If you haven’t yet heard the unfortunate news, it seems that Niantic is going to revert to the original distances required to access Gyms and PokeStops in Pokemon Go. Currently, the distance to access PokeStops is 80m, the distance to interact with a Gym is 2,000m, and the distance for remote raids is 3,500m. These numbers were posted, along with the news that the distances would be reverted, on the PokeMiners Twitter, a group dedicated to datamining for Pokemon Go.
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To say people are unhappy about this change would be a bit of an understatement. Not only did the extra distance provide people with safety in light of Covid, but players also pointed out that the distances made the game more accessible for some with disabilities, and that distance also prevented potential confrontation with other people.
In a Reddit thread, players have taken to expressing their frustration. One user says, “These are changes that I truly just do not understand. They're intentionally making the game less fun to play. Typically that's something you don't want to do. I just don't get it.” Another also adds, “This is awful timing too, I have a similar pokestop situation but I just got “pinged” (UK term for “asked to self isolate after being near someone who later tested positive for covid”) so I’m stuck at home for the next few days, right as pogo becomes unplayable from my home.”
It's not just Reddit either. There are countless Twitter responses that mirror the rhetoric of the comments below:
However, it might be possible that not all hope is lost. If people can band together enough, they might be able to get Niantic to hear them out. This is the goal of a Pokemon Go petition on change.org that has gained traction recently. At the time of writing, the petition to keep the distances the same has reached 124,661 signatures, and that number seems to keep rising. So if you’re one of the many that doesn’t want to see these distances revert, add your signature and pass it around—maybe Niantic will be sympathetic.
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