Pokémon GO continues to be a rather interesting ship to watch sailing. After Niantic messed up by removing Pokémon tracking, they shut down tracking sites like PokéVision and PokeHound. Now, they’ve made Pokémon harder to catch. This move comes in two ways: firstly, Pokémon simply are harder to catch and require more PokéBall throws. They’re also more prone to running away now. Secondly, the time duration the game takes between ‘scans’ for new Pokémon has been increased from 5 to 10 seconds.
The scanner delay change may not seem particularly big, particularly if you play the game while on a stroll. For those playing in a car or on a bike, however, it is a pretty big deal. Kotaku’s Patricia Hernandez reports being unable find Pokémon while in a car, and she has collected a number of tweets suggesting the same: that Pokémon GO is now effectively unplayable if you’re on a bike, or in a car, or any other vehicle.
Niantic continues to be silent about the changes that it’s making to the came, and their last statement regarding the game was something of a non-answer. It currently stands at a precarious position. Pokémon GO may have been an international phenomenon, but the month-old game could find itself going just as easily downhill at the rate Niantic is breaking the game.
Let us know what you think in the comments below.