Sunday, August 11, 2019

Monthly GO Fest/Safari Zones?

It's no secret that Pokémon Go is popular all over the world. As a result, major player events/conventions are held every so often, in the form of GO Fests and Safari Zones. This year, even the two other regional events of the Summer Tour that used to be Safari Zones became "upgraded" to GO Fest status, and a new Safari Zone has been announced for Montreal next month. This does lead to an interesting proposition: can the two events become standardized as monthly events?

To answer this question, it would help to refer to last year's run of events. Last year, GO Fest was still only one, the one that started it all in Chicago. This was supplemented by four Safari Zones, including the two that got an "upgrade" this year. That's a total of five events, which is not even close to filling the twelve months in a year. Meanwhile, only eight months have passed this year, and there has been five Safari Zone or GO Fest events (counting next month, nine and six). Though things haven't quite filled every month, it's clear that there has been an advancement.

Meanwhile, Niantic as the developer of Pokémon Go continues to make improvements to its already-existing popular monthly event, Community Day. It may occasionally still have problems, but on the whole it has gotten better over time. There is also a ticket system for the Safari Zone/GO Fest events to keep them under control. These can be considered improvements as well, as they may be regarded as "baby steps" toward the goal I posed as a question.

The answer to that question is that the expansion certainly can happen. But just because it can, it doesn't mean that it will. Taking heed of the National Dex fiasco from two months ago, it may be desired to keep expectations low in the hope that instead they are over-delivered. As well, a major Safari Zone/GO Fest event likely has to go through many parties before one becomes viable, including the local organizers themselves. At this point, I have to draw the line and say that much of everything depends on the work of others.

It's still a fanciful thought that GO Fests and Safari Zones in Pokémon Go can be made to work monthly, but it would take lots of work as well. The ones that have already been instituted do already seem to work well, though, and that's a big blessing for any Pokémon Go player anywhere. The next big step to go each month would be a massive undertaking, but perhaps the results may just as massively pay off for everyone concerned.

One year ago: Pokémon Go Personal Feature Wishlist
Two years ago: Cosplay Scrapbooking

No comments:

Post a Comment

Hi folks! Feel free to comment, but know that I'll be selecting only the most appropriate and relevant comments to appear. Think before you post.