Pokemon Go Goes Home? Coronavirus Impacts This Game Might Be Good News For You Trainers Out There!

Peter G., Tech Times 13 March 2020, 03:03 pm

Pokemon Go can finally be played in the comfort of your home due to the coronavirus pandemic that is affecting us on a global scale.

Niantic's Reasoning

Niantic has released an update that makes the game playable at home and collecting Pokemons left and right. The developers spoke with Polygon that the team is now focusing on prioritizing updates and features, which makes it easier to play in "individual settings" due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A spokesperson has stated that "While we've made these updates based on the current global health situation, we also encourage players to make decisions on where to go and what to do that are in the best interest of their health and the health of their communities,"

To add, Niantic has always taken care of their player base and does not want to promote an outdoor style of gaming amidst the COVID-19 right now. This is the solution the company has come up with to keep the player base happy and to sate their fix of Pokemon collecting.

Why Make a Drastic Shift in Game Philosophy?

This is an effort of the team to prevent the spread of the coronavirus that is now affecting multiples countries and thousands and thousands of people worldwide. The previous iteration of Pokemon Go has always encouraged people to go out and catch Pokemon, but this can't go on now due to obvious reasons.

Health officials are telling people to remain at home or, at the very least, remain six feet away from other individuals at all times. Pokemon Go is now following the recommendation of the health experts, and instead of making the game supposedly an outdoor experience, they have adjusted the game for people to still be able to play and love the game at the same time remain protected from the dangers of contracting the virus from the outside.

Important Things to Note

Niantic has increased the habitats and pokestops that are now dropping at an even higher rate. The developer is, of course, also offering incense packs that can increase the spawn rates of Pokemons. The price is discounted to a whopping 99 percent and increasing the effectiveness of those all-important incubators to double the speed of hatching for those eggs.

The updates are now live and will be the norm until further notice. Again, the push in their decision is to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. So folks, as much as you love walking and going out to get your Pokemon fix. Stay at home.