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Pokemon GO's decision to phase out the remote raiding feature has remained a sore spot among players for years. Developer Niantic has stated that the reasoning for the decision was to encourage in-person community engagement, and this was recently reinforced by a set of X posts by the game's Lead Community Manager, Kestrel Riot, who remarked:
"One of the reasons I try to remote raid or play from home less is that I realized that my favorite PGO 'mons were ones I caught with my friends. I will always remember the exact moment I caught my shiny Druddigon or shiny Mewtwo -- my shiny Sceptile I remoted in? No clue."
Pokemon GO fans on Reddit shared the posts and Kestrel's reasoning for preferring in-person raiding. However, for many players, an old wound was reopened and existing complaints were revisited.
Pokemon GO fans discuss Kestrel Riot's comments and the ongoing remote raid dissatisfaction
In subsequent X posts, Kestrel Riot remarked that while they still occasionally participated in Pokemon GO's remote raiding, the creatures they obtained without remote play meant the most to them in the long run. They shared several moments where they encountered and obtained creatures in the game, the memories attached to them, as well as the people they shared them with.
It's understandable to have some fond moments and memories among members of the community. Still, some players didn't agree that it meant remote raiding had to be diminished. This is particularly true for players living in remote locations or those who have health-related issues that prevent them from joining in-person raids.
Moreover, while it was perfectly fine for Riot to have an attachment to the Pokemon they acquired in person, many trainers remarked that they had plenty of vivid memories of remote raiding for certain Pocket Monsters, including during the isolation-heavy days at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of the same points from the ongoing Pokemon GO controversy were reiterated, including that Niantic's perception of rural players is idealistic at best, as many trainers in remote locations can rarely find others to raid with in person. For some players who live in major cities, the in-person raiding experience tends to amount to trainers sitting in their cars and not acknowledging others.
Even in high-population areas, many members of the Pokemon GO community stated that in-person raiding isn't as easy or as enticing as Niantic seems to think it is. Trainers pointed to the collapse of their local game communities after the COVID peak, and many in crowded areas stated that personal scheduling and others' reluctance to be social still diminished the in-person raiding experience.
This is to say nothing of players who have had very negative experiences while attempting non-remote raids. Stories of Pokemon GO players being harassed or harmed have cropped up on Reddit and elsewhere since the remote raiding nerf, and many trainers continue to wonder why in-person raiding couldn't be incentivized while keeping remote raiding the same.
Many fans also pointed to the issue of spoofers in Pokemon GO - players who fake their GPS location to catch certain creatures, attend events, or participate in raids - as being a drain on the experience. A few fans even questioned Riot's statements, given that they work for Niantic and, therefore, have a vested interest in promoting its "go play outside" company line.
Niantic has stirred the pot dating back to 2023 by having a hardline stance favoring personal raiding, even though players have reiterated time and time again that the experience isn't a positive one for many members of the community. Raiding in the bitter cold or baking heat isn't enjoyable, and many fans can't raid at all due to their local Pokemon GO scene not having many players.
Once more, this renewal of the remote raiding controversy and the retreading of points made by the #HearUsNiantic player campaign boils back down to Pokemon GO not offering a balanced experience for the majority of its player base. It's a problem that has persisted since the game's launch in 2016 when players in rural areas decried only finding low-grade Pokemon.
Unfortunately, Niantic seems to be adamant about pushing forward with its current view of the game despite player pushback. Pokemon GO's 2024 has only begun, but it seems that the criticisms toward the title and Niantic have remained largely the same.
