Actually, the “City Spotlight” event was supposed to take place soon in Kyoto, Japan. Now, the team at Pokémon GO has decided to cancel the event – which hardly surprises the players.
What kind of event is this? On November 10, the “City Spotlight” event was announced for Pokémon GO. The plan: Trainers were to be sent on a kind of treasure hunt with their buddy Pokémon to very specific points in selected cities.
This was to include special research tasks and running-based gameplay – all in coordination with local health and safety guidelines, as emphasized in the announcement. Snapshots were part of the event plan, along with spinning and scanning PokéStops. There is a purchasable ticket, and special Pokémon are expected to be found, such as an Unown with the letter “C”.
However, this was overall an event that cannot really be played from home – which seems strange given the Corona pandemic. However, the event was supposed to take place in four cities, which until recently all had low Corona numbers:
- Tainan (Taiwan)
- Auckland (New Zealand)
- Busan (South Korea)
- Kyoto (Japan)
In Kyoto, however, the event will not take place. Japan has reported an increase in Covid-19 numbers in recent weeks, especially since the beginning of November (via World Health Organisation), which means the City Spotlight in Kyoto cannot be held.
Already upon the announcement on November 10, the numbers in Japan had started to rise again. According to a report from “The Mainichi”, tourism in Japanese cities is currently struggling, and Kyoto is among the most visited cities in Japan (via Mainichi).
From this perspective, an event would have fit well: “As a city that is making efforts for safe and sustainable tourism, Kyoto welcomes the event. We want visitors to enjoy playing Pokémon GO while enjoying the beautiful autumn landscape of Kyoto,” is quoted from Kyoto’s mayor Daisaku Kadokawa.
Measures had been taken, but in the end, the cancellation stands.
What about the other cities? While the event in Kyoto is canceled, planning for its execution in Auckland, Tainan, and Busan is currently ongoing. The three countries Taiwan, South Korea, and New Zealand recently reported significantly lower Corona numbers, which is why executing the event here is likely still considered safer than in Kyoto. However, the numbers in South Korea have also recently shown a rising trend (via WHO)
Players are not surprised by the cancellation
This is how players react: Even the announcement of the event was viewed critically in the Pokémon GO subreddit, which is why the surprise over the cancellation is currently limited. An excerpt:
- “It was not a great idea from the start,” comments a user (via reddit).
- “Yeah, these events seemed a bit rash,” agrees another (via reddit).
- “This should never have been a thing from the start…” comments another (via reddit).
At the same time, the rising numbers in South Korea are mentioned, and there are suggestions to simply postpone the event series. However, as of now, the events in the 3 remaining cities are set to proceed.
Pokémon GO has often been discussed in connection with the pandemic. Especially the rollback of some bonuses that were supposed to make playing from home easier was criticized. Recently, however, 2 of the bonuses returned.
