'Pokémon GO' Gen 2 Special Evolution Update News: Interest Spikes Downward; Niantic to Issue Two More Major Updates
Niantic's "Pokémon GO" experienced a slump after September of last year, but thanks to a huge update that added more than 80 new Pokémon into the game, player interest spiked up at the time. Unfortunately, interest is starting to decline once again.
According to Wandera (as reported by Forbes), it was recorded that 12 million people logged in last Feb. 12 when the new update was rolled out. However, the spike significantly declined after a few weeks.
Forbes' Paul Tassi reasoned that a number of gamers might have gotten frustrated right away because even if there were more than 80 new Generation 2 Pokémon added, players normally just get eight to 10 new ones in their usual location. The other Pokémon seem to be mostly rare ones.
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This is also the reason why many players lost interest in the game just last year, and the same cycle is projected to repeat after Niantic's Gen 2 update.
To be fair to the developers, the newly updated "Pokémon GO" also offers exciting ways to enjoy the game as Gen 2 evolutions were also introduced. This may be enjoyable for a certain group of dedicated players, but it might not be appreciated by casual ones.
In an effort to keep up interest and engagement among its players, Niantic still has huge plans for "Pokémon GO" after its recent Gen 2 update.
During the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain on Feb. 28, Niantic CEO John Hanke confirmed that there are more things to look out for. "We're on week 9 of this year. There are 43 more weeks, which means if these updates were to be spaced out equally, we'd see a 'major update' every 12-14 weeks," the CEO revealed.
All in all, Niantic is set to roll out three major updates within the year - the first being the Gen 2 update which added more than 80 Pokémon. Players can thus expect two more to come.
True enough, Niantic already told fans when the Gen 2 update was rolled out that they are still working on bringing about trading and Player versus Player gameplay to the mobile game, as these are the most requested features from fans.
