With the weekend of Black Friday and Cyber Monday approaching, Pokemon GO has elected to get in on the celebration early and open up its Cyber Week deals early. However, not all fans appear to be pleased with this decision. In fact, several Pokemon GO players have gathered together to share complaints about the Cyber Week box prices.
Many video games celebrate Black Friday and Cyber Monday with discounts on microtransactions and other features that require real-world payment. However, many shoppers have complained over the years that stores do not actually discount their supposed deals by very much, if at all. It appears that the shop found inside Pokemon GO is no exception.
Redditor h2oskid3 kicked off the conversation by sharing a screenshot of the Cyber Week boxes and their associated prices, which appear to be pretty much identical to the prices of the boxes usually available in Pokemon GO. The Cyber Week Special Box costs 480 PokeCoins, the Cyber Week Ultra Box costs 1480 PokeCoins, and the Cyber Week Adventure Box costs 1480 PokeCoins. H2oskid3 stated that when they noticed the prices, they assumed the Cyber Week boxes would have better contents than the usual selection, but this doesn't seem to be the case.
Aren't these boxes similar if not the same as a normal? Who are they fooling labeling them as "Cyber Week Special"? from pokemongo
According to some users, Niantic removed one Star Piece and two regular Egg Incubators from the Cyber Week Adventure Box while adding only one Incense. The result could be interpreted as a significant downgrade from the original Adventure Box, all while charging the same price. Given that this is happening at the same time as the Ed Sheeran collaboration event, it's possible that the lack of good Cyber Week deals come from Niantic prioritizing the collaboration over Cyber Week. It's also possible that Niantic simply hoped that players wouldn't notice the changes--or the lack thereof.
As of writing, it appears that Pokemon GO players are not impressed by Niantic's attempt to take advantage of Cyber Week. Several players dismissed the deal as just another example of a retailer trying to scam naive shoppers. One user openly mourned the fact that they'd already purchased a Cyber Week box before realizing the truth. A second user noted that Niantic did something similar with the Halloween boxes, while a third noted that this decision may have been made because the pandemic is damaging Niantic's earnings. At least one user did suggest that players investigate the boxes for themselves and decide whether the different contents are worth the price tag.
Pokemon GO is available now on Android and iOS devices.