Niantic Responds to Pokemon GO Community Concerns and Boycott
Pokemon GO developer Niantic issues a response to player concerns regarding the newly implemented decreased PokeStop interaction distance.
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In 2020, Niantic increased the spin distance for PokeStops from 40 meters (131 feet) to 80 meters (262 feet). This change was made to allow players to enjoy Pokemon GO while complying with social distancing requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, on August 4th, the spin distance was reverted to 40 meters in the United States and New Zealand, with plans to roll out the change across other regions in the coming weeks. The player base responded with an open letter to Niantic that was shared on Twitter using the hashtag #HearUsNiantic.
In the wake of negative fan response to changes made in the Pokemon GO mobile app, developer Niantic has issued an official response. They acknowledge the Pokemon GO player base’s concerns and have posted a statement to its blog outlining a future course of action.
Niantic’s official response, posted on August 5th, defends the change, stating that the goal is to “reward players once again for moving and exploring” and that they are focusing on the “health and wellbeing of players” by promoting regular walks and outdoor explanation. The developer’s statement does, however, acknowledge that the Pokemon GO player base is concerned with recent changes. In response, Niantic will be creating an internal task force to further investigate the issue and release their findings on September 1st, 2021.
Fan response to Niantic’s statement has been primarily negative. A number of prominent Pokemon GO players have stated on Twitter that they will no longer play the game unless the greater PokeStop spin distance is restored. Some Pokemon fans participated in a day-long boycott of the game on Thursday, August 5th, and many are suggesting additional or longer boycotts in the future. Other players have declared that they will not be spending any money on the game until changes are made.
Additional criticism of Niantic’s response points out that that they responded only to the issue regarding PokeStop spin distance, and not to any other fan concerns. In particular, the Pokemon GO player base has recently expressed dissatisfaction with Collection Challenges, newly implemented events that require collecting several different types of Pokemon in order to earn rewards. Players dislike the heavily random nature of these events, especially a recent Collection Challenge which required obtaining eighteen different starter Pokemon.
Meanwhile, Niantic continues to heavily advertise the upcoming introduction of Pokemon from the Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield games into Pokemon GO. New Pokemon, which will be added include Wooloo, Falinks, Skwovet, the legendary Pokemon Zacian and Zamazenta, and Galarian forms of many earlier generation Pokemon including Meowth, Stunfisk, and Darumaka. This addition has also received criticism from the player base, as most of the new Pokemon will be appearing in raids, seemingly forcing players to purchase multiple Raid Passes using real money.
Pokemon GO is currently available for Android and iOS devices.
Source: Niantic Labs
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