Tag: mobile games

Some botters and spoofers may have been getting away with it until now, but Niantic is cracking down.

It can be tempting to use Pokémon Go cheats to get ahead in the game. However, cheating comes with a high risk. The developer behind the augmented reality game – Niantic – issued a warning to cheaters.

Cheating while playing Pokémon Go could cause a player to be banned from the game for life.

Pokémon Go cheats have become increasingly commonplace. Honest players are meant to walk around to catch Pokémon. They can also fight their monsters against those of other players at Gyms. However, some players have been finding ways to avoid all the walking to catch more Pokémon. Many have been successful in cheating. That said, Niantic is aiming to bring that to an end. It is not trying to gradually phase out the cheating. It is trying to slam the door on it.

Players around the globe have been using Pokémon Go cheats in the form of GPS hacks and bots.

This way, they have been able to move ahead in the game. The cheats trick the mobile devices into thinking they are in a different place. Players can remain in their homes while tricking the mobile game app into thinking they are walking around. This allows those cheating players to increase their levels far beyond players who are required to run around their cities to find and catch more Pokémon.

The rash of cheating has caused a considerable uproar among players. Those who have been playing honestly simply can’t compete against those armed with hacks, spoofs and bots. Niantic’s official website now states that violators of the Terms and Services will be penalized. Among the penalties is a permanent ban from the game.

Therefore, if anyone is caught using a location falsifier of any kind, a bot, or even a third-party mobile app that tracks down Pokémon, the result could be a life-long ban from the game.

The developers at Niantic have also reached out to the player community. They have asked for assistance in putting Pokémon Go cheats to an end. The goal is to have players assist in tracking down cheaters around the world. A form is available to anyone who wants to report someone they believe is cheating in order to move ahead in the game.

Move over Candy Crush, Pokémon Go has become the biggest mobile game in the US.

Pokémon Go has been steadily breaking records since the first day it was released. The augmented reality scavenging game broke download records on its launch day. Now, the game has 21 million active daily users in the United States. It is the nation’s top mobile game, successfully surpassing Candy Crush Saga’s 20 million peak active user total.

Pokémon Go may even surpass SnapChat.

In addition to leaving Candy Crush in its dust, Nintendo and Niantic’s crown jewel is also squashing other hugely popular mobile games. Both Supercell’s Clash Royale and Slitehr.io were big candidates for 2016’s top mobile game title. Not anymore. These games don’t have a chance to compete with the all-out sensation that Pokémon Go has become.

In fact, according to data from SurveyMonkey Intelligence, the Pokémon mobile game phenomenon is predicted to beat the number of Snapchat active daily users on Android devices within the next couple of days.

If this should happen, the augmented reality mobile game will also surpass Google Maps active daily Android users. More smartphone users will use maps to find Pokémon than anything else. This is quite remarkable to say the very least.

This top mobile game is even more engaging than Facebook.

The AR game doesn’t only have more active daily users than any other mobile game. It is also proving to have better average user engagement than social media giant Facebook. A news article from Forbes noted that according to Sensor Tower data, the game is more engaging and taking up more user time than Facebook.

If Pokémon Go continues with its latest trend, it will no doubt continue to become more popular than social media apps. It should be noted, however, that even though the game is toppling social media apps, it isn’t surpassing other mobile games in terms of time spent playing. For instance, the average Game of War player spends 2 hours daily playing. Even Candy Crush Saga players average approximately 43 minutes daily, which still exceeds Pokémon’s 33 minutes daily average.

Pokémon Go will soon be launched in other major countries and has recently been released in Germany. It will be interesting to see if the game manages to claim the top mobile game spot in these other countries as well.