Niantic is bringing the Pokémon Go Fest back to Chicago, after last year’s catastrophic debut which was marred by technical malfunctions. According to The Chicago Sun-Times, the event will return to Chicago on July 14-15.
During last year’s festival Niantic’s servers weren’t able to handle the large number of simultaneous users. Many attendees traveled far and wide to be there, and even though the company tried to assuage frustrated visitors with ticket refunds and in-game items, the inaugural Pokémon Go Fest bore a class-action lawsuit that was recently settled for over $1.5 million. Surely, Niantic isn’t keen on repeating this, and has strenuously prepared.
This year’s festival, titled “Pokémon Go Fest 2018: A Walk In The Park,” has changed locations from last year’s Grant Park to Lincoln Park, where a 1.8-mile walking course which will “include exclusive activities for Trainers of all ages” will hopefully satisfy attendees.
If you’re planning on visiting Chicago this summer and are a rabid Pokémon Go fan, single-day tickets go on sale this Friday, May 11 for $20 each. While it’s easy to clown Niantic and anyone willingly signing up to attend, I’m frankly impressed by the company’s decision to double down. The most admirable thing to do after miserably failing is to get back up and try again.
Of course, not everyone is as optimistic about this year’s festival, with some fans who got burned last year staunchly opposed to giving Niantic a second chance.
