Pokémon GO has quickly become a cultural phenomenon; something that hasn’t been seen since the series’ inception back in the 90s. Despite there being obvious flaws with the mobile game, players still took to it and praised it for finally allowing them to live out their fantasies of going on actual Pokémon adventures in real life. However, recent updates may have caused developer Niantic to lose good faith with their consumers.
The newest update, which was released yesterday, was promised to smooth over a number of glitches within the game, as well as include warnings to prevent users from playing the game whilst driving and trespassing — two things that have actually been happening since the game’s launch last month. It also seems to have had the unexpected side-effect of resetting the game.
Hundreds of players have now had their several weeks worth of progress completely undone, with many of them taking to social media to either vent their frustration or find a solution. Some have even begun to demand that they be refunded for the money they spent on the game. While Pokémon GO is free to download, you can buy extra Poké Balls and other items.
The update also no longer allows the use of third-party maps that helped players track down certain Pokémon, and removed the footprints system that allowed players to tell how far away they were from finding a Pokémon. Now, they’re just given a general idea of what Pokémon are nearby but not how far away they are.
Between angry rants on social media and reddit threads detailing how players can get refunds on their purchases, it looks as if Pokémon GO has become a “flash-in-the-pan” success. Unless Niantic responds to customer complaints soon, Nintendo’s first big mobile title could go from a huge success to a crushing loss.
