Niantic has reportedly settled the Pokemon Go fest lawsuit for $1.5 million, according to TechCrunch. The gaming company failed miserably at organizing one of the most anticipated events for Pokemon Go fans last year, and hence it was sued.
In July of last year, Niantic hosted an event in Chicago for the Pokemon GO fans. While having bad Wi-Fi is not a rare occurrence at such events, for Niantic, however, it was not the only snag during the event. The fact that so many players flew to Chicago and lodged in hotels made the failure look even more terrible.
Along with the embarrassment that came with the flopped show, Niantic also suffered a huge financial loss (excluding the lawsuit cost) to steer clear of the criticism. After the disastrous event, Niantic announced that they would refund all the ticket money, but that was not enough for the estimated 20,000 attendees, who had to bear the cost of hotels, transportation, etc. Thus, the gaming company was sued with the Pokemon Go fest lawsuit.
Now, according to TechCrunch, the company is paying $1,575,000 to settle a class-action lawsuit – popularly called the Pokemon Go fest lawsuit. The settlement would reimburse various costs attendees might have incurred to attend the event.
TechCrunch – citing the documents filed in a Chicago Court, says that an official settlement website should be launched by May 25, 2018 and an email would be sent to make the attendees aware. Details reveal that anyone who claims to be part of the fest should have checked in to Go Fest via the game. This is done to ensure that those who sold their tickets for a premium stay away. Also, anyone who claims over $107 in expenses should have the relevant receipts.
After settling all the claims, lawyer fees and so on, the balance left would be donated to the Illinois Bar Foundation and the nonprofit organization Chicago Run. The document reads that the money would not be returned to Niantic.
Despite the failure, Niantic it appears has not given up on its dream of hosting a massive event. If the rumors are to be believed, then the game maker is prepping to host a big event in Dortmund, Germany, this summer. Popularly termed as Pokemon Go Fest 2.0, the event is expected to host 100,000 people. However, the company did not mention the event during the recent 5G conference in Germany.
Pokemon Go was launched on July 6, 2016 in North America, Australia and New Zealand. On the first day itself, the game was downloaded 6 million times. Due to the server overload, Niantic had to pause the release in other countries. Thanks to its continued popularity, the game made big money last year.
According to the data analysis firm SuperDataResearch, the game made over $890 million in 2017, making it the ninth biggest title of the year. In the year 2016, the game raked in $950 million in just six months of its release. Compared to 2016, the year 2017 might look a little dull, but according to CEO John Hanke, the year was all about finding a stable userbase and meeting their expectations.
The research firm also revealed that Pokemon Go is far behind games like Arena of Valor, Clash Royale, Fantasy Westward Journey and Clash of Clans. All these games made more money in the past year.
Meanwhile, Niantic continues to update the game to keep it relevant. The company has added several new features to the game, where trainers can catch a mythical Pokemon and can also earn new rewards along with some new special visuals. Also, the company recently launched a new Pokemon 8 Bit graphics with some trainers seeing new ban warnings. The developer explains why the trainers are getting the warning message.
“We have detected activity on your account that suggests you or someone is accessing your account using modified client software or unauthorized third-party software that accesses Pokémon Go in violation of our Terms of Service. Please be aware that the use of such software can result in the loss of your account,” the warning reads.
Niantic notes that if the players are using such software, they should stop. In case the players have accessed certain unauthorized third-party apps or websites, it is possible that their account might have been compromised. In such cases, changing the password is the right option.
