Niantic: Pokémon Go scrapers hinder development of new features
Niantic has explained the actions taken to counteract websites such as Pokevision. The developer states that such services delay the release of Pokémon Go in more countries and hinder the development of new features.
Pokémon Go has been officially available for download in Latin America since Thursday. In a blog post on the Niantic website, CEO John Hanke said the release was delayed because many third-party services were taxing Pokémon Go’s servers. New adjustments were made on Wednesday to further block such services. With a graph, Niantic shows the server load before and after scrapers were blocked.
Niantic states that dealing with the issues takes time, which is not only at the expense of releasing the game in more countries, but also developing new features. Furthermore, Hanke emphasizes that the scrape tools used by radar websites are not only used for displaying Pokémon on the map, but also serve as a platform for bots and cheaters. “We’re dealing with a range of motives, from blatant commercial ventures to avid fans, but the negative consequences for the game are the same,” Hanke writes.
Services such as Pokevision use an api to obtain information from the Niantic servers about the appearance of Pokémon on the map. The API is not created or made available by Niantic itself and the game’s terms of service do not permit use of the servers in this manner.
Niantic doesn’t detail the changes that were made, but it turns out that encryption is being applied, causing the api to stop working. That reports the developer of the unofficial Pokémon Go client for Windows 10 on Github. Due to the adjustments, the app for Windows 10 Mobile no longer works.
Hanke does not expect that attempts to access the data on the Pokémon Go servers by third parties will stop. However, Niantic will continue to take action to counter that.
Websites and apps that show where Pokémon appear are popular because the Nearby feature in the game is not working properly. The function is supposed to show which figures are in the environment, but was severely limited by Niantic after the game’s release. Hanke says in his blog that Niantic is aware of user “feedback” about the Nearby feature and states that it is “actively working on it.”
Communication from Niantic about issues with Pokémon Go and information about changes in released updates has been scarce in recent weeks. In most cases, the developer limited himself to short tweets or posts on Facebook. The blog is the developer’s first extensive official response about the vicissitudes.
In a recent tweet Niantic claims that the frequent escaping of Pokémon while catching and not getting an XP bonus for performing a good roll is caused by a bug. The developer says they are working on a fix, but it is not clear when it will be released.