'Pokémon GO' May 2017: Spawn Rates Increase in Rural Areas; Mobile Game Celebrates Golden Week in Japan
Niantic has introduced several changes to "Pokémon GO." The newest update to the popular augmented reality mobile game now allows players to catch more pocket monsters in a shorter amount of time.
Niantic has recently partnered with fast-food chain McDonald's to celebrate Japan's Golden Week, which is a series of holidays taking place in a span seven days. In line with this, the Lure module celebration event has transformed 2,500 McDonald's branches in the country into PokéStops. The event, which is only for Japanese players, started last Saturday, April 29, and it will end on Sunday, May 7.
While this exciting event isn't arriving stateside — at least, not for the time being — players in the United States can still benefit from other changes introduced by the game developer.
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According to SlashGear, players who live in areas that don't have a lot of PokéStops or Gyms have noticed a 10 to 15 percent increase in spawn regularity, which means those in rural areas will now have a greater chance of catching some of the rare pocket monsters in the game.
Moreover, players who were previously disappointed with not being able to catch a certain Pokémon in time will be happy to learn that these creatures now tend to stay in place for about 30 to 60 minutes. Missed opportunities can also be easily remedied with Pokémon reappearing after 30 minutes.
Hopefully, these changes will encourage former enthusiasts to once again play "Pokémon GO." Niantic, for its part, can also introduce more limited-time events in the United States.
The latest changes were made on Niantic's servers, so "Pokémon GO" players do not need to update their game to take advantage of increased spawn regularity and spawn rates. However, those who haven't played "Pokémon GO" in a while might need to double check if they have the latest version of the mobile game installed on their gadgets.
"Pokémon GO" is currently available for Android and iOS devices.
