'Pokémon GO' Fest Failure Left Niantic 'Horrified'
Niantic has apologized for the failure of the recent "Pokémon GO" Fest in Chicago. What was supposed to be the game's first real-life event suffered devastating server failures with attendees unable to log in to their accounts.
According to Polygon, a spokesperson from the company said that they are "extremely apologetic and unhappy" with the results." Hopefully, the rep said, that what happened in Chicago will not be replicated.
The spokesperson added that staff was "horrified" by the problems at the event. An official apology was posted on the app's page on Niantic's website.
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During the event, attendees were not pleased and they were pretty vocal with their frustration with Niantic CEO John Hanke being booed off the stage. This prompted Niantic to offer a full refund of the ticket cost and the $20 wristbands sold at the event as well as $100 worth of in-game currency.
The "Pokémon GO" Fest was attended by 20,000 fans. It was supposed to include challenges which involved catching specific types of Pokémon. Attendees were to work together in order to unlock rewards and bonuses not just for them but for all players around the world.
The event was also where Niantic planned to unveil the game's first legendary Pokémon, Lugia. However, the server failures that plagued the first-anniversary celebration resulted in Lugia being used to appease disgruntled attendees instead of being its centerpiece.
At least other fan-organized events fared better than the one in Chicago. Smaller events organized in Europe went smoothly compared to their American counterpart with trainers walking around the city catching the game's first legendary Pokémon.
But it wasn't all bad for the attendees in Chicago. Most of them were happy just to meet other fans and talk about their love for Pokémon, especially since it's not every day they are able to meet with 20,000 other Pokémon trainers in a single place.
Niantic has more events planned for the latter part of the year and some of them are already underway. Hopefully, the developer has learned their lesson from Chicago's "Pokémon GO" Fest.
