The campaign that urges Niantic to reimplement Pokémon Go Social distancing and COVID-19 pandemic bonuses and concessions gained momentum on Thursday with an open letter written by the game’s biggest players and influencers and backed by their large social media audience.
The letter, posted this morning on the Pokémon subreddit, The Silph Road, is signed by 28 players with a combined Twitter follower of 1.18 million. All signatories, four of them to have Audience bigger than 100,000, posted the letter to their feeds at 11 p.m. EDT below the hashtag #HearUsNiantic. It was the sixth highest on Twitter Trend day in the USA at the time of publication.
The letter lists nine ways that players have been helped Pokémon GoPandemic shelters that made it easier for players to reach Pokéstops and gyms, and from further afield. These gameplay bonuses ended with an update earlier this week. That Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go, an instant worldwide sensation when it launched in the summer of 2016, is played by visiting real-life locations and interacting with Pokémon and virtual locations displayed on a player’s mobile device. Last week’s reversal cut the distance players could spin Pokéstops in half. Before the change, some gyms were able to spin without leaving their homes.
Thursday’s open letter listed how the pandemic changes were helpful to the community, and not just to make augmented reality play easier or more convenient.
“Many disabled trainers have now been able to interact with places that they previously had from the Pokémon Go Community, ”wrote the organizers. “Trainers with autism and sensory disorders could connect with the community from a more accommodating distance.”
“So that they can play with the community but not be overwhelmed by large crowds or triggering locations,” they added.
In return, the changes encouraged “greater courtesy and respect for” [non-players] in the community by not overcrowding or blocking access to businesses, private property, playgrounds, emergency services, places of worship or memorials, ”the organizers wrote.
The letter also stated that a November blog post
“The removal of this feature will and will affect the community in countless negative ways,” the players wrote in the letter. “We demand that the increased radius of interaction remain a permanent change in the quality of life Pokémon GoThe letter asked for a response from Niantic by the end of the day on August 9th
In June, Niantic issued a statement defending the reversals, saying it would “restore the game’s focus on exploration and discovery where it makes sense”.
However, the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19 and the difficulties public health organizations have faced to get 42% of the US population self-vaccinates has Renewed warnings to wear a mask in public and practice social distancing. Niantic has not acknowledged that these changes could affect the way Pokémon Go
Two more hashtags, #BoykottNiantic and # PokémonNoDay spread on Twitter on Wednesday, with users telling others not to open or play the game or to spend money Pokémon Gos business.
Update (August 6th): Niantic responded late Thursday, telling players that it is “assembling an internal, cross-functional team to develop suggestions that sustain our mission to inspire people to inspire the world together, while addressing specific interaction concerns “. Distance.”
The results and recommendations of this group will be shared “until the next season change in the game,” which is September 1st, Niantic said. “As part of this process, we will also be liaising with community leaders in the coming days to participate in this dialogue.”
The company said it had withdrawn exploration bonuses in the United States and New Zealand to “once again reward players for moving and exploring. It remains Niantic’s mission to encourage people to explore, play sports, and play safely together. ”Niantic said the bonuses changed” in select areas where it is considered safe to be outdoors. ” became.
The full statement is on Niantic’s official blog.
