Pokémon Go Developer Finally Comments After Frustrating Updates Make Users Furious

Pokémon Go is currently suffering from Icarus effect. The game was an immediate phenomenon when it was launched nearly a month ago. However, it flew too close to the sun, with unreliable servers, broken features, and frustrating developer decisions melting those fragile wax wings.

Of course, the analogy isn’t perfect. Plenty of people are still playing Pokémon Go and enjoying it. However, changes to the important Nearby radar feature coupled with new blocks on third-party tracking applications like Pokévision have left the game feeling random and unfulfilling for some.

Niantic Labs, which developed the game under license from The Pokémon Company, has been largely silent. Last night, the team finally took to social media to comment.

The full text of Niantic’s statement follows:

Trainers,

As many of you know, we recently made some changes to Pokémon GO.

- We have removed the ‘3-step’ display in order to improve upon the underlying design. The original feature, although enjoyed by many, was also confusing and did not meet our underlying product goals. We will keep you posted as we strive to improve this feature.

- We have limited access by third-party services which were interfering with our ability to maintain quality of service for our users and to bring Pokémon GO to users around the world. The large number of users has made the roll-out of Pokémon GO around the world an... interesting… challenge. And we aren’t done yet! Yes, Brazil, we want to bring the game to you (and many other countries where it is not yet available).

We have read your posts and emails and we hear the frustration from folks in places where we haven’t launched yet, and from those of you who miss these features. We want you to know that we have been working crazy hours to keep the game running as we continue to launch globally. If you haven’t heard us Tweeting much it’s because we’ve been heads down working on the game. But we’ll do our best going forward to keep you posted on what’s going on.

Be safe, be nice to your fellow trainers, and keep on exploring.

The Pokémon GO team

The “3-Step” display refers to the Nearby feature. When the game launched, the list of Pokémon in your vicinity would display a number of footsteps indicating distance. Selecting one would allow you to track it specifically with a combination of the footstep symbols signifying distance and a pulsing box letting you know when you were moving in the right direction. Now, the Nearby feature simply shows which Pokémon are close without giving guidance on how to find them.

Along the way, the Nearby feature was broken and only ever showed three footsteps for all Pokémon. Instead, people turned to apps like Pokévision that showed specific locations for monsters in the area. The removal of both has turned playing into pure luck.

Niantic is currently hiring for community management and social media staff. The company does have a community manager, Andrew Krug, but he says his responsibilities are focused on Niantic’s other game, Ingress.

@Sam_214 we are currently hiring a Community Manager for Pokémon GO. My involvement is @ingress focused.

— Andrew Krug (@KrugDrew) August 1, 2016

Fans have reacted poorly to these changes, with a number of people who spent money on in-app transactions furious. There have been a number of people claiming they have request refunds. User ratings on the App Store have dropped precipitously from four to five stars down to one-and-a-half stars after the most recent update.

[Source: Niantic Labs on Facebook]

Our Take
I can’t stress enough how important communication is in situations like this. Not having community development ready for the game’s launch is an unforced error that is now causing tidal wave-force backlash. The game isn’t unplayable, but it certainly has been stripped of anything that makes it Pokémon “hunting.”