Niantic, Inc has to pay a lot of money following a pending lawsuit which has since reached a settlement. Pokemon GO's fest did not go so well and Niantic must return money to 20,000 community festival attendees for their traveling expenses.
Last year, Niantic organised a Pokemon GO fest with . Many attendees came from all around the United States to Chicago in order to participate in an event which should have been a Pokemon trainer's dream. However, the game was unresponsive and crashing for many coupled along with severe connection issues which barred a lot of people from launching the app.
Bear in mind this was in the wake of the game's launch, so issues were omni-present. Nowadays, even though it is a different story, Niantic still has to pay for the failed event. They were sued by the attendees of the festival who were unsatisfied with the outcome of the event.
Picture of a Pokemon Go festival
It took Niantic and the fans' attorneys half a year to reach a settlement, which now stipulates that the company must pay the attendees who want refunds for their travel expenses, accommodation and car rentals.
The court of Chicago in charge of the decision also stated that the plaintiffs must provide necessary proof, such as receipts of their expenses which must tally more than US$107 per attendee. Also, the people seeking refunds need to have confirmed their attendance of the event on the app.
Niantic released Pokemon GO in the summer of 2016 with great success. Fans were astounded by the release of the game and it's potential to bring people together. The ensuing Pokemon frenzy was met with certain governments considering a Pokemon GO ban ensuing several breaches of private property and the non-player population's dissatisfaction with the actions of the fans.
Niantic
Pokemon GO is an Augmented Reality video game for Android and iOS devices. It requires players to traverse the real world in order to catch Pokemon, and promotes a generally good sense of competition. It's free to play on Android's Play Store and Apple's App Store.
Pokemon GO Gen 3
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