Pokemon GO has continued to develop a burgeoning PvP scene based on the hard work and passion of its fans. The community lurking in fan organized events like the Silph Road slowly turned their little game into a highly competitive distillation of Pokemon‘s purest qualities. What initially looked like a half-baked implementation PokemonThe legendary battles of have since evolved into a highly strategic rock-paper-scissors game mixed with the high-stakes psychology around which the VG and TCG competitive scene was built.
Actually the Pokemon GO Scene experienced such a rise that two years after its launch Pokemon GO PvP was recognized by the Pokémon Company and Nintendo when it was officially given a platform at the Play Pokémon World Championship. Unfortunately, since this milestone, Niantic and the player base have been at odds. Whether it’s ignoring player input entirely or making more predatory changes for in-game purchases, Niantic is in the process of dismantling everything the community has built over the past few years.
Niantic continues to ignore player input
A common problem associated with a fan-built competitive scene is the disconnect between what the community and developers expect from the game and what is expected of it Pokemon GO is no exception. The laundry list of times the two sides have been at odds in 2022 alone ranges from reducing PokeStop spawn sizes to changing Pokémon spawn rates to increasing the price of in-game items, to name but a few to call. This rift between the two sides has become such a big issue that fans have actually taken to Twitter to air their grievances and launch a grassroots campaign to make their voices heard.
#HearUsNiantic is an ongoing Twitter campaign that was launched after Niantic ignored and provided player feedback Pokemon GO & controversial change in prices for remote raid passes. Remote Raid Passes are an already expensive item in the game, allowing players to take on powerful raid bosses with others around the world. The price increase was met with backlash as it failed to address the needs of players living in rural areas or those with disabilities. Essentially, it penalized players who couldn’t get their daily free currency due to geographic or physical restrictions and required them to spend real money to stay on par with the rest of the community.
The price increase wasn’t the only controversial change to the remote raid passes, as Niantic also lowered the amount players could use in a day to five. This resulted in certain Pokemon becoming significantly more difficult to level. Registeel has been at the forefront of the Great and Ultra League meta since its inception. With amazingly charged movement input and very few super effective weaknesses, coupled with an absurd amount of health, Registeel has become a mainstay that any serious trainer must have. With 100 candies required to access the second loadout, and about another 50 to level it up, trainers should expect to spend around 35 days of grinding and spending $100 worth of remote raid passes .
Raid-type Pokémon aren’t the only ones being held back behind outrageous grind demands, as Niantic made a similar mistake on May 1st. Larvesta was released for the Pokemon GO world, but the fire/bug type could only be obtained after hatching a specific egg. This egg initially has only a two percent chance of hatching a larvesta. To double down on the ill-informed decision, Niantic required 400 candies to evolve into Volcorona. This means that players have to walk at least two kilometers to have a 2% chance of hatching a Pokémon that gives out around three to five Candy. Players could also opt for Rare Candies, but again, that’s a limited resource, especially since Legendary Raids rotate, making it the only way to level up certain more powerful Pokemon.
Pokemon GO revenue is suffering from Niantic’s decisions
Whether it’s on purpose or just plain bad timing, Niantic has also suffered from foot-to-mouth syndrome, which is alienating a large chunk of the player base. On April 20th, two weeks after the implementation of the infamous remote raid patch, Niantic’s official Twitter account posted the following tweet and promptly deleted it:
Whether the tweet was an outmoded joke or an outright malicious slap at the community, the tweet makes it clear that Niantic does not hold its community’s opinions or needs at a high level. Even if it was a hoax, kicking disappointed fans’ butts is a louder statement than anything the company could have said. Faced with fan unrest, the company chose to ignore the community’s concerns and ignore their thoughts and feelings.
Niantic has suffered some early consequences of its actions, a May 3 report shows Pokemon GOMonthly revenue for April was $34.7 million, though Niantic denies such reports. While that still seems like a staggering number, it’s down $8 million since March and down nearly 40 percent since February. Luckily for Niantic, when the company begins to address concerns and criticisms, the community is willing to forgive. Fans would not start a #HearUsNiantic campaign out of hatred Pokemon GOso players can only hope that the profit drop is enough to encourage the developer to change course.
Lois Nauri 
Alucader Verisme 
Baron Mayuri 