Amid the COVID-19 outbreak, many companies have taken extra precautions to prevent the spread of the virus. The Pokemon Company is the latest to announce cancellations of major events.
As of now, all Play! Pokemon events for the next two months will be cancelled. Both Pokemon video game and trading card game tournaments are affected and may have implications for ranking championships. Pokemon is not the only trading card game to be affected, as the newest Marvel Champions expansion is most likely being delayed. The United States government recently recommended avoiding crowds of 10 people. Because of this, many comic books stores will struggle without the support of trading card games and new card releases. As of now, there is no active plan to reschedule these events or to hold them remotely using streaming.
Play! Pokemon events include Pokemon Regional Championships, Special Events, League Challenges, League Cups, Premier Challenges, Midseason Showdowns, and Prerelease tournaments. With all of these events cancelled, players are unable to earn ranking points. The Pokemon Company uses Championship Points to determine ranking in the large championship tournaments and players can earn Championship Points by ranking or winning various tournaments leading up to the championship. Since the tournaments are cancelled, many wonder how the ranking system will work if there is a world championship, which is still scheduled for August 14th.
Pokemon has also encountered issues with the popular mobile game, Pokemon GO. Since it is available in most regions, Niantic has tweaked the game mechanics to allows people to play without having to travel. Although Pokemon GO is not completely playable without travel, it has managed to stay active during this time. Gyms, raids and Pokestops are still available and players must travel to them to interact with them.
The COVID-19 virus has affected business and social events greatly. Although different countries have different policies to handle the virus, global companies face the challenge of implementing policies worldwide or in certain regions. Two Nintendo offices in the United States have implemented work from home policies after a Seattle Nintendo employee tested positive for COVID-19.
Many companies have important decisions to make right now. On one hand, employee and consumer safety are of the utmost importance, however, cancelling events causes a drop in income and brand exposure. With The Pokemon Company cancelling all events until May 14th, it has sent a message that they are taking steps to ensure the safety of everybody involved. Many esports events have also been cancelled, however, many companies are using alternate methods of delivering news and gameplay. In the next few weeks, The Pokemon Company may implement some alternatives to the tournaments and events, but for now, all of them are cancelled.
Source: Pokemon Company