In Pokémon GO significant changes are planned for the upcoming Community Day in April, causing much discontent in the community. A Reddit user has now spoken with Game Director Michael Steranka about this. We at MeinMMO will show you what was discussed and how the trainers are reacting.
What changes are involved? Every month, a special Community Day takes place in Pokémon GO. This event revolves around a special Pokémon, and the trainers can also look forward to some bonuses.
However, with the announcement of the upcoming Community Day in April featuring Velursi, Niantic also announced drastic changes related to this event. The event time is set to be reduced from 6 hours back to 3 hours, as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.
The reason for the shorter times, according to Michael Steranka, the Game Director of Niantic, is the explicit requests of the trainers. This has caused an outcry in the community, as the players simply cannot believe the reasons for the shorter Community Days.
For this reason, the Twitter user JreSeawolf felt compelled to communicate the players’ concerns openly to Niantic as a representative of the community. After an initial statement via Twitter, JreSeawolf and Michael Steranka had a conversation.
The key points from the conversation
JreSeawolf or JRE47, as he is known on Reddit, mentioned in his current Reddit post that he was able to speak personally with Michael Steranka. In a nearly 90-minute conversation, the concerns about the shorter Community Days were a major topic (via reddit.com).
Basis for the decision on the new times for Community Days
As indicated in JRE47’s Reddit post, he wanted to know quickly how Niantic came to the decision to shorten the Community Days. Michael Steranka reiterated in his statement the original reasoning from Niantic, which was that it was the trainers’ wish.
However, he did get a bit more specific, stating that this was based on individual feedback from YouTubers and from within the Discord community. Following that, a review of the numbers was conducted, where according to Michael Steranka it was found that less than 5% of players play for 3 hours.
Reasons why shorter Community Days are better for trainers
However, this reasoning was evidently not sufficient for JRE47, which is why he asked again why the times could not simply be increased again. He suggested that the bonuses could only be available for a shorter period, like 2 or 3 hours before the end of the event.
Creating a sense of community: According to Steranka, one of Niantic’s important goals is to create a communal experience where trainers can remain together even beyond the event to exchange or chat or have a drink.
Furthermore, it is important to them that new players also find a place in communities, which becomes more difficult during a long event. Thus he explained that “longer periods work for established communities, but are not as effective in attracting new players/communities” (via reddit.com).
Advantages for individual players: However, another point cited by Michael Steranka against a longer Community Day is the advantages over other players. According to his view, there are few players who utilize the full 6 hours and can thus farm significantly more bonuses, such as (XL) candies.
He states: “6 hours encourage those who grind for 6 hours” (via reddit.com). Thus, trainers who utilize the entire event gain an individual advantage that is to be balanced by the reduction to 3 hours.
“People should try it out in April and then provide feedback”
Finally, Michael Steranka pointed out in his conversation with JRE47 that this is initially a trial, and the idea of hosting a Community Day over 6 hours, with only a small window of bonuses, is still being discussed at Niantic. Additionally, the developers remain open to feedback.
However, the Community Days in April and likely also in May will initially take place in their shorter format. Steranka therefore asks the community for the following: “People should try it out in April and then provide feedback on how they feel about it” (via reddit.com).
The smoke change
In addition to the Community Days, JRE47 also mentioned that the changed smoke played a decisive role in the conversation. Steranka emphasized again that they want to return to the origins of the game, which from their perspective is not given with effective smoke at a standstill.
However, he expressed openness to the idea that smoke at a standstill during certain events, such as Community Day, could be made more effective again. The fundamental idea of Community Days is that trainers meet in groups, socialize, and possibly even hold a barbecue.
For this reason, it is understandable that there is less movement, which is why an increase in spawns through the smoke also makes sense from his perspective.
What does the community say about the conversation?
In the community, there is still much criticism and frustration regarding the decisions and reasoning from Niantic. This is particularly due to the differing views about the game. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Niantic had to adjust the game concept and established a completely different player experience for the trainers than originally intended.
Now they want to return to these origins and face considerable backlash in the community. This is also encapsulated by Reddit user MikeDatTiger in his comment:
I think a big problem is that a large part of the player base does not share Niantic’s vision. Niantic wants the game to be solely about hunting while meeting people and seeing things, whereas the player base, in my opinion, wants hunting to be just one component of the game while also having the ability to play the game meaningfully from home, whether it’s through smoke, remote raids, or PVP.
The other problem is that people stopped playing PoGo because the outgoing component became too cumbersome and only resumed when Niantic made it more accessible. I don’t know if there’s a way to reconcile this, and if Niantic remains true to this ideology, things will end badly.
reddit.com
What specifically bothers trainers about Niantic’s vision?
Many trainers also express concretely in the comments what bothers them about Niantic’s vision (via reddit.com):
- ThisNico: “The six-hour window is also desirable because it gives us the time to inform Niantic of any mistakes and have them fixed in time so that we still have a chance to enjoy the event”
- seejoshrun: “I don’t plan on meeting new people while playing Pokémon Go anymore. Not anymore. We are no longer in 2016. That simply isn’t going to happen. I want to do 2 things: catch everything (which is currently only possible with 2 regional Dexes) and grind for good PvP teams. That’s it. Being forced to interact with the game at specific times or in specific ways is just annoying.”
- Eastern_Algae3121: “I’m still confused about their ‘vision’. They encourage exploring, but there’s almost no reward for it. 90% (or more) of the field research gives terrible rewards, so why bother.”
- thesingingshaman: “Despite all their mechanisms and great plans, there was still one thing that the big company wasn’t prepared for: the introverts.”
Whether Niantic will take the criticism to heart and extend the Community Days again remains to be seen. If there are any updates on this, we will report here at MeinMMO.
What is your opinion on the responses Michael Steranka provided in the conversation? Do you also hope that the Community Days will be extended back to 6 hours? Or do you find the sense of community for this event much more important? Feel free to share your opinion on this here on MeinMMO in the comments.
In the coming weeks, a lot is happening in Pokémon GO. We will show you all events in April and which ones are worth your time.
