Pokemon GO's new avatar update has left a good chunk of the player base unhappy after it ruined their personal avatar's appearance.
I’m sorry, this new update is HORRENDOUS #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/oLS2us98PN
— Nat – TL50 (@Bonquisha888888) April 18, 2024
Part of the Rediscover Pokemon GO series of updates, The Rediscover Yourself update has brought new visual changes to the in-game avatars of the game. Aiming to be inclusive, the new update allows players to customize their avatars with a wide range of choices such as adjusting their avatar's weight amongst others.
However, despite its good-hearted intentions, the majority of players poorly received the Rediscover Yourself update. Unfortunately, the update contained a lot of visual bugs, and the overwhelming reception described the update as ugly.
What's more is that, despite the supposed focus on inclusivity of the update, there is noticeably a lack of customization options for female avatars, a problem that was not present in the previous version of avatars. Some avatars even had a not-safe-for-work look, which Niantic thankfully swiftly patched.
Niantic Scrambles To Fix It
Today’s post is split into two parts because there were so many issues with how the hair interacts with hats in #PokemonGO. I didn’t use all of them but wanted to highlight the different issues that could be found consistently if you selected the hairstyle.
Part one: magic hair pic.twitter.com/qn07eKH0aZ
— BennieSzi (@BenniexChase) April 24, 2024
In a published report by Pokémon GO Hub founder Zeroghan, Niantic is aware of the negative reception of Pokemon GO's new avatar update and is apparently working hard to collate feedback.
“We’re sending all of your feedback to the Product Team, and the folks who worked on the Avatar system, we’re taking this seriously and really appreciate you sharing your candid personal opinions/follower opinions,” quoted a high-ranking anonymous person in Niantic via Zeroghan's report.
Although Zeroghan seems hopeful for Niantic, the report emphasized that Niantic made no promises as to how they will be fixing Pokemon GO's new avatar update.
Niantic Listens?
Unfortunately, although Zeroghan's report stated that Niantic is listening to feedback, most of the community generally accepts that Niantic never listens to any feedback, a sentiment supported by another recent report.
Legit happy for those that are happy. Won’t tarnish that.
But it would seem the vast majority are less than enthused about the changes. Skin tone can be adjusted but all seem a bit off. Expressions and posture and body shapes seem generally… droopy?
Do you have insight… 1/
— JRESeawolf (@JreSeawolf) April 17, 2024
JRESeawolf, an investigative journalist covering Pokémon GO, revealed that Niantic receives feedback through a server.
According to his source, Niantic's feedback server is massive as it has a large sample of players that range from the new casuals to the die-hard players that grinded since day one. The UX & UI team at Niantic made the server, which is used in all things Niantic, not just Pokémon GO.
Talking about the new avatar update, JRESeawolf's source then revealed that plans for it were made over a year ago through disseminated questionnaires, with the beta test conducted just three to four months ago.
However, just like what the majority of the community experiences, the feedback gathered fell on deaf ears and was ignored. JRESeawolf's source revealed that there were virtually no applied changes to the new avatar update when it went live despite a fairly negative review from the beta test.
“The group has been vocal of their disappointment with this rollout with one participant quote “ashamed to be part of the study when this is the result”,” JRESeawolf's source stated in their interview.
Adding to the stone-deaf allegations, when JRESeawolf publicly reached out to Niantic's Lead Global Community Manager, Kestrel Riot, on X (formerly Twitter), they disappointingly received a deafening silence in response to their efforts to communicate.
Community Up In Arms
Personally, I feel like coins for closet items should be refunded. We had a feature to try on items before purchase. The clothes were gender dependent prior to the update.
Hardly any outfit looks the same.What are your thoughts?#PokemonGOhttps://t.co/6vZptf9o6d
— Babydollbecca (@Babydollbecca1) April 19, 2024
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With Pokemon GO's new avatar update ruining the overall looks of the in-game avatar, some players are clamoring for a refund for all of the cosmetic purchases they made.
Even JRESeawolf got on the meme-ing action as his post not only pokes fun at the new avatar update but also Niantic and Pokemon GO's propensity for paid features.
How long until…. pic.twitter.com/q6VTFt9kLi
— JRESeawolf (@JreSeawolf) April 17, 2024
Amidst the dumpster fire surrounding the avatar update, players expressed their warranted disappointment with the announcement of the Pokémon GO Fest 2024 T-shirt, which includes a matching in-game avatar item that players are expecting to look ugly on their avatars.
Seriously?? 🤣🤣🤣 after the avatar update failure this is what you come up with??
— 💫✨JollyNotNow✨💫 (@JollyNotNow) April 23, 2024
No because all my clothes are broken by my hideous malformed avatar
— Matthew Buxton – VoYder (@BuxtonMatthew) April 23, 2024
As of this article's writing, neither Pokémon GO nor Niantic itself has directly addressed the controversial avatar update besides Zeroghan's report, leaving players in the dark about future actions.
For more stories about Pokemon GO, follow us at ClutchPoints Gaming.
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