Pokémon Go Fest in Chicago took place last weekend, and it was a disaster. A bunch of players decided to file a lawsuit against Niantic alleging false advertising. They want the company to compensate them for going to the festival.
Pokémon Go has not been working properly, and it was shown in the high-profile festival, where thousands decided to go hoping they would be able to play the game there but it simply didn’t happen. Niantic offered a $20 ticket refund and $100 of in-game currency for those who went to the event.
Niantic apologized for the disaster
The Pokémon GO Fest in Grant Park, Chicago, was supposed to be the last celebration of the mobile game’s first anniversary. Players and fans from all over the world were supposed to go there, play the game, and unlock various bonuses and the highly anticipated Legendary Pokémon. However, the event turned into a complete disaster.
Due to the failure and disappointment, many players sued Niantic, the developer of the game, demanding compensation for the expenses they made to assist to the terrible event. After that, about 30 people joined the lawsuit. It was a California local, Jonathan Norton, who contacted Thomas Zimmerman, an attorney based in Chicago, regarding a class action lawsuit against Niantic Labs. Zimmermann even talked to one of the attendees who flew all the way from Japan to Chicago.
“He paid to fly out [to Chicago] for the festival, and had to wait for several hours in line, just like most everybody else in order to get in,” Zimmerman said.
Niantic apologized for all the troubles and for not meeting the participant’s expectations. However, it has refused to make any comments about the litigation. It offered to refund the cost of the tickets which is $20 and to give $100 of in-game currency or PokéCoins to compensate other expenses. The company also added the Legendary Pokémon Lugia to their accounts, but Norton believed that they should receive more than that.
What happened in the Pokémon Go Fest?
It took place on July 22. The fest was plagued with technical issues. Players didn’t find connectivity, and some could not log into the game. It didn’t take long for the organizers to call off the event since there was nothing they could to do solve the situation.
However, some people said that the team of Niantic who were in Chicago tried to support the attendees regardless of the network issues. They were talking to them and giving them information about their refund policy. Many players shared the stories and illusions they had regarding the game and the event with the staff.
Verizon, one of the representatives at the event, was the first to blame the whole situation on Niantic Labs. However, the game’s developer said Pokémon GO Fest wasn’t a disaster. Niantic stated that the problem was that the networks were oversaturated and that some network providers were to blame.
It is unsure how all this legal trouble might end since the claimants might end up paying more than what they would receive from Niantic for their travel expenses.
Niantic is postponing Pokémon’s Safari Zone events
After the Pokémon Go Fest complete fiasco, Niantic might decide to delay several planned event until they are sure they will be performed just fine. In fact, they just announced that several Safari Zone events would be postponed even though they were planned for August. They were going to take place in several shopping malls in Germany, France, and other European countries. Players were going to have the chance to play Raid Battles and to find regional-exclusive Pokémon like Kangaskhan and Tauros, which are very rare in that continent.
“In order to guarantee the best possible gameplay experience for European Trainers, we have decided to postpone the events in Europe scheduled for August 5 (Copenhagen and Prague) and August 12 (Stockholm and Amsterdam) until a date later in the fall,” Niantic announced in a brief blog post.
Niantic is not refunding travel costs for the players that wanted to assist to the August Safari Zone Events. There were no tickets for these events. To compensate player’s disappointment, the developed did say that several regional-exclusive Pokémon would start spawning in several cities of Europe including Prague, Stockholm, and Amsterdam. The now canceled Safari zone event would have had from 3000 to 5000 players reunited in a single mall. Maybe, a similar problem as that of the Pokémon Go Fest would have taken place too in those European events.
The Safari Zones events that were planned for September haven’t been postponed yet. In Japan, players might still have the chance of enjoying the “Pokémon Go Stadium” event next month.
Source: Tech Times