Niantic has finally done something about all those angry homeowners who submitted a proposal to a Californian Judge to settle the dispute legally with the developer. The settlement was filed last week on Thursday and Niantic stated that they would resolve this issue within the app.
How Will Players Be Affected by the Change?
The Pokémon Go app will notify players when they are more than ten who are catching Pokémon in that location. The app will also remind users about the public locations’ hours of operation, noted The Hollywood Reporter:
“When Niantic’s system detects a raid of more than 10 players congregating, a warning message will appear on their screens reminding them to be courteous and respectful of surroundings.”
Any Pokéstop or Gyms that are 40 meters from homeowners’ properties will be removed.
Moreover, Niantic will keep a database of the complaints and try to resolve them within 15 days of them being registered.
“At the company’s expense, Niantic will have an independent firm audit compliance with obligations during a three-year period,” added THR.
The first time Niantic was sued was only a month after Pokémon Go was launched when property owners kept seeing people trespassing to catch Pokémon. Unfortunately, the AR game had some unfortunate locations where players wondered to catch Pokémon – the National Holocaust Museum, or Arlington National Cemetery.
One time, a California woman complained that the game made her swimming pool a Pokéstop and players came on her property and damaged her fence and lawn. A New York homeowner’s driveway was filled with Pokémon, so large groups came at night when the Pokemon were at peak spawning hours, making a lot of noise and damaging his property.
The plaintiffs in the case will receive a compensation of $1,000 each, and Niantic will have to pay the attorneys $8 million in fees and $130,000 in expenses, noted Eurogamer.
In conclusion, Pokémon Go players will not be affected if they play by the rules and are courteous with the people around them, which is basic common sense.
Robert J. Smith is still early into his career as tech reporter but has already had his work published in many major publications including JoyStiq and Android Authority. In regards to academics, Robert earned a degree in business from Fordham University. Robert has passion for emerging technology and covers upcoming products and breakthroughs in science and tech.
