Pokemon Go Fest is an event planned around the popular phone app “Pokemon Go”
Held in Grant Park Chicago, this out door event promised to be full of rare monsters, medals, eggs, and special raids. With crowds reaching in the thousands, the event should have been a success. What the event planners and the attendees did not plan for was a lack of service in the area. Crowds and heard chanting “We Can’t Play”.
Chanting ‘WE CAN’T PLAY!’ #PoKemonGoFest pic.twitter.com/NBGjhINfc4
— Maria MsDBZbabe (@MsDBZbabe) July 22, 2017
Lines to get to the event reached a mile long according to attendees.
A quote from the event was sent to everyone on social media
“I know that some of you guys have had trouble getting logged on this morning, and I wanted to let you know that we’re working with the cell companies—AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, trying to get that worked out,†Hanke said, amidst some player heckling. “And we’re working on the game server to get that worked out. So, I want to ask you guys, please know, we’ve got the whole Niantic team working against this, so please be patient with us.â€
UPDATE 2:47PM: The event has been so disastrous, many are reporting that Niantic is going to refund attendees for the cost of their tickets, in addition to $100 worth of PokeCoins.
According to the event’s website (http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com/events/fest/chicago/)
Sprint and Boost Mobiel were sponsors, but with many of the issues coming from AT&T and Verizon. Even Sprint could not keep up with the demand on the network.
This was not a complete failure, but the event tried to do right by the fans, with refunds and $100 worth of in game money as well. Many reports of the friends made and times had with parties were worth the trip. But your hard core fans that were really wanting the Pokemon and rare items, were left out in the cold.
What are your thoughts?