Niantic is under fire by players for retracting the changes that made the game easier, and everyone could catch them all.
Pokémon Go came out in 2016, and many people think that the game has gotten forgotten. However, that is not the case many people still play it, including me. Currently, I’m in competition with a friend over the gym in our area. Nonetheless, I am logging off for the day to stand with #PokémonNoDay.
Recently, it got announced by Niantic how they will be retracting the changes they made to the game to keep it friendly through the pandemic by starting features that would assist the players in keeping engaged with their monsters. The Pokémon Go radius got increased by the game developers to interact with various points of interest and Pokéstops.
Game Changes
The various changes in the feature of the game, made it easy to play the game, even when we got told to distance ourselves from each other during the pandemic.
As time went on with these features, many players started understanding how such features make Pokémon Go more accessible and everyone could play it now, even the players who got excluded silently.
For example, game players, also known as Trainers in the game, were not that accessible for people with disabilities. However, with these changes, Trainers with disabilities could now easily hit the stops needed without climbing stairs or going down streets and roads unaccommodated with a wheelchair.
Uncomfortable Conditions
Similarly, Trainers, who have autism or any sort of sensory conditions get uncomfortable with interacting and forcing themselves in a rush of strangers, as they can get triggered by crowds but these changes made it easy for them to play the game without having to force themselves in crowds.
The people who do not play Pokémon Go also got an advantage with the increased radius. This helped to ensure that businesses, private properties, worship places, gyms, and other places would not get overcrowded with Trainers. For many people, the worst feature about this game was how it was causing a nuisance in the outside world, but with the increased radius, the game become less chaotic and more subtle.
The protest of #PokémonNoGo is a basic effort from the Trainer community having concerns regarding the decreased distance, especially as there is a high widespread of the Covid-19 delta variant.
Niantic announced the rollback in June, but since then has said nothing more to the players. Nonetheless, there is a huge petition going on Change.org, and many have made complaints on Reddit.
Despite having said nothing about this issue, they did release new Pokémon from the Sword and Shield, released by Nintendo Switch. This situation has had people thinking that Niantic is making an effort to ensure the players do not boycott the game, completely.
The frustration of the players can get seen through the protest. Nonetheless, many players will protest for the day and return to the game. It seems like Niantic does not care about ensuring its game is accessible to everyone. The question is whether Niantic will take an action and change things or will this be the point in history where players cancel this game?
