Pokemon GO Fans Call for New Type of Incense

gamerant.com:

Some Pokemon GO players have recently taken to social media to call for a new type of Incense that would facilitate playing the game during winter months, in weather that's all but suitable for walking. Their idea adds to the list of gameplay changes that Pokemon GO players have proposed since the turn of the year.

Like all successful live service games out there, Pokemon GO is churning out new content year-round. But because walking is its central gameplay mechanic, participating in its many events often hinges on having good weather. That's why some players in the Northern Hemisphere have recently struggled to participate in Pokemon GO events such as Winter Wonderland 2023, citing terrible weather conditions not suitable for staying outdoors for long.

Pondering that state of affairs, Reddit user Ponyboy06 recently came up with an idea for a winter Incense that would facilitate catching pocket monsters during the coldest period of the year without having to move too much. While they acknowledged that some players never get cold weather, they insisted that hunting Galarian birds in Pokemon GO can feel like a punishment for those that do. Their proposal later emerged on the front page of r/TheSilphRoad, one of the game's largest subreddits, suggesting that hundreds of players are on board with the idea.

Reflecting on the core idea, a few fans came up with a bit more pragmatic approach, suggesting that Niantic could simply rework the way normal Incense works in Pokemon GO instead of coming up with an entirely new item. Elaborating on that train of thought, Reddit user BuckTheStallion proposed a tweak that would make Incense work while the player is stationary whenever the game registers extreme weather. For clarity, Incense currently requires players to keep moving in order to benefit from its boosted Pokemon spawn rates.

Although such an approach could certainly make the game more accessible during cold weather, implementing it may not be as straightforward as simply