I would love nothing more than to write some nice words about Pokemon Go, but Niantic isn’t giving me much to work with, and hasn’t for a while. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:I💦 love the new social features that Campfire added, and the introduction of the daily adventure incense last summer was a nice way to reward players for their time, but it’s hard to celebrate small victories in the face of near-constant controversy. The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:sharp inc🥃rease to the price of Remoteಌ Raid Passes is the latest fiasco, while earlier this year, Go Tour: Hoenn attendees in Las Vegas got a lot less than they paid for thanks to buggy performance and network drop outs from overcrowding. The issues were so prevalent on the first day that Niantic, in what can only be described as a PR disaster, askeꩵd non-paying players to stay away from the park on the second day so they wouldn’t ruin the experience for paying customers. I don’t want to dog on Pokemon Go, but they’re making it really hard not to.This week, Niantic pulled back the curtain on the biggest event of the year, Go Fest 2023, and provided details that seem to be designed to address the overcrowding issues of last year. This year, attendees will only be able to purchase a ticket for one of the three days of the event, and on that day they’ll be permitted to enter the “park experience” for just four hours, either in the morning or afternoon. You might expect limited access would mean a lower cost of entry, but boy would you be mistaken.Go Fest 2023 takes place in London and Osaka August 4-6, and New York August 18-20. Regular price is £32, ¥3500, and $30, respectively, but if you buy before June 15 you’ll get an early bird discount. That ticket will give you access to a half-day “park experience” where the event is actually taking place, as well as a half-day “city experience” throughout the surround🗹ing area. If you want to participate in the Global Go Fest on August 26-27, that’s another $15.Niantic has developed a reputation for charging players more for less, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see the developer turning the screws on players once again. If you miss the early bird special, these tickets are about $5 more than they were last year, and you have 30 minutes less time in the park. In 2022, there was a one hour gap to get all the players in one experience to swap to the other. Now there’s a two hour gap, but the event still ends at 7pm.
Buying a ticket is just the start though. After you 🔯choose your day and time slot, Nianti💜c hits you with a whole slew of add-ons you’ll want in order to get the full experience. People travel from far and wide to be part of Go Fest, which is a lot to ask for a single day of access to a three-day event - and only a half day in the actual event itself. Niantic will let you play additional days - just the city experience - for an additional $20 per day.
Then you’ve got your item bundles. The Raid Lover pack will get you 18 raid passes, which you’ll need to take full advantage of the Go Fest, as well as extra candies and XP, for $15. If you’re going to be out and about all day you’ll want to hatch some eggs too, so throw on the Egg-Thusiast bundle for one-quarter hatch distance and an increased chance of earning 10km eggs for another $15. Wrap it all up with a $27 Go Fest T-shirt to commemorate the special day, and you’🔯re looking at $87 per person for a single day, or $127 for the whole weekend. These are pr🐓actically Disneyland prices, and that doesn’t even include a Global Go Fest ticket.
There’s that shows all of the purchase options for Go Fest, which really puts into perspective how needlessly complicated and microtransaction-filled this whole event is. For the price, we should expect things like free🐭 raid passes and reduced hatch distance at no extra cost. Charging $20 per day for extra citywide gameplay that doesn’t get you back into the park experience seems rather greedy as well, and I don’t blame players that feel nickel and dimed by the price increase and the bevy of optional add-ons.
I’m not here to talk anyone out of Go Fest. The events I’ve been to have always been a blast, and if $87 to go all-in on a half-day park experience doesn’t seem outrageous to you, don’t let me talk you out of it. But given how frustrated ♊Pokemon Go players are lately, it's a shame to see the game continue moving in a more expensive direction.