Pokémon Go creator Niantic has apologised after a ticketed event in Las Vegas was disrupted by thousands of extra players turning up – but several people aren’t happy about being told to avoid a public space
Taking place over the weekend, Pokémon Go’s in-person event at Las Vegas promised rare Pokémon from Ruby and Sapphire’s Hoenn region alongside limited-time events. 50,000 tickets were made available, and the event sold out back in January.
However people attending the in-person Pokémon Go event soon encountered a variety of problems, leading to the official Twitter account posting a message after the first day that read: “Trainers! We appreciate the enthusiasm you showed today at Pokémon Go Tour: Hoenn – Las Vegas.”
“An additional 17,000 Trainers without tickets joined us at the park, causing spotty connectivity throughout the day. This led to Trainers disconnecting from raids, being unable to log in, and other issues with gameplay.”
“We ask that Trainers who do not have a ticket for Pokémon Go Tour: Hoenn – Las Vegas refrain from joining us at the park tomorrow, to ensure a smooth event for Sunday ticket holders and Trainers who have the Sunday Extra Day Add-On,” Niantic added. “We apologise for the issues Saturday ticket holders experienced.”
We apologize for the issues Saturday ticket holders experienced. For details on our thank-you to affected Trainers, please see our blog: https://t.co/2aa4kJg8ba
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) February 19, 2023
As an apology to affected players, Niantic extended the city event experience by three hours and gifted players a bundle via the in-game shop that contained three Premium Raid Passes and three Remote Raid Passes”
However, many fans were outraged Niantic asked people to stay away from a public park.
It's literally a public park??? Like tf https://t.co/xfRl7lR1Wx
— Chrissy (@moongurl_89) February 19, 2023
telling people in VEGAS in a PUBLIC PARK to get out for your broken event is so insane. just stop with these local events https://t.co/YMKDNTDNo1
— oshawott fans new jersey (@garganacI) February 19, 2023
No, @NianticLabs. If you want a unique venue for your paid event, pay for that too. You can't ban players from going to a public place. https://t.co/5aXSD6KPYd
— Magna (@MagnaOne) February 19, 2023
Despite Niantic asking players to stay away, the second day of the event was met with similar issues with the developers once again apologising and offering in-game rewards to affected players.
Last month, Niantic released NBA All-World, a free-to-play mobile game that lets players build their own NBA teams and collect gear by exploring their neighbourhood.
In other news, Gran Turismo 7 update 1.29 is set to introduce a “superhuman AI” opponent to the racing game, alongside new cars and a new track.
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