Pokemon GO Fest was a HUGE disaster
Pokemon GO Fest kicked off in Chicago this past weekend. It was supposed to be a huge celebration of the game, and also many folks’ first chance to catch a legendary Pokemon.
Instead, it was a huge disaster. Niantic suffered a glutton of technical issues, such as server overload, which made it impossible for most peopleto actually catch Pokemon during the event. While there were other attractions on hand, most people likely made the trek just to help defeat the legendary Lugia and be the first ones to capture it.
As such, Niantic has had to refund all attendees’ tickets, and also loaded them up with $100 worth of PokeCoins for good measure. Here’s a full list of everything they’re doing to make nice:
- All registered attendees will soon receive an email with instructions on how to receive a full refund for the cost of their ticket. These instructions will be sent to the email addresses associated with your Pokémon GO account.
- All registered attendees will receive $100 in PokéCoins in their Pokémon GO account.
- Special Pokémon, Eggs, and check-in PokéStops appearing during Pokémon GO Fest have had their range increased to a two mile radius surrounding Grant Park through Monday morning, July 24. These Pokémon and Eggs will only be visible to Pokémon GO Fest attendees who validated the QR code they received when they entered Pokémon GO Fest. Attendees who were unable to validate their QR code during the event can do so through the special PokéStops through Monday morning.
- All registered attendees will have the Legendary Pokémon, Lugia, added to their account.
So, it sounds like the only thing you will have wasted is precious time and a good deal of suntan lotion if you happened to be out there all day.
For those who didn’t attend, don’t fret: Lugia is still available as a raid battle at your local gyms through at least July 27th, and Articuno will also be on hand as Team Mystic was awarded the win for their Poke-catching performance in the marred festival.