Pokémon Go: Open letter from players to developer Niantic

Pokémon Go

When the corona pandemic reached its first global peak in March 2020, people around the world had to restrict themselves. The situation of many changed overnight and even the near-natural Pokémon Go players could not simply continue as before. Developer Niantic reacted to the pandemic and adapted the game with numerous changes.

Some of them left the game last September, with more to follow. But players are anything but happy about one of them: The interaction radius of Pokéstops and arenas is to be set from the expanded 80 meters back to the original 40 meters. It started as a test in the USA and New Zealand, but the change should be rolled back bit by bit globally. Because the community regards this feature as indispensable, they wrote an open letter to the developers - and already received an answer.

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This is what the open letter from the Pokémon Go community is about

The Pokémon Go community sees the reversal of this change as more than critical and turns to the developers with an open letter. In addition to a large number of players shared and "signed" the letter, numerous YouTubers and content creators related to the pocket monster spin-off. The letter was also shared on Twitter and in the Pokémon Go subreddit "TheSilphRoad".

Specifically, the letter outlines three points of view that are intended to show why the interaction radius should remain at 80 meters. In addition to the safety of the players, it is particularly about accessibility and respect. With the increased radius, you simply have more opportunities to interact with Pokéstops and arenas from a safe distance, avoid private premises and continue to do the important social distancing, after all, Corona is far from over.

But also for players With (physical) limitations, new possibilities have emerged that can now be withdrawn from them. Barriers like stairs were often no longer an obstacle and those who had problems with crowds could now avoid them. The increased radius is also a good thing for uninvolved passers-by: shops and public places are no longer inaccessible due to a large number of players, because one can better distribute oneself.

The open letter therefore ended with the request, the increased one Keep radius as a permanent feature in the game. You ask for an answer by August 9th.

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That's what developer Niantic says about the request

After all: Developer Niantic wasn't too bad to answer the players. In terms of content, however, no fan will be enthusiastic about the company's statement. You are of course happy about the passion of the community and hear the feedback loud and clear. Niantic justified the reversing of the changes with the fact that they want to return to old habits and motivate players to move again and visit places that are worth exploring.

With regard to the interaction radius, they want the following Take Action: "We're creating an internal, cross-divisional team to come up with suggestions to keep our mission alive, to inspire players to explore the world together while we address specific issues raised about interaction distance. We will share the results of this task force until the next season change in the game (September 1st). "

So the fans did not get a clear answer, instead the deadline was extended by almost a month. The players are pessimistic about the statement. Niantic's answer wasn't a no, but you didn't get a yes either. Many see setting up an internal team as window dressing and speculate that Niantic might want to collect data and weigh up whether reducing the feature would result in losses that are not offset by the advantages of the shorter interaction distance for the company.

We will then find out how things will continue for Pokémon Go players by September 1st. Since only the USA and New Zealand have been affected by the withdrawn changes so far, players in this country can at least still enjoy the 80 meter radius. Have fun!

Source: Niantic