PvP) mode was already found to be in the pipeline to enhance its gaming experience, Pokemon Go is also formally receiving an update that will bring more kids on board. Pokemon Go maker Niantic has announced the release of a new Niantic Kids log-in system that is aimed to helping parents easily manage the profiles of their children and review as well as approve the permissions for their kids before they can play. This ultimately enables Pokemon Go to unify the experience for users under the age of 13 who presently have a limited gaming experience due to certain age-focused restrictions.
The Pokemon Go team on Wednesday announced that after registering with Niantic Kids, parents will be able to manage their child's privacy via the parental portal. The new log-in system allows parents to review and approve their child's permissions before they can play and offers options to control the sharing of personal information. For kids, the latest update will help them trade Pokemon characters and upgrade their PokeDexes.
To bring the new experience, Niantic has partnered with SuperAwesome's Kids Web Services, a service certified by ESRB Privacy Certified and kidSAFE Seal Program. "Niantic Kids gives you peace of mind that your child's information remains secure while they have fun playing!" the team said in a blog post.
For the kids who are already using the Pokemon Trainer Club to access Pokemon Go, they will also be able to leverage Niantic Kids for an enhanced safety.
Due to tough child privacy and advertising laws in some countries, Niantic has so far restricted the experience for kids under the age of 13 playing Pokemon Go. As noted by Comicbook, children are now allowed to be a part of the sponsored gyms and PokeStops. This has limited the gaming experience for young players and eventually made it difficult for kids to achieve as many Pokemon creatures as their senior counterparts.
Having said that, the arrival of Niantic Kids is likely to remove the original restriction and will allow kids to get a similar gaming experience as what their older siblings and parents have had so far. Niantic hasn't announced any particular schedule for the release of Niantic Kids. However, it does mention that the new log-in platform will "soon" debut.
Earlier this month, Niantic Head of Marketing (EMEA) Anne Beuttenmüller in a media interview confirmed the arrival of a PvP mode that will not just enhance the existing experience on the augmented reality (AR) backed game but will also help attract new users. The mode is said to debut on the game by the end of the year. Niantic also recently added social features, including friends, trading, and gifts. That were also targeted to continue the success story of the game that was released back in July 2016.
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