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Niantic Delays Upcoming Pokémon Go Live Events In Europe
Niantic has postponed four in-person Pokémon Go events in Europe, the company announced today on the official Pokémon Go website. The "Safari Zone" events scheduled for August 5 in Copenhagen, Denmark and Prague, The Czech Republic and August 12 in Stockholm, Sweden and Amsterdam, The Netherlands have been delayed until "later in the Fall," according to the company.
In its statement, the company said the delay was "In order to guarantee the best possible gameplay experience for European Trainers." The news comes in the wake of the Pokémon Go Fest in Chicago, in which attendees were unable to play the game they came for, were offered refunds and $100 in in-game coins for traveling to the event, and for which Niantic is being sued by a number of dissatisfied attendees.
The company also stated it will not be offering "compensation for arrangements people may have made to attend the event." Although the events will no longer be taking place in early August, "rarely seen Pokémon will still appear in certain European cities for a brief time."
Our Take
At least Niantic is getting out ahead of potential issues this time. Still, the timing is terrible; once again, people who like Pokémon Go enough to travel to another city (potentially internationally) for the event are left in the lurch, and will have to see if they can get a refund on their flight ticket on relatively short notice (which, from my experience, is unlikely).
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