Pokemon Go Still Hasn’t Addressed the Elephant in the Room, and It’s All to Do With Releasing a Broken Update
Niantic refusing to listen to community feedback is raising concerns among its player base.
It has not exactly been the easiest journey for Pokemon Go after its massive success at launch more than eight years ago, as the augmented reality concept Niantic implemented back then was extremely fresh for its time, but it has been quite difficult to evolve it into something more than a gimmick in the modern gaming landscape.
Of course, not all of the game’s issues can be attributed to the developer’s shortcomings since a global pandemic definitely halted the progress of a title that encourages its players to actually head outside, but Niantic has made a couple of decisions in recent times that have hurt its dwindling fanbase.
A glaring instance of this took place a few months ago regarding avatar customization, and to make matters worse, the issue still has not been properly addressed or fixed even after plenty of backlash from the game’s community.
Pokemon Go Refuses to Listen to Its Fanbase Regarding Player Avatars
In April 2024, Niantic got the motivation to modernize its augmented reality video game, which seems like a concept that is required for a title like Pokemon Go to stand the test of time and ensure its longevity in a rapidly changing industry.
SUGGESTED: Pokémon GO Announces a New Story and Sweet Bonuses for May 2024’s Community Day
However, the approach that the developer took to achieve that was not really ideal, as with the update, the players’ in-game avatars suddenly started to appear differently, which is a crucial element in a title whose avatar customization options used to be one of its core strengths.
Naturally, upon logging onto the game and finding unfamiliar faces staring back, the player reception was very negative, prompting the community to voice its concerns with the hope that Niantic might provide a solution or backtrack on its patch.
Sure, it may not seem like a big deal for gamers who do not play Pokemon Go, but for the player base that Niantic managed to garner, the character avatars had the potential to make or break the entire experience.
Unfortunately, despite the community being quite vocal about its disapproval of the player avatar changes, the developer refused to listen to its feedback, leading it to actually double down a couple of months later and make the situation even worse.
Broken Updates and a Dwindling Player Base May Be Niantic’s Downfall
The developer’s silence regarding the controversial situation has been raising concerns within the community about Niantic’s intentions, as it questions why a “broken and unfinished” update would be released and not be addressed even after player backlash.
SUGGESTED: Pokemon Go Player Enacts the Best Revenge After ‘Karen’ Tries to Ruin the Fun
Despite players constantly telling the developer about the problems they are facing due to the avatar changes, with some play testers even informing it prior to the official launch of the update, Niantic still went ahead with it anyway.
“We have the right to reject broken, poorly thought out features being forced onto us,” wrote a frustrated Pokemon Go player while echoing the general community sentiment, as the game’s fans believe it should not be acceptable for companies to follow anti-consumer practices like these.
Niantic is not the first developer to completely disregard its player base’s feedback, and it will likely not be the last, but as gamers are starting to realize their own worth in the multibillion dollar industry, perhaps new Adventure Weeks are not what the company should be currently focusing on.
Not only does the developer’s ignorance have the potential to ruin its overall reputation, but it could also prove to be Pokemon Go’s demise in the near future.
