Niantic is facing a lawsuit after the “Pokemon Go” Fest, which was heavily advertised as the launch date for the highly awaited Legendary Pokemon, failed to deliver what was promised.
A gamer named Jonathan Norton, who attended the “Pokemon Go” Fest in Chicago on July 22, has filed a class-action lawsuit wherein he claims that Niantic did not deliver on its promises. The event, which was held in Grant Park, ran into numerous issues which included long queues and problems with the app itself.
According to Comicbook.com, Norton’s lawyer stated that fest-goers were not able to complete time challenges to gather previously unavailable rare Pokemon or amass special rewards.
Norton’s lawyer added that had his client known that he will not be able to play the “Pokemon Go” game and will just wait in long queues, he would’ve just stayed in California. It is said that Norton just wasted his money flying to Chicago just to attend the failed fest.
Norton is claiming both actual and punitive damages against Niantic. He also seeks reimbursement for travel expenses incurred and attorney’s fees.
'Pokemon Go' fest: What went wrong?
Rolling Stone reported that the highly anticipated “Pokemon Go Fest” was a disaster for the 20,000 fans that showed up at the event. There were widespread connectivity issues and many were unable to access the game and receive the rewards promised at the event.
In response to the public outrage, Niantic issued an apology and offered refunds and $100 Pokecoins for the attendees. In a statement, Niantic CEO John Hanke explained that there were technical issues with “Pokemon Go’s” software, which were likely caused by the massive population of users trying to access the game in one area.
John Hanke also said that the issues worsened due to problems with mobile networks that became oversaturated during the event. Despite the mishap, Hanke said that some players were still able to enjoy the event. During the evening and the day following the event, players in downtown Chicago were able to participate in 69,000 raid battles and were able to capture 7.7 million Pokemon, 440,000 thousand of which were Legendary Pokemon.
'Pokemon Go' Legendary Pokemon release date
According to Tech Crunch, “Pokemon Go” will roll out Legendary Pokemon in the coming weeks. Articuno was first released on July 22 at the “Pokemon Go” Fest and will be available through July 31. Moltres will be released on July 31 and will be available through Aug. 7. Zapdos will be released on Aug. 7 and will be available through Aug. 14.
