Niantic
Niantic announced Pokemon Go Fest 2018: A Walk in the Park in Chicago’s Lincoln Park from July 14 to July 15.
Niantic promises a “unique, immersive play experience unseen anywhere else that will create a daylong adventure for Trainers.” The event will be held along Lincoln Park’s 1.8 mile walking course which will be dotted with exclusive activities for players of all ages.
Challenges will be held throughout the day that unlock global in-game rewards, according to the website. Players will also be able to conduct research together for more rewards. Plus there will be six team lounges for Instinct, Mystic, and Valor teammates.
Single day passes for $20 go on sale May 11 on the official event website. The website will also list hotel accommodations and more details soon.
Update (May 11, 2018): Tickets went on sale at 9:00 a.m. PT (12:00 p.m. ET) on May 11, 2018 but they were sold out half an hour later according to Forbes. The website had technical problems from the moment the tickets went live. Tickets are being sold on sites like eBay for as low as $350 and as high as $1,025.
Update (July 14, 2018): Pokemon Go Fest 2018 began in Lincoln Park in Chicago at 10 a.m. CT. The event features four different “habitats” with uniquely tailored Pokemon spawns according to the Chicago Sun Times’ Yvonne Kim. Members of team Valor, Mystic, and Instinct get two team lounges in the park each.
Event attendees can catch the mythical Pokemon Celebi via Special Research, according to IGN. The five part quest involves catching certain kinds of Pokemon like Unown along with spinning photo discs at PokeStops, hatching eggs, and other tasks, according to users on The Silph Road subreddit. Celebi is the second mythical Pokemon added to the game after Mew.
Celebi doesn’t appear to be available outside of Pokemon Go Fest 2018, unlike the other Pokemon featured in the habitats. Niantic hasn’t confirmed that the mythical Pokemon will be released worldwide.
Niantic’s Pokemon Go Fest in Chicago last year was legendarily disastrous, as Heavy reported. From the very start most of the event’s 20,000 attendees were unable to play the game due to network and server issues with Verizon and AT&T customers experiencing the most problems. Adding to frustrations was long lines that had players waiting hours to get in. This is especially problematic considering the whole event revolved around “challenge windows” where players had to catch as many Pokemon as possible within three half-hour periods in order to unlock bonuses.
Players started chanting “Fix the game!” and met Niantic CEO John Hanke with deafening boos. Things didn’t get any better when Pokemon Go Fest host Rachel “Seltzer” Quirico took the stage with one fan tossing a plastic bottle at her. As a chant of “We can’t play!” started growing and growing, Niantic adjusted the audio levels on the livestream to try to drown out the crowd.
Niantic removed the visual of lures in an attempt to decrease server strain. In addition, some evidence suggests that Niantic was manually lowering challenge limits to meet thresholds. Niantic later released a statement apologizing to everyone who came to the fest. Niantic chief marketing officer Mike Quigley said that the company would issue ticket refunds and $100 in in-game PokeCoins. Quirico said that everyone at the event would have Lugia added to their account and because Team Mystic caught the most Pokemon Articuno would be the next legendary to be released.
In addition to Pokemon Go Fest 2018, Niantic is hosting Safari Zone events where players have a chance to capture regional Pokemon not normally available in their part of the world. They will host a Safari Zone event at the Westfalenpark in Dortmund, Germany from June 30 to July 1 with players exploring the park as well as the streets of Dortmund. They will also host the event in Yokosuka, Japan with the time yet to be confirmed.
Niantic will also host Community Day on May 19 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CDT (2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT) with players able to catch a Charmander with an exclusive move as well as enjoy triple Stardust from catching Pokemon and three hour lures. They’ll also host Community Days on June 16 and July 8 though the featured Pokemon and other bonuses have yet to be determined.
Niantic said that players can look forward to a variety of activities and challenges throughout the globe even if they can’t attend one of the live events in the summer. The company also participates in civic and service-oriented events throughout the year going towards a variety of causes. The company encourages players to let them know if you’ll be attending the event on social media via the hashtag #PokemonGOSummer.
Are you excited for Pokemon Go Fest 2018? Or do you think it will be another disaster? Let us know in the comment section below.
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