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Finally, what looks like the first footage of Pokémon Go

GengAR.

Pokémon Go is an in-development augmented reality smartphone app from the people behind the popular Google Ingress.

The Pokémon Company is yet to officially unveil any footage of it in action, but what appears to be the first gameplay has now been posted online.

A caveat - the footage was filmed off-screen, apparently at a SXSW Gaming festival talk over the weekend. John Hanke, boss of Pokémon Go and Ingress developer Niantic, was scheduled to speak at SXSW on the topic of AR games. So, while the footage has not been officially released, all signs point to it being legit.

The footage shows a user tracking down the Grass-type Pokémon Ivysaur in a real-life grassy area, then using a couple of different Pokéballs to successfully capture him/her/it.

Watch on YouTube

Pokémon GO is set to launch worldwide in 2016 for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

You'll have to hunt in appropriate environments for particular species - at the beach for Water-type Pokémon, in the mountains for Rock-types and hopefully inside active volcanoes for Fire breeds.

Additionally, different monsters will only be available in certain areas and in certain countries.

Ingress has gained itself a loyal fanbase using similar location-based technology to power its own gameplay. With the power of the Pokémon brand on board, it'll be interesting to see how popular Pokémon GO becomes.

The app is being published by The Pokémon Company and is separate to Nintendo's own mobile app line-up which begins launching this month via social game Miitomo.

Still, Pokémon GO will be part of the Pokémon franchise's 20th anniversary year alongside the upcoming 3DS games Pokémon Sun and Moon.

Playing Pokémon Go? Check out our Pokémon Go guide and beginner's tips to get the most out of finding Pokémon, catching them and leveling up.

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