Especially during the cold winter months, Pokémon GO could use a reliable tracker.
The hype around Pokémon GO has significantly decreased in recent months. Frequently, one reads in various social networks about players who have already stopped playing the game. This is partly due to missing or removed features that could make the handling of the game much easier. Due to the ban of certain third-party software and the removal of the Pokémon tracker, it is not easy to find a wild Pokémon in the current version of the game. A new tracker is already in the works but has no release timeframe yet.
Without a tracker through the PokéWinter?
To find a wild Pokémon in Pokémon GO, one currently needs a good portion of luck. Those who played the game at its release in July will remember the “Nearby” feature. This feature showed the player how far a wild Pokémon was based on footprints. With 1 to 3 footprints, one could roughly estimate the distance to the Pokémon and determine a direction in which it appeared. While it was not an exact navigation system to find Pokémon, it was still a good help. Currently, players wander aimlessly through the streets, hoping to stumble upon a Pokémon.
Meanwhile, summer in Germany is being replaced by colder months, and it is slowly but surely getting closer to winter. Some Pokémon trainers have already written on Reddit and other channels that they do not want to “aimlessly walk through the cold weather hoping for random Pokémon discoveries” in winter. If there is no tracker for Pokémon GO in winter, it would be a reason for many players to stop playing.
In August, a tracker beta version was released in the USA, which some trainers can participate in. This beta version is an improved variant of the original tracker, which is supposed to help find wild Pokémon. According to Polygon, developer Niantic, stated that there are currently no plans for when this new tracker will be available worldwide.
“Niantic is testing a new type of tracker that only works in San Francisco. There is currently no estimated time frame for when this tracker will be activated in other areas,” said a representative from Niantic. This statement will not please fans of the game. While the new features, such as the catch bonus and the improved arena battles, are helpful in the game, they cannot distract from the desire for a tracker.
We can only hope that Niantic will soon expand the testing phase of the new tracker to other areas and that the feature will be quickly released. Because with a reliable tracker in the game, Pokémon hunting is much more fun.
