Pokémon GO Director Responds To Incense Outrage & Explains Changes
The director of Pokémon GO has responded to backlash and explained the reasoning behind the latest changes made to the game’s Incense feature. Developer Niantic had a challenging time adjusting Pokémon GO when the pandemic hit and countries started restricting people from moving around, which is one of the core mechanics of the game, but the studio was able to find ways to still allow people to enjoy the game from the safety of their homes. One of these solutions was to increase the effectiveness and duration of Pokémon GO’s Incense.
However, with many countries now loosening up pandemic restrictions, Niantic has also begun instituting changes that encourage Pokémon GO players to once again go out and move around to play the game. Starting in the middle of last year, the studio began rolling back some of the changes implemented during the pandemic, as well as introducing in-motion bonuses to incentivize players who go out and explore. While some of those changes also received backlash from Pokémon GO’s community and led Niantic to change its plans, many of them have stuck around.
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Pokémon GO Director Michael Steranka spoke with Kotaku about the community’s outrage over Pokémon GO’s Incense changes, which now only creates one encounter every five minutes instead of every one, and explained why Niantic chose to make them. Steranka first clarified that the change was not to make more revenue on Incense, as reducing the item’s usefulness will actually lead to fewer people purchasing it. He goes on to explain that reducing the effectiveness of Incense is meant to encourage people to go out and move around again instead of fully playing the game at home, referencing
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