We take a look at some of the coolest AR games on the market, and one P2E title to look forward to 😉
Augmented reality can be applied almost everywhere, whether it’s an overlay used to help with navigation, a HUD for surgeons performing life-saving operations or even augmented classrooms in which people can interact with each other remotely. We covered some of the most exciting uses for AR in a previous article, and we’re looking forward to seeing what other applications develop in the coming years.
But mainstream adoption doesn’t happen on the fringes — applications that regular people can have fun with are the biggest driver behind the boost in interest for AR. Filters on Snapchat and Instagram, for example, introduced billions of people to the potential the technology has, and gaming seems like the next sector to go through an AR revolution.
AR gaming has been around for a while, however hardware limitations meant that the apps were simple and often quite buggy. A big change came with the incredible success of Niantic’s Pokémon Go, which let players experience what it’s like to be a Pokémon trainer roaming in search of wild Pokémon to catch. Pokémon Go currently has more than 1 billion accumulated downloads, crowning it the undisputed king of AR games.
But technology is improving, and other titles are gunning for the throne. While we’re still waiting for the next big AR game to make headlines, there are already several titles demonstrating what the future of AR gaming might look like.
Today, we’re going to be looking at some of these games.
Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Mario Kart Live hit the shelves in late 2020, bringing the high-octane world of Mario Kart racing to our homes. The game was released for Nintendo Switch and requires a special remote-control car to play.
In Mario Kart Live, players set up circuits in their own homes and map them using the remote-control car’s built-in camera. The game then overlays obstacles, powerups and track info onto the HUD on the Switch console. Players then race around their homes as they would in any other Mario Kart game, except this time with a real cart.
When you hit an obstacle, your cart spins out. When you get a boost, your cart accelerates. When it’s windy, your steering wobbles and the cart becomes more difficult to control.
Mario Kart Live shows us what’s possible when you combine real-world hardware with an AR game. It’s exciting to imagine what might come next — Ace Combat with drones, anyone?
Peridot
Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, is the leader in AR gaming. While we might not agree with their centralized approach to data farming, we can’t deny the impact they’ve had on the industry. And their latest game, Peridot, is set to cement their place as leaders in the AR gaming segment.
In Peridot, players take responsibility for adorable virtual pets that require your love and attention to grow. You need to collect food, take them for walks and breed them to increase your collection. It’s kinda like a Tamagotchi but in AR.
If Peridot is even remotely as successful as Pokémon Go, we can expect to see a significant influx of new users into the world of AR.
Hololoot’s CryptoZoo
We were thrilled with your response to our CryptoZoo AR NFT collections, but we’ve been a little sparse with the details on what these AR NFTs can actually do. Today, we’re excited to announce the CryptoZoo game — the cutest augmented addition to the Play-to-Earn sector!
In CryptoZoo, you’ll take the role of a zoo manager. Create a space for your AR creatures and use resources to keep them fed and happy. Depending on the AR NFT that you own, you’ll be able to farm different tokens at rates partly dependent on how happy your animal is.
CryptoZoo will utilize our AR NFTs, as well as $HOL and $PIXEL tokens in the game’s economy. We’re finishing up an overview of the game that we’ll be sharing in the coming weeks, and we’re excited to hear your feedback on it!
What lies ahead
While it might seem like AR gaming is a step behind VR, which itself is a step behind regular gaming titles, this is far from the truth. Games like Pokémon Go demonstrated that there is a wide appeal for AR games, and the fact that most AR games don’t require specialized hardware such as headsets makes them accessible to just about everyone with a mobile phone.
With the growth of Play-to-Earn and the rise of NFT gaming, we predict that an intersection of these markets is all but inevitable. As the first AR NFT generator, marketplace and metaverse, we’re excited to play our role in bringing this future about.
We’ve got a lot of exciting updates to share over the coming months regarding our metaverse and the CryptoZoo AR NFT game, so make sure you’re following all our channels for the latest news.
