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Pokemon GO captivated the world upon its debut in July 2016. However, nearly eight years since then, players are still seeing plenty of performance problems in the game. From inexplicable framerate drops and Poke Ball throw distance bugs to the lamented avatar update, there are many issues that continue to frustrate trainers.
Many players recently took to Reddit to share their thoughts on the subject. u/SirHangingChad wrote in a post:
While Pokemon GO simply isn't intended to run on some outdated hardware, the fact that players like u/SirHangingChad are running a current mobile device and are encountering framerate slowdowns and throw distance bugs is a major problem.
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Throw in the fact that the April 2024 avatar update has resulted in many cosmetics clipping or bugging out player avatars, and it's not hard to see why fans are upset.
Several players in the comments agreed with u/SirHangingChad, sharing their own frustrations with Pokemon GO's optimization, even when using mobile devices that should fully be able to run the game effectively. This led to some trainers stating that they shouldn't be playing the game anymore, as there have also been a myriad of complaints leveled toward Niantic's customer support functionality.
While expecting Niantic to acquiesce to all demands made by Pokemon GO players is unrealistic, the fans do know the game well, especially almost eight years into its tenure. The title will be reaching its decade anniversary in July 2026, and some trainers are left wondering if they'll even be supporting it by the time this major milestone arrives.
This leaves one to wonder, is it too late for Niantic to reverse course and help win back the player base?
Is there still time for Niantic to win back Pokemon GO fans?
Pokemon GO has lasted the past few years despite substantial amounts of pushback and scrutiny. It even survived a global pandemic, so there's reason to believe the game has the resilience to keep a healthy player base. However, the criticisms have only mounted recently, and trainers only have so much patience before they leave the mobile title and have no appetite to return.
Be that as it may, there's still time to win over current players and keep them around while potentially bringing back a few who have left but haven't fully committed to swearing off the game. However, time is running thin, and Niantic will have to be as transparent as possible about what it's aiming to fix and how it's charting a player-friendly course ahead in the future.
One of the biggest sticking points from fans toward Niantic is that the developer isn't worried about customer satisfaction. Being more transparent and open while making a genuine effort to fix performance issues, poorly-received gameplay changes, and other problems would go a long way in winning back fans.
Obviously, Niantic wouldn't be able to cave to every demand players would make. However, making small concessions and being clear and concise about the developer's intent and plans for the future could salvage the game's reputation ahead of its eighth (and eventually tenth) anniversary. This would ensure that the mobile title has a player base that can continue to support it for years to come.
