Niantic Responds to Pokémon Go Outrage

Since Niantic Labs removed a key feature from its hit mobile game Pokémon Go, fans have been apoplectic, with some avid players vowing to stop playing due to the change. Niantic removed the ‘three-step’ display – a feature that allowed users to track nearby Pokémon – a couple of days ago after the feature exhibited a number of faults, and the subsequent furore over its ejection from the game has forced the development team to apologise to players.

In a Facebook post, the Pokémon Go team acknowledges the disappointment expressed by Pokémon hunters and assures them that, long-term, the ‘three-step’ will be replaced in some form, though the post offers no timescale as to how long that will take. The team also expresses regret that it was forced to limit third-party services from accessing maps over fears of overloading Niantic’s already-stressed servers.

The Facebook post reads:

Trainers,

As many of you know, we recently made some changes to Pokémon GO.

– We have removed the ‘3-step’ display in order to improve upon the underlying design. The original feature, although enjoyed by many, was also confusing and did not meet our underlying product goals. We will keep you posted as we strive to improve this feature.

– We have limited access by third-party services which were interfering with our ability to maintain quality of service for our users and to bring Pokémon GO to users around the world. The large number of users has made the roll-out of Pokémon GO around the world an… interesting… challenge. And we aren’t done yet! Yes, Brazil, we want to bring the game to you (and many other countries where it is not yet available).

We have read your posts and emails and we hear the frustration from folks in places where we haven’t launched yet, and from those of you who miss these features. We want you to know that we have been working crazy hours to keep the game running as we continue to launch globally. If you haven’t heard us Tweeting much it’s because we’ve been heads down working on the game. But we’ll do our best going forward to keep you posted on what’s going on.

Be safe, be nice to your fellow trainers, and keep on exploring.

The Pokémon GO team