Pokémon Go sparks backlash over controversial Remote Raids changes
Pokémon Go is once again facing controversy for attempting to reverse changes that were made to the game during the pandemic.
Developer Niantic announced this week that Remote Raid passes are going to get more expensive, while players will be limited to five Remote Raids per day. On the flipside, competing in five-star Raids in person will award more Candy XL than before.
The people behind the game claim this is to continue to incentivise people going outside to play Pokémon Go like it was before the pandemic, while the statement also alludes to monetary and spoofing concerns, stating: "We believe this change is necessary for the long-term health of the game, and we do not make it lightly."
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Fans are not happy with these planned changes. Similarly to when the range for PokéStops and gyms were announced to be reversed to its pre-pandemic state, fans stated that it was unfair on disabled fans who would struggle to get out and about in the way their able-bodied peers can.
Staff from the gaming disability resources Can I Play That? and AbleGamers have called out these newly-announced changes as an example of disability tax, while players in rural areas that don't have many players/Raids in their areas have also stated that they will also be disproportionately affected.
Even Joe Merrick, creator of the long-running and definitive Pokémon authority website Serebii, has stated there is a "repeated erosion of trust" and wonders if the game can recover from this latest bout of bad publicity.
Niantic has announced changes to @PokemonGoApp that will impact accessibility for disabled and immunocompromised players.
The change planned for next week will limit players' access to the remote raid feature which was implemented early in the pandemic.https://t.co/27PwqkwTVf— Can I Play That? (@CanIPlayThat) March 31, 2023
To summarize, Niantic is doubling the cost of playing Pokémon GO remotely, and limiting how much you can play.
This is what we call a disability tax. If you can't leave your home or live in an inaccessible area, you can play, but it's going to cost you, and you can't play much. https://t.co/hDPj3QmACD— Steven Spohn (Spawn) (@stevenspohn) March 30, 2023
I know I don’t have many followers or reach here but I wanted to give my unique perspective as a player with a disability regarding recent changes.
Please retweet. My aim is just to broaden people’s perspectives here. Thank you #PokemonGO #PlayersWithDisabilities pic.twitter.com/ES0hTB3bya— Darla Ha 🐨 (@darlakoala) March 31, 2023
The Pokémon Go disabled, rural, and suburban player base when Niantic almost doubles the price of remote raid passes and restricts the ability to do remote raids: pic.twitter.com/ToFqjy9jdq
— Juno 🚂 (@jsketch12) March 31, 2023
Well, thanks for making raids undoable for us rural & local community-less players. This is a great way to combat spoofing too 👍
Eat a brick Niantic
You should have never been given the Pokémon brand name.
Time to delete the app I guess 🤷♀️ -> 1/2 #PokemonGO https://t.co/n5I0BwvjKK— Bio - HEAR US NIANTIC (@Bionox96) March 30, 2023
It's not just Niantic making this decision despite calls otherwise for months
It's the erosion of trust with the userbase that's going to be the most damaging here. They're keeping their vision, they're going to get their location data, but in the long term, will it be worth it?— Joe Merrick (@JoeMerrick) March 30, 2023
We saw some of this last year when they completely redid the whole "box economy" and made boxes contain far less for far more money, and it showed in revenue and user retention
I love playing Pokémon GO, but I don't know if it can come back from this repeated erosion of trust.— Joe Merrick (@JoeMerrick) March 30, 2023
Related: Pokémon launching official trainers and fashion range for Team Rocket
Meanwhile, the Pokémon anime aired its final episode in Japan, showing how the adventures of Ash (or Satoshi, as he's known there) end. The franchise will continue on TV, with multiple series on the way to replace the 25+ year series.
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