As you know, Lucky Pokémon are being added to Pokémon GO. What you probably didn't know is that they are not yet available. Pokémon officials' communication on this new feature has been poor, leading many Trainers to trade away Pokémon in an attempt to get these unreleased variants. So what went down, who's to blame, and what can Niantic learn from this?
THE TIMELINE
What happened? Well, over the past few days, Niantic has been teasing this feature in promotional images. A new update was then released on Zapdos Day that brought coding for Lucky variants. Unfortunately, the coding did not give us enough information to figure out how these variants would work, which lead to confusion about the topic before the announcement was even made.
Then, on Monday, the details were finally made available. Strangely, it was published much later in the day than most past updates (at 1:00 PM PDT, instead of at the usual 6:00 AM or 8:00 AM). The announcement was short, and didn't make the fact that Lucky Pokémon weren't available yet crystal clear.
The blog post from Niantic did say in its opening paragraph that we would be able to "experience it [Lucky Pokémon] soon," but many Trainers seemed to not notice that crucial phrase. To make it worse, other forms of announcing the feature didn't even have this phrase in them, and some clickbait-y YouTube videos had titles such as "Lucky Pokémon are Here."
Then, on Monday, the details were finally made available. Strangely, it was published much later in the day than most past updates (at 1:00 PM PDT, instead of at the usual 6:00 AM or 8:00 AM). The announcement was short, and didn't make the fact that Lucky Pokémon weren't available yet crystal clear.
The blog post from Niantic did say in its opening paragraph that we would be able to "experience it [Lucky Pokémon] soon," but many Trainers seemed to not notice that crucial phrase. To make it worse, other forms of announcing the feature didn't even have this phrase in them, and some clickbait-y YouTube videos had titles such as "Lucky Pokémon are Here."
THE BLAME GAME
So who's to blame for the latest PR dilemma? First and foremost, the finger should be pointed at Niantic. They are the ones who, based on our understanding of the Niantic-TPC relationship, draft the social media posts and the in-game news blurbs. They were the ones who neglected to mention the feature was not yet live, and also didn't mention that Lucky Pokémon have the chance to be stronger (which likely means have higher IVs).
With that being said, Niantic is not the only one who is at fault. The Pokémon Company deserves some of the blame, too, as their announcement didn't explicitly mention the unreleased factor as well. Some Pokémon GO players often ignore information TPC puts out, as they "aren't official" to them, but that doesn't excuse TPC from poor communication.
In fact, The Pokémon Company needs to step up their game in general. In recent months, they have put out claims that have turned out to be false, such as when they said Ho-Oh would be extended and the maximum amount of Pokémon able to be held would be upped to 2,000. Now, the finger could likely be pointed back at Niantic (given the fact that they are probably the ones telling TPC this), but regardless of whoever is communicating this false information, it needs to stop.
With that being said, Niantic is not the only one who is at fault. The Pokémon Company deserves some of the blame, too, as their announcement didn't explicitly mention the unreleased factor as well. Some Pokémon GO players often ignore information TPC puts out, as they "aren't official" to them, but that doesn't excuse TPC from poor communication.
In fact, The Pokémon Company needs to step up their game in general. In recent months, they have put out claims that have turned out to be false, such as when they said Ho-Oh would be extended and the maximum amount of Pokémon able to be held would be upped to 2,000. Now, the finger could likely be pointed back at Niantic (given the fact that they are probably the ones telling TPC this), but regardless of whoever is communicating this false information, it needs to stop.
TEACHABLE MOMENT?
At the very least, we hope this serves as a teachable moment. Or, more harshly, we hope this serves as yet another teachable moment. The public-relations were already rocky when it comes to the trading system, and this latest controversy does not help. In fairness, Niantic's PR has improved since 2016, but the trading and Lucky Pokémon fiascos make them take two steps in the wrong direction.
So what does Niantic need to do for future updates? Well, we shouldn't need to outline this, but we will do it anyway.
If you take a look at this list, it's not far off from when Niantic has had good PR in the past (such as when the research system was added). An old adage says "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and Niantic should probably follow that advice now.
So what does Niantic need to do for future updates? Well, we shouldn't need to outline this, but we will do it anyway.
- Don't release the update before you announce the new feature(s).
- Be explicit and clear that a feature is not yet available in announcements, and try to give us an explicit date and time of release if possible.
- Make those announcements at one of the two times we have gotten used to receiving them (9:00 AM or 11:00 AM Eastern Time).
- If the feature's rollout is not going to be simultaneous for all regions or levels, warn us ahead of time.
If you take a look at this list, it's not far off from when Niantic has had good PR in the past (such as when the research system was added). An old adage says "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," and Niantic should probably follow that advice now.
Thanks for reading, Trainers. Part one of our pre-release analysis of the Generation 4 baby Pokémon is coming soon, so stay tuned.