A few days ago, Pokémon GO held a Community Day (C-Day) featuring Galar Zigzagoon which led to quite a bit of criticism. We at MeinMMO wanted to know how you envision this event in the future and we are showing you the results here.
What event is this about? On August 13, 2022, the monthly Community Day took place in Pokémon GO, centered around Galar Zigzagoon. Niantic gifted you a variety of bonuses, like increased Stardust and enhanced XP, along with a special research task.
However, while many were excited about the Dark and Normal Pokémon, there was also a lot of criticism surrounding the event. The reason for this was the event time planned by Niantic. Why this has led to quite a debate and how you envision future events is summarized below.
Here you can find the dates for the Community Days in September, October and November.
That’s why the event times of the C-Days are causing debates
Here’s the problem: As you may know by now, this event period also lasted 3 hours and therefore ran from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM local time. Thus, the Community Day was held exactly during lunchtime. Unfortunately, this led to problems with the prevailing weather conditions in some regions.
Many players complained about the high temperatures at that time. In some areas, there was even a warning against going outside because the sun was too intense. However, playing Pokémon GO from home is hardly possible due to the deterioration of the smoke.
For this reason, trainers have been demanding adjustments to the event times for quite some time now.
Have the times always been like this? No, the event times have not always been like this. Only in spring 2022 did Niantic reduce the times from previously 6 hours to now 3 hours, which led to significant backlash from the community after the announcement.
However, this has changed nothing and trainers have had to play within the designated 3-hour window since then to utilize all the content of the Community Day. And even the level 4 raids following the C-Day, which Niantic recently introduced, clearly couldn’t change this opinion.
Survey shows the majority wants a change in times
As there has been ongoing criticism of the current event times of the Community Days, we wanted to ask you in a survey how you envision these events in the future. So, whether you are satisfied with the current 3 hours or would like to change the times.
This is how you decided: As of today, August 24, 2022, at 2:00 PM, a total of 2,416 people have participated in our survey. And the results are quite clear. We asked you: “How should the Community Day look for you in the future?” and received the following responses from you:
- 44% (1,063 votes) for “The event should last 6 hours again”
- 33% (797 votes) for “The Community Day should last all day”
- 17% (414 votes) for “The Community Day should be a 3-hour window that you can choose yourself”
- 6% (142 votes) for “The event should stay at 3 hours”
What do the results show? Your voting shows that a whole 94%, or 2,274 people, wish for a change in the Community Day times. Only 6% are satisfied with the current times.
However, opinions differ considerably regarding the length of the event. The majority would be happy to see a return to a 6-hour event. However, a full event day is also conceivable for a third of you.
That’s why Niantic should adjust the times of the Community Days
The fact that opinions regarding the event times greatly vary is evident not only in the survey itself but also in your comments under our article on MeinMMO as well as in our Pokémon GO Facebook group.
No fixed time: Some particularly see a time-independent solution as a good idea. With this, players should be able to activate an event period of 3 hours for themselves on C-Day using smoke or tickets, depending on how it suits them.
Although this option only garnered support from 17%, or 414 trainers, in our survey, this idea keeps coming up in your suggestions. For example, here are some comments:
- Wolve In The Wall: “Therefore, it’s best not to set a specific time window, but rather like ‘back in the day’ simply from 10 AM to 5 PM – or even better analog to raids (I believe 6 AM to 10 PM) conduct.
1. Then it’s actually a DAY instead of “Happy Hour”
2. Within this time window, everyone should truly be able to participate for 1-3 hours if they really want to
3. Whether one plays only an hour or three or the whole day is up to everyone themselves”
- Ivan: “I am strongly in favor of a weekend ticket or smoke to choose for areas with few stops, that one can ignite for three hours. It would also be conceivable (if no smoke, because too individual) that one receives a ‘Mega Lure Module’ that one can activate at a stop or even at a gym and then spawn creatures in a radius of 300m.”
- artigkeitsbaer: “So I played on that day, had some shady spots but realized after 3 hours that I had a headache. I think it was a mild heat stroke. I don’t think the time restriction is good at all. It would be better if they just let it run on that day and one could unlock it freely.”
Extension of time periods: But generally, many trainers in the comments believe that 3 hours is too little or that the event should at least be shifted to a different time. In particular, family and weekend work play a crucial role for some:
- Daniel H.: “3 hours are too little. They say Community Day? A day has 24 hours”
- Dietemar v. A.: “Yes, it should be changed. Also for those who work. The evening hours would be better.”
- Isabell K.: “I preferred the 6-hour format over the 3-hour one. I often miss it or only come in just before the end.”
- Stephanie L.: “And in principle, it would be helpful if not everything was always from 11 AM to 2 PM. Cooking and lunch slows down every C-Day for moms.”
- Mo L.: “The old times (6 hours) would be better to avoid rushing when working during that time.”
“You’re complaining as if there’s no shade”
However, not all trainers have a problem with the change, as they feel that the 3 hours are completely sufficient for playing. However, they cannot understand the outrage over the reduced event times and playing during lunchtime. Comments like on MeinMMO and in our Facebook group can also be found:
- Ascy: “Due to the additional feature with level 4 raids, the 3 hours are now sufficient. Admittedly, I couldn’t last the full 3 hours because it got too hot for me. I completed my tasks and was glad to find some coolness. The thing is, it’s hard to find a time window that will fit. In the end, everyone will find pros and cons. It’s summer, so there will be 1-2 C-Days that will be quite warm…”
- Vallo: “I don’t care. Put on a cap, take drinks with you and let the hunt begin. It’s only 3 hours and I lose interest after about an hour anyway.”
- LadyH: “I find the three hours completely sufficient and the hottest time of day is not noon, but late afternoon.”
- Sören L.: “You’re complaining as if there’s no shade… Putting phones on cooling pads helps too, otherwise just carry a power bank and drink enough.”
- Oli255: “I passed by a tennis court while playing. The courts were occupied. I could see little due to the planting, but could hear the sounds of the balls bouncing. I also came across teenagers in soccer outfits, apparently on their way to the sports field. And that is real sports and not just walking around like in Pokémon GO. Oh yes, and there was also the weekend construction work on the train line, hard physical labor! This whole fuss about heat and health in Pokémon GO seems almost like a satire on our society of fear. You just can’t take it seriously anymore.”
Whether there will be a change in times in the future remains to be seen. If there is more information about this, you will find out at MeinMMO.
What do you think about the 3-hour event window for Community Day? Would you welcome a change? And what would that look like? Or is the time totally sufficient for you, and can you not understand the criticism of other players at all? Let us know in the comments.
The next big event is already on the horizon and, unlike Community Day, will last a full 8 hours. We have summarized all the content for the finale event of GO Fest 2022 for you.
