It was around 1.5 weeks ago when Niantic, in conjunction with Warner Bros. and WB Games San Francisco, announced the development of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite; an AR game that would likely be similar to Pokémon GO that will be released sometime in 2018.
With the announcement, Pokémon GO trainers across the world were skeptical on whether Niantic would continue to focus resources on furthering Pokémon GO. On November 10, Niantic assured Pokémon GO players that they “are 100% committed to creating an ever-evolving and growing game that deepens players’ connection to Pokémon GO”. Furthermore, there would be news “next week about upcoming improvements to certain features“.
A week has passed, and the “improvements to certain features” that we got appeared to have been new avatar items from the Alola Region, to coincide with the release of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Oh, there was also a loading screen update, where it was reset back to the pre-Halloween version.
Seriously, Niantic?
The community shouldn’t be taken for granted. Niantic has probably realized that their revenues are tanking due to a lack of new content and burnout from raids. In Winnipeg, there has been a noticeable decrease in raid activity in all areas including Central, and the general consensus is that the current legendary raid boss, Suicune, is lacklustre, and trainers are refusing to spend more than their gym coins for raids. Trainers who haven’t caught a Suicune yet are growing frustrated by the lack of raiders (especially outside Central), and I don’t blame them. The weather is getting colder in the city, and the lack of new content has driven trainers away from Pokémon GO and into other games like Draconius GO.
The EX raid pass handling has also created backlash from trainers not only in Winnipeg, but across the world. Winnipeg has seen a total of 11 EX raids, with 2 in the same location. The EX raids have been spread out awkwardly, with the south quadrant only getting them in St. Vital Park. In addition, raiding at that gym recently does not guarantee you an EX raid pass, as many trainers have noticed, which increases the frustration as the EX raid pass distribution is too randomized and trainers are either unsure in how to obtain them or are using multiple accounts to increase the chances of getting them.
There’s still time for Niantic to announce a new update or event, likely for American Thanksgiving next week. With Pokémon GO cutting support for iOS 8 and rumours of Niantic contacting YouTube personalities on a potential Japan event, there may be something in the works. However, the patience is growing thin for many trainers, and with Draconius GO growing in popularity, Niantic has suddenly realized there’s competition among its player base.