Pokemon Go $100 web store deal obliterated by players
A new ad for an expensive PokeCoin bundle triggered a substantial backlash from Pokemon Go players, as they’ve been vocal about rising costs for the free-to-play mobile app, with most content now locked behind paid tickets and web store bundles.
Over the past several years, Pokemon Go players have been pressing on developer Niantic to pull back on the amount of paid content the game is currently relying on. From Mythical Pokemon locked behind event paywalls to Shiny boosts and debut encounters trapped under paid tickets, it is getting harder for trainers to truly play for free.
Unfortunately, the web store deals for Pokemon Go don’t seem to be improving things. While the web store allegedly offers better deals than the in-game store, the costs are still steep, and a new ad has left players fuming on social media.
Pokemon Go web store deals aren’t what players want
In a social media post shared by the Pokemon Go team, a web store deal has been advertised saying, “Trainers, get 50% more PokéCoins when you buy the $99.99 PokéCoin bundle from the #PokemonGO Web Store!”
For “a limited time”, players can spend $100 and receive 23,500 PokeCoins. This is 9,000 more than the same bundle via the in-game store.
The immediate response from players was “no”, with hundreds of comments that balked against the advertisement. One player stated, “Wow. Still not spending $100 in Pokecoins”, while another added, “Y’all seem desperate for people to spend money, huh.”
Others called the bundle a “scam”, or accused Pokemon Go of “asking for money”.
Another player made a point that puts the cost of the coins into perspective, commenting, “I could buy two Switch games and play them for years for this price.”
One Pokemon Go trainer called on Niantic to reconnect with the player base, adding, “$100? And that’ll be USD too… This just adds to the greediness accusations around your constant ticketing/microtransactions. Why don’t you keep this deal… but advertise a super affordable deal for regular players? Your marketing team needs to understand your core audience smh.”
These points have hammered home the feelings of players at this time, though Niantic has not made any comments about the backlash on the post at this time.