“Pokemon Go” continues to offer new features though not all are getting lauded by players. Rewards in the form of Pokemon candies and spawns are neat but Niantic may have done too much with the new speed limits applied on PokeStops.
As mentioned in a previous post, there is a lot of controversies tied up to the PokeStop speed cap particularly on the end of commuters or passengers playing "Pokemon Go." While the intent is good, the fact that Niantic is falling short on properly determining drivers and passengers leaves a lot of questions on the table.
Looking back to early this year, Niantic did apply something similar to the speed cap governing “Pokemon Go” as we speak. Sighting disappeared and players moved faster than 25 MPH. Even when players tap on the “I’m a passenger” message, PokeStops would be rendered useless and respond with “Try Again”.
Niantic tried again recently with a ReCaptcha addition though it also hardly addressed the safety precautions meant for people playing “Pokemon Go” and drove their cars. With growing rates of accidents tied up to playing the augmented reality game, this may be a case that Niantic cannot control.
Whether it be “Pokemon Go” or any other mobile app, the responsibility still falls at the hands of the user. Being a game based on movement, Niantic may be trying to pin down cheaters and employing safety measures.
On both counts, Niantic could be lauded for their efforts. But the point is that they have done a very poor job identifying who is going over the speed cap and who are cheating their way to “Pokemon Go”.
Some “Pokemon Go” players have gone out of their way to start a petition which has amassed 1,556 supporters as of this writing, via Change.org. The people who signed are a mix of players who have stayed on to play the game, most finding Niantic’s new move pretty insane.
With Niantic concerned about the active players playing “Pokemon Go”, word of this petition is a response they must not take lightly. They have somehow rebounded but issuing half-baked features may aid in spiraling them to the bottom once more.
