The communication between players and Pokémon GO repeatedly draws criticism, which is why Niantic promised improvement last year. However, content in the game is constantly being changed secretly. We at MeinMMO will show you what this is about.
What content is being referred to? In Pokémon GO, trainers have the ability to purchase various boxes in the in-game shop. Depending on which box it is, you can expect different items such as raid passes, incubators, or balls that are meant to assist you while playing.
And trainers have also been able to enjoy special boxes over the past few months, such as the 1 Coin Box, which was quietly removed last week. However, this box was not the only one that fell victim to a series of secret changes.
These contents have been changed secretly
What has been changed? Anyone who has observed the in-game shop closely in recent weeks should have noticed that the overview of boxes now looks a bit bare. It wasn’t always like this. Just a few days ago, for example, the weekly box, which you could buy for one PokéCoin, and the popular Adventure Box were listed in this overview.
And also, during the monthly Community Days, you were assured of a small free event box with 30 Hyper Balls in the past. However, this has also not been seen for quite some time.
A further look into the remaining boxes reveals that these have not completely escaped the sudden changes either. Items have been altered and prices have been raised.
How are trainers reacting to the changes?
Although the changes were made without the trainers’ knowledge, they have nonetheless caught the attention of many players. This includes reddit user SparklinStar1440, who wants to know in his post whether he missed an announcement or if it simply wasn’t communicated.
This leads to significant discussion among trainers. Many players particularly lament the loss of the Adventure Box. This box contained mainly quite a few (Super) incubators at a fair price of 1,400 coins, making it popular among many players.
While you can still get incubators in the other boxes, they are now available in much smaller quantities and at a relatively significantly higher price.
The Hyper Box has also been adjusted. Although it can still be found in the shop, it now contains only 2 Remote Raid Passes and 2 Premium Raid Passes instead of 14 Premium Battle Passes (as of 2019), along with 10 Super Incubators and 5 regular incubators for a total of 1,900 coins.
Apart from the frustration about the now missing and changed boxes, trainers are primarily focused on one important issue: the communication from Niantic. Due to past events, this is under constant criticism.
Trainers criticize communication from Niantic
Why do trainers repeatedly criticize communication? The communication between the developers of Pokémon GO and the trainers has been a thorn in the side of the community for quite some time. The reason for this has been the constant changes in the game that, from the players’ perspective, did not happen in their favor.
Moreover, the wishes and suggestions of the players have been given rather little consideration. For instance, Niantic planned to remove several COVID bonuses last year, which led to an open letter from the community and a related boycott.
In response, the developers eventually addressed this issue, reversed the controversial PokéStop change, and promised to work better with the community. A key point in this regard should especially be improved communication between Niantic and the players, as well as more transparency.
“This is their improved communication that they told us about”
However, the secret changes in recent weeks speak for anything but open and transparent communication. Many trainers agree with this sentiment, which leads to comments like on reddit such as:
- dukeofflavor: “Many games have a much healthier communication with their players, and hence their communities are much less toxic. Do these games listen more to player feedback and design their content in a way that is fun for their players? That might be the case.”
- NegativeCreeq: “This is their improved communication that they told us about.”
- JRE47: “I mean, that’s kind of their modus operandi, especially in the last year or so. Or more precisely, the ‘without telling us’, also known as communication, is coming back… back a whole lot. Sorry to say this.”
Possible reasons for the lack of communication: Other players, such as Benthefighter, suspect that Niantic is banking on not all players noticing, thus preventing too many angry reactions.
He wrote on reddit: “When they communicate negative changes, everyone will be angry; if they don’t, many people will be angry and some won’t even notice (I for one didn’t notice that the 30 Hyper Balls or the 1 Coin Box were missing until I saw this post).”
Why were the boxes removed and changed?
Many reddit users, however, wonder primarily: Why? Most trainers can still understand the removal of the 1 Coin Box last week. After all, the contents had become worse week by week, leading to considerable backlash from the community.
It is conceivable that the sales numbers were no longer favorable and that Niantic decided not to offer them anymore. However, the same cannot be said for the remaining boxes.
Especially the Adventure Box and the old contents of the Hyper Box were packages well-received by trainers, for which some were willing to invest real money. The free Hyper Balls during Community Day were also a nice bonus for many. Thus, some players can hardly imagine that these boxes did not find enough buyers.
However, why the boxes were actually changed and removed can only be speculated. It is possible that Niantic is experimenting with this and wants to see which items are of interest to players. Whether the boxes will reappear in their original form or will now be permanently filled with new contents remains to be seen for now.
How do you feel about the secret changes to the boxes? Do you think Niantic should announce such revisions in advance and thus maintain better contact with players? Or are you not interested in the new content in the in-game shop at all? Let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO.
In the coming weeks, a lot is happening in Pokémon GO. We will show you all events in September and which ones are particularly worth it.
