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This pandemic has reminded me why I really really despise Niantic and Pokemon Go. I think their practices have been utterly disgraceful throughout. I have to vent this out sorry
You'd think that this pandemic would hit them really hard, but they're making more money than ever. There's plenty of revenue from Go Battle League's pay-to-play online battles, and that's whatever. Fine, not for me.
But for all the other "social distancing" changes... it's been the worst kind of rapacious shitty mobile game bullshit, with the added effect of probably actually killing people.
At first they "doubled the distance" to spin for items..... but only for gyms, not the pokestops you're encouraged to visit daily. First things first, let's make sure people can keep spending!
The change added a glitch in the game where the pokestop near me appeared within reach, but always said "try again later." It underlined how they could change it, but didn't!
It taunted me every day until Souppy offered to walk up the hallway and spin it, every day so I'd not lose my streak and keep gaining items and keep giving friends gifts and keep doing all the things the game makes you feel awful for not doing.
Niantic has made more money than ever during this fucking pandemic. But for over a month they chose not to do the obvious thing to allow players near pokestops to stop going out every day! The only thing that changed was a new way to spend $20+ a day! https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-03-30-pokemon-go-revenue-spikes-as-game-continues-to-adjust-for-covid-19
They eventually did the obvious thing and made the pokestops spinnable from a greater distance. I was elated for a while. It meant I could send friends gifts! No going out! Presumably those who have to leave their building can stop doing that daily!
But then they introduced remote raid passes
A remote raid pass is an in-game purchase. It's about a dollar "thanks" to Niantic's special lower price during COVID-19. It lets you participate in raids without visiting them in person. There's no daily free pass - that only comes if you go outside :)
It's another paywalled feature. Just another way to milk whales like me and the people I know 100x worse than me. Writing this is making me tear up in anger because it's hopeless!!!! It's predatory! It's unsafe! But it'll make money!!!
Pokemon is a franchise that attracts so many people with clear compulsive brain problems, it is the ultimate "you must collect every thing" game. I find it disgusting and offensive that remote raid passes are entirely pay to play.
It's such a gut punch to me, a serious betrayal of what I thought was "at least" better than the average mobile game, one that had a unique structure encouraging you to go outside to play for free. But now we're in a pandemic...
There's multiple people in the NYC PoGo community running around the city taking "essential service" trains and buses doing a dozen raids a day :) Why use the remote raid pass when you can physically go to a raid? Just gonna do a raid bro, no big deal,
They're still going out and playing the game, because they want to keep being #1!!! They've all got compulsion issues!!! But the company designed to extract money from them isn't going to do shit!
I've witnessed this first-hand, where I'm coordinating a remote raid pass for a shiny Terrakion and people leave their home and break quarantine for a fucking pokemon. Because they can't use their free pass without that. Niantic doesn't fucking care!!!!!
I ought to boycott but 1. I have a compulsive brain problem and the game controls me 2. What fucking difference would it make, there's a million whales tossing money at this game every fucking day.
I know not playing would do absolutely nothing to them. They won't pay for it, they'll just keep getting their money. It sounds silly but as I look at my NY primary voting packet I've learned that you just can't make a fucking difference in this world
You're just another helpless fucker being pushed around by the wealthy. Corporations are not your friends
I don't enjoy the game anymore. I care about the people I met playing it, but the only remaining source of joy I got from it (trading) is blocked by my inability to trade with my friends because they still expect people to meet in person to do that.
I guess I should look forward to when they do implement remote trading for a modest five dollar fee?
I'm just so disillusioned. I feel trapped. I'll keep playing this game, because I need to complete my streaks, I still need to catch them all, I still need to get these shinies. If I stop playing I'll miss this event or that event and never catch up
And as I watch them turn the screws on the monetisation shit while also encouraging people to go out I just resent it all the more. I spend maybe $200 a year on this game and I know there's psychologists targeting me to double or triple or quadruple my spend
And while I've been able to hold back on physically going out to raid with people, others can't. It's stupid and reckless of people to go out but the combined social pressure and psychological tricks make it hard for me to blame them! Some can't afford it!
I could go on with the various addictive qualities of the game that have nothing to do with it being fun and everything to do with FOMO and fear of disappointing others, the torture it inflicts on you for checking out. But this is enough for now
tl;dr: Niantic are predators, taking advantage of people with compulsive brain problems. I'm so frustrated and angry about what it does to us while Niantic tweets "Stay Safe". Anyway brb gotta spend another $1 for a chance at shiny terrakion
