Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: Niantic, Niantic's Birthday, P25, pokemon, pokemon go

Today Pokémon GO Offers Free Box For Niantic's Birthday 2021

I'll tell you one thing, and I'm not ashamed to say it. My estimation of Niantic Labs as a company just plummeted. After teasing a free box "in celebration of Niantic's birthday" in the event section of Pokémon GO's October 2021's schedule, most players, I think it's fair to say, expected something worthy of that inclusion. Why tell Pokémon GO players about a free box if it's not going to be worth claiming? Why limit it from 11 AM – 5 PM today if it's not something premium? Well, as this "event" goes live in earlier timezones, the contents of the box has been revealed. A Fast TM, a Charged TM, a Lucky Egg, and 50 Poké Balls. Basically, what you'd get from a couple of Poké Stop spins. I wonder what they're going to give us in their free Christmas Box. Maybe a single Pinap Berry, a sticker of a middle finger, and a device that turns all of our hundos into 2-stars.

I defend Niantic a lot here, because I do think they create an overall good product with Pokémon GO that has recently been lambasted by the community. Sometimes fairly. Often, not. You've got influencers who only have an audience because of the game right now using their platforms to talk about how the game is dying. It's not — of course it's not. Maybe their platform is. What gets lost in all of this, though, is where Niantic actually fails: they consistently create expectations through a lack of information, using what they likely consider to be "teasers." Well, a tease only works if what is delivered is better than what's expected. Niantic teased an amazing Halloween boss last year after announced Altered Forme Giratina, creating the expectation that the Halloween feature would somehow top that. Nope. Just Darkrai again. Pokémon GO isn't dying. Not by a longshot. However, Niantic has just now begun to address their communication problems, which come from a lack of understanding what the fanbase wants from their game. This box isn't really an issue, but it does speak to a lack of understanding about what people value in the game. Give 'em a remote raid pass, if you're going to create hype. Something. Anything, just so I don't end up questioning why I believe Niantic is listening when they say they are.

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