European 'Pokémon GO' Events Postponed by Niantic Due to Disastrous Chicago Fest
Niantic decided to delay the launch of the upcoming "Pokémon GO" events in Europe after the chaos at the first-ever "Pokémon GO" Fest in Chicago in late July.
In an update that was posted on the company's website, the game developer revealed that the scheduled "Pokémon GO" Safari Zone Events for Copenhagen and Prague on Saturday, Aug. 5, as well as the events in Stockholm and Amsterdam on Saturday, Aug. 12, will be postponed until fall.
Niantic apologizes for all the inconvenience caused by the delay. "Hope you understand that our priority is to ensure a great experience for Pokémon GO Trainers in Europe and around the world. Trainers that might have questions regarding the Safari Zone events should visit the help center," the game developer states.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
However, there will be no changes in the scheduled events in other places around the world. This means that the event in Yokohama, Japan will still push through on Monday, Aug. 14, while the events that will take place in France, Spain, and Germany on Saturday, Sept. 16.
To compensate for the delay, Niantic revealed that it will release several rare Pokémon that in several cities in Europe for a short time.
Reports claim that the delay might be connected to the problems that players who attended the "Pokémon GO" Fest held on July 22 at Chicago's Grant Park experienced. During that time, attendees encountered several problems such as server problems and overloaded cell towers.
This resulted to a class-action lawsuit that was filed in Cook County Circuit Court to make the game developer pay for unspecific damages caused by the failed festival.
The lawsuit reads, "Due to the delayed entry into the Fest, lack of connectivity to cell towers, technical problems with Defendant's game software, and the malfunction of Defendant's Game server(s), attendees at the fest were unable to play the Game as Defendant's advertising had led them to anticipate."
Niantic is expected to reveal the new schedule of the European "Pokémon GO" Safari Zone Events in the coming days.
