Pokemon Go Developer Addresses Controversy

With how popular Pokemon Go has been as of late, you'd think that Niantic could do no wrong in the eyes of the adoring public. You'd be wrong. With the recent "repairs" made on the three-step glitch (which just got rid of the steps entirely), and with the recent shut-down of popular third-party Pokemon tracking website Pokevision, fans have gotten pissed off. One quick look at the subreddit is proof enough of the fan's outrage, and proof that what fate and whimsy can give, poor management and careless disregard for fan opinion can taketh away.

After a few days of characteristic silence, however, Niantic has finally spoken up about the controversy, going to Facebook to talk to trainers face-to-face to explain their reasoning.

No reason to mince words, here's what they've got to say:
 

"We have removed the ‘3-step’ display in order to improve upon the underlying design. The original feature, although enjoyed by many, was also confusing and did not meet our underlying product goals. We will keep you posted as we strive to improve this feature.

We have limited access by third-party services which were interfering with our ability to maintain quality of service for our users and to bring Pokémon GO to users around the world. The large number of users has made the roll-out of Pokémon GO around the world an... interesting… challenge. And we aren’t done yet! Yes, Brazil, we want to bring the game to you (and many other countries where it is not yet available)."

So, getting rid of the 3-step display makes enough sense, I guess, if it's merely a temporary measure while they try to figure out how to get it working in a way that makes them happy. As for the third-party services bit... I mean, it's their game, they can do what they want with it in regards to third-party users, but I don't think anyone could argue that Pokevision was interfering with the quality of the game. It seems like a poor excuse and an attempt to save face, but, heck, again--that's their right, as a company, so you can't really fault them for anything except maybe being too proud.

But then, if you created the world's biggest phone app after being a no-name startup, I suppose you would also feel like techno-jesus.