Niantic Speaks Out About Pokemon Go Seizure Concerns
Niantic has tackled claims that Pokemon Go is causing seizures, and tried to reassure its massive fan base that it is taking these allegations seriously while looking into the issue. Since 2016, Pokemon Go has had us up and off the sofa, as we tour our local neighbourhood to try to catch 'em all.
After an early boom with the first 150 Pokemon, Niantic has continued to evolve the popular augmented reality game and now has over 600 species of those adorable Pocket Monsters. Despite critiques that Pokemon Go isn't what it used to be, the mobile game has earned a whopping $6 billion in revenue and continues to be Niantic's golden goose.
What is the Pokemon Go seizure claim?
Reports that Pokemon Go could trigger a seizure first came to light on June 11 - following the 0.211.0 Android and 1.177.0 iOS updates. Posting on Reddit, u/SuddenHelicopter6604 said they'd experienced early warning seizure signs. It was apparently triggered by a flash of bright light between a player tapping a Pokemon and it appearing on their screen.
Others responded to the thread with similar stories, and the issue has been raised to Niantic. Writing on the On TheSilphRoad subreddit, u/DexstarrRageCat confirmed Niantic reached out to them after posting about the potential seizure risk issue on another site.
Here, Niantic explained it was aware of what's happening in Pokemon Go and explained devs are working on a fix as quickly as they can.
The official response from Niantic reads as follows: "A recent change in the game altered the transition time between screens. We’re working as quickly as possible to correct this issue and expect to publish an app update this week to correct it".
Should you stop playing Pokemon Go?
Responding to the post, someone else said an encounter fade duration has been tweaked via an unofficial APK site. The screen transition time is apparently longer than before, however, if you're prone to seizures, it's probably best to avoid Pokemon Go until Niantic's official update for mobile devices.
This isn't the first time the world of Pokemon has been struck by seizures. In December 1997, the anime episode "Dennō Senshi Porygon" was pulled from syndication in Japan when 685 children were hospitalised over flashing lights. Nearly 25 years later, and it looks like a similar problem is plaguing Pokemon Go.
Even as Niantic works on a new Transformers game making use of the Pokemon Go technology, it's full steam ahead with its flagship title. We're galloping closer to Pokemon Go Fest 2021, which is set to introduce a new Mythical Pokemon in the form of Meloetta, the Melody Pokemon.
Hopefully, things will be fixed by the time things kick off next month, meaning everyone can enjoy Pokemon Go like they're supposed to.