Man Sues Niantic Over Pokemon Go Fest Debacle
Pokemon Go Fest was a disaster for just about all parties involved, even if it did result in [...]
Pokemon Go Fest was a disaster for just about all parties involved, even if it did result in Pokemon Go releasing two Legendary Pokemon to the masses. Long lines, network issues, and server problems plagued the event and forced Niantic to refund everyone's money and issue $100 in PokeCoins to everyone who attended.
However, at least one player claims that Pokemon Go didn't do enough and is suing Niantic for damages because of the event.
Jonathan Norton, who traveled from California to attend Pokemon Go Fest, has filed a lawsuit against Niantic and is seeking class action status. He claims that Niantic didn't do enough to prevent Pokemon Go Fest's problems and that the issues amounted to false advertising on Niantic's part. Had Norton and other attendees known about the problems that would have arisen, they wouldn't have paid travel costs to attend the festival.
"Fest-goers were unable to complete timed in-game challenges to collect special rewards, or collect previously unavailable or rare Pokémon. Had my client known that he would spend the majority of the event waiting in lines and unable to play the Pokémon GO game, he would have stayed in California instead of paying money to fly to Chicago to attend the fest," Norton's lawyer said.
The suit is seeking both actual and punitive damages against Niantic, as well as reimbursement for travel costs and attorney fees.
Niantic did not respond for comment at publication time.
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