Pokémon GO Introduces Brand New Multiplayer Feature 'Party Play'

""The big downside is that there's no remote play available, and Party Play is proximity-based, so you'll need to actually be out and about with others in order to form a party. It seems to be another step in Niantic's push to get people playing Pokémon GO outside rather than remotely, which caused some backlash earlier in the year...""

But isn't the purpose of this game supposed to be to go out to the area where the Pokémon is, where the Pokestop or Gym is and now, go to where your friend is? What is the purpose of having ' remote play ' if that gives "a understand", that some do not want to use the game mechanics and turn Pokémon GO like just another cell phone game...

@SakuraHaruka Agreed.

Though I'm very unlikely to go out now its almost winter here in the UK.

@SakuraHaruka as someone living in a bigger city

I understand you

As someone knowing people that live in small far away from cities villages, that don't even have a gym (and sometimes not even a stop)

I think you should keep those people in mind too

(and I am not even starting about physically disabled people, those cases speak for themself)

Often people want too but can not, but there are a lot of people that don't have these issues, or try to justify them because it does not bother them.

It suck

@AndroidiOS The US has been getting really chilly aswell lately

@Rayquaza2510
That's why I put "to understand" in quotes, because I understand those cases, I have gone to small towns (I live in a region where there are many small towns) where they barely have a GYM or even a PokeStop and yes, it is not nice that Those who live there are limited, however, if they can play Pokémon GO, they can provide feedback to Niantic, ""among all"", to ask that more Pokestops and Gyms be allowed in those towns; If when the game started, even the semi-large cities were limited in those places, today, there are even places in those semi-large cities where they are saturated.

It is not necessary to sacrifice what makes this game interesting and unique just for these details.

@AndroidiOS almost? It’s 4C outside. Winter is already here

Wonder why they didn’t release this feature when the game first came out?

Is the only buff really an occasional attack boost?? It better be significant because that’s disappointing.

Yay, like I totally still have friends who actually play this game...
I'd rather trade all these late game gimmick additions from the past 2 years for Rotom's release instead.

That isn't a "downside", that is literally the feature that makes the game unique from the 25+ years of Pokemon games. If you don't want to go outside or interact with other people, literally play ANY of the other Pokemon games.

The downside isn't that you have to be near other people, but rather that you have to play WITH other people.

I'll do Wednesday night raids for Legendaries I don't have, but otherwise I prefer the solo experience.

Ah yes, the people wanting to not touch grass outside.....

a feature that comes 3 years too late in my opinion. The game is dead, they killed it with to many features that makes no sense... instead of coming up with a solid battlesystem they now have several battlesystems in one game... this is just crap.

@SakuraHaruka I think they miss balanced the game already in a way, that going outside for a walk to play it is already too much work. I mean I live in a big City (as most people do) and If I go out there are just so many pokemon and stops and things I need to do, I think it loses a bit of its initial purpose to just gamify going for a walk. Now I can't enjoy my walk anymore because I'm bombarded with stuff to do...
It's not the only thing they ruined in my opinion over the last couple of years.

Niantic trying to reignite that community that is long gone, and this doesn't look like it'll change that either.

This is not about not going out, it's about trying to go out and find others to do it with.

Oh, getting out and playing randomly isn't the problem for me. There are ample stops and gyms in the 11k populated town I work in and live near. Heck, I do try to play on foot when I have a bit of time and use PoGo as a distraction if I'm out doing some cardio or errands. The problem is getting out to play when:
1. Other people are out and about. Play here has dwindled post-Covid after my state lifted most restrictions (and ours were strict) and many of us are adults with families, jobs, and schedules. Our local Discord has been pretty quiet for the most part. It was very active before and during 2021.
2. Event times don't align with a busy schedule, which happens more often than not these days. I missed most of the last C-day (Sunday) due to another obligation since Niantic refuses to host them in 6 hour blocks anymore. (Yes, I've seen their reasoning, but the fact remains that the flexibility is welcome)
3. The raid hour bosses usually aren't worth it. Raid hour used to be a good way to meet up with others to chat, trade, and battle. But there hasn't really been anything new lately. I show up when I have the time and am lucky to finish some of them. Our lobbies used to be FULL, especially in the summers. The only reason I'm bothering lately is to finish the raid requirement for the new Master Ball research.

Some of the long-time players became bored and play less often, plus inflation has ensured some spend less money on the game. Add in some of Niantic's baffling decisions over the last few months when it comes to convenience and accessibility, and our community has definitely dwindled. The community I live in is predominantly rural, and some of our players would come from surrounding towns. That's less likely to happen these days.

So yeah, this feature is nice, and kudos to those who can make use of it. But sadly, it came a few years too late. I think the special research related to it will collect dust in my game for some time. Possibly forever. Heck, even the recently added routes have been hard for me to do.