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Pokemon GO Fest 2017 Might Finally Debut Legendaries And PvP, But Niantic Has To Be Very Careful

By Simon Alvarez
Published on: 17:40 PST, Jun 10, 2017

Like it or hate it, Pokemon GO remains as one of the most prolific mobile games on the planet. While the game is but a shadow of the juggernaut that it once was when it first launched, it remains a mobile title that commands millions of players worldwide. With the game nearing its first anniversary, Niantic has announced this year’s Pokemon GO Fest, a variety of in-game and real-world activities that celebrates the game and its loyal players, on July 22 in Chicago. Other regions would have similar events from June to September, as well. While specific details about the grand PoGO events are scarce, numerous speculations have already begun emerging about what the massive festivals would hold.

So far, Paul Tassi of Forbes stated that Niantic has been very secretive about the activities and promotions that are associated with the upcoming Pokemon GO Fest. This particular decision by the gaming firm has been seen by avid PoGO players as rather unique, especially as Niantic is quite literally inviting trainers from across the United States to take part in the upcoming festival. While Niantic has been completely transparent about the date and time of the Pokemon GO Fest in Chicago, the developer has provided very little details about what exactly would happen on July 22.

Niantic’s official announcement is not much help, either, with the press release being very brief and general. According to the gaming firm’s press release, Niantic CEO John Hanke simply stated that the first-anniversary celebration would be filled with numerous in-game and real-world events that Pokemon fans would truly enjoy.

“It’s been an incredible first year for Pokemon GO thanks to the passion and dedication from the global trainer community. As part of the first anniversary, we’ll be giving players around the world the chance to enjoy fun in-game events, engage with friends and other trainers at real-world events, and much more.”

Considering that in-game events have been specifically mentioned by the gaming firm, and the fact that Pokemon GO is yet to introduce Legendary monsters in the popular augmented reality mobile title, numerous speculations have begun to emerge suggesting that Niantic might finally be debuting the first batch of Legendary creatures in the game. This particular notion, while still pretty much in the realm of speculation, is actually quite possible, considering that the developer has teased the idea of Legendaries being tied to special events in the past. The first public teaser for the game, for one, predominantly featured Mewtwo, one of Gen 1’s most favorite Legendaries, being the target of a raid.

Apart from Legendaries possibly being introduced to the game, rumors are also high that Niantic would be launching PvP on the upcoming Pokemon GO Fest event. The feature has been widely speculated for some time, but it is yet to make an appearance in the game. Therefore, the mobile title’s first-year anniversary practically becomes the perfect opportunity to launch the highly-anticipated feature.

Unsurprisingly, avid Pokemon GO fans and players have aired their skepticism about the premise of new features such as PvP being tied to the upcoming Pokemon GO Fest Chicago event, with many stating that Niantic would be grossly miscalculating if it releases long-anticipated additions such as Legendary monsters as an exclusive to those participating in the festival. However, the developer does not really need to make features such as Legendaries exclusive to the Pokemon GO Fest participants. Niantic could simply launch the features in the festival, and then roll them out to the whole player base in the days after. Doing so would effectively rekindle a lot of interest in the iconic augmented reality mobile game, and it would no doubt usher in millions of gamers back into the title.

All the information that Niantic has released about Pokemon GO Fest 2017 could be found at this link.

[Featured Image by Niantic]

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