Pokémon GO is hosting the Hoenn Tour in Las Vegas this weekend. But the first day of the event gets a lot of criticism because players were struggling with problems.
What’s on in Las Vegas? Yesterday, February 18, 2023, the first day of the Hoenn tour took place at Sunset Park in Las Vegas. This event required purchasing a ticket and being local to take advantage of the bonuses.
The event is sold out and today, February 19th, the second day will start.
But the first day apparently didn’t go as players had hoped: The event started on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. local time, i.e. at 7:00 p.m. German time. That’s when the first complaints came up.
Trainers frustrated with Day 1 in Las Vegas – Niantic reacts
Coaches report: Trainers shared their experiences from the event on the Pokémon GO subreddits and on Twitter. The main problem: There were apparently severe log-in problems and lags.
Players were simply unable to log into the game to play the event on several occasions, or the connection broke down. Other trainers report getting kicked out or not getting in the raids against Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon.
During the event period, trainers are reporting severe connection problems – and this is causing frustration among players. Especially those who traveled to Las Vegas to take part in the event, booked hotels and the like (via reddit).
How is Niantic responding to the issues?
Developer Niantic spoke up via the official Pokémon GO account on Twitter. The Pokémon GO team apologized for the problems and tried to explain how it happened. Apparently there were some coaches without a ticket that you hadn’t expected:
“Another 17,000 trainers without tickets joined us at the park, causing connection issues throughout the day,” the statement said performed.”
“We are asking Trainers who do not have a Pokémon GO Tour: Hoenn – Las Vegas ticket to join us at the park tomorrow to ensure the smooth running of the event for Sunday ticket holders and Trainers who have the Sunday Extra have daily add-on to ensure.”
In addition, the Pokémon GO team explained in a blog post (via pokemongolive.com) that the Saturday event has been extended for three more hours and expanded to the rest of the city. So it ran until 10:00 p.m. local time and bonuses should also be unlocked in the rest of Las Vegas. Trainers should also get three free raid passes and three free long-distance raid passes.
In the first reactions (via Twitter), however, coaches are also critical of these adjustments and believe that this is not enough to compensate. For example, some suggest a replacement event as compensation.
At least there have been examples in the past of such replacement events being held. Nothing has been announced in this direction, at least not yet.
It remains to be seen how the second day of the event in Las Vegas will unfold. This starts again at 10:00 a.m. local time, i.e. at 7:00 p.m. German time.
It’s also the turn of the rest of the world next weekend – that’s when the worldwide Hoenn tour starts in Pokémon GO.