A couple of weeks ago, i had a new player ask how much it costs to attend a First Saturday. I replied that there is no cost for ingress or their events. You can spend money if you wish, but ingress does not expect it like pogo and harry potter. Ingress is for the love of the game, not money.
TOP, wahre Worte !!! Besser hätte man es nicht ausdrücken können. Vorallem nach dem ganzen Ärger, Fehlentscheidungen, nicht gehaltenen Zusagen, hin und her mit Prime, der Abschaltung von Redacted etc. NIA tut immer weniger für die Events & dass drumherum (im großen Gegensatz zu den anderen Spielen) ABER dafür wird immer mehr Vorraussetzt & monitär verlangt und das ganze bei genehmigten sowie gebuchten Events ! Tolle Leistung, tolles Management 🤘🏻!
On a technicality, people are still able to participate in the event for free, and only part of their actions won't be counted - maybe Niantic lawyers think it'll be sufficient defense. That'll be so much fun to watch, though
I don't object to paying myself, and I've often bought the rare packs just to support the game. But many years ago it was the low barrier to entry that got me into anomalies in the first place, and having to pay for an anomaly or recharge room probably would have put me right off it. The short notice and impact on lower-income regions is appalling.
I've always wanted to work my way up to being a POC. Current players don't always have time, and whatnot. But now I think I'll take a step back. Monetization as a means to justify LESS WORK FOR NIA is just shameful. You have the technology, NIA, just use it and get your money elsewhere.
Been wanting to compile my thoughts into less of a mess so I could do what you just did so clearly and so perfectly. You addressed all of my concerns except one that I'll mention here. For that @Claudija thank you thank you thank you. You are being a good VG and I appreciate you.
I'm concerned in addition about Niantic encouraging off site rechargers to participate without approval or input from faction POC's. Niantic giving off-site agents incentive to not show up and means of getting an event badge to recharge without considering their team's strategy is just rude.
Since Niantic would like to have money from us, they should look at it from our point of view....
If there was no Ingress, there would be no Pokemon Go and Harry Potter: WU. We discover the Portals, we put them through paces (OPR) and evaluate everything, while they can just use what we "prepared" for them.
If most of Agents quit because of Niantic's super stupid decisions done in last few months (discontinuning Redacted, raising lot of prices in shop, paying for events participation, paying for off-site participation, etc), there will be no more new Pokestops, Fortresses, Gyms, Greenhouses and Inns in other games...
Niantic think before you act... especially before you act stupidly...
But don't WORRY. In a few days Hank "sometimes you need more Johnssons" will announce that the registration was hacked by Comic Sans. And now they have reverted the hack to the correct text
Totally agree. At least the organisers on the ground should get free tickets!
Are these POCs looking to lose their own money if the expected number of agents don't turn up? I've already bought plane tickets and hotel room, but am tempted just to visit Gothenburg as a tourist now, and not bother hanging round on street corners jabbing at my phone.
Many people in my local chats are upset about the move to paid anomaly participation, but this post has articulated so many more issues we hadn't thought about:
1. The ethics of converting a free event to a paid event after volunteers have put in thousands of hours organizing and promoting it for you.
2. The legal issues surrounding permits and insurance. (I've always felt that Niantic event planning left some safety issues uncovered; with a paid event I'm curious if you have someone underwriting your liability.)
3. The tax implications around ticket sales and fees, which you seem to have completely neglected (remember all the trouble with pack sales in Vancouver?)
4. The inability for teenagers to participate. (Maybe this was deliberately done, but certainly not mentioned.)
Look, we all understand that the world has changed and Ingress needs to start making a profit. There have been dozens of suggestions of ways to monetize the game that wouldn't **** the core of what makes the game great. Try thinking things through a bit more before making sudden changes, please.
A starting suggestion:
Give players a way to earn small amounts of CM in-game (like PoGo and HPWU) and then charge for anomaly tickets in CM. With enough advance notice that players can plan and save up for it.
I 100% agree with what's been said they have messed up and needs to be looking I to about the legal side if everything seeing as they already us Europe for paid events in pokemon go they should know better. they need to be sending boots on the ground to help with everything if they are being paid
First, thanks for writing the letter, @Claudija. It's very well written.
I would like to comment on this section: "Reason 5: Unrealistic Prices"
A little about me and my perspective - I'm a Native American professional woman who used to be ****. At science conferences, I am often misread as Asian and therefore (racism FTL!) am assumed to come from a less developed country. People will treat me like I paid the cheap price when I paid the full price. In addition, why should I pay $15 when someone can pay $3? (And yes, $15 is affordable to me now. But $15 was unrealistic to me when I was **** *in the United States*.)
Solutions
Option 1 (Best Option): Anomalies are free to attend.
Option 2 (Alternate Option): All can participate for free and count for their team, but the special anomaly badge + swag pack is offered as a paid option.
Option 3 (Alternate Option): Site-based pricing. For example, everyone recharging for Beijing pays $2 USD, everyone recharging for NYC pays $15 USD. A portion of the ticket pricing goes to the agent’s faction to help POCs defray costs. Agents who cannot afford more expensive sites can find ways to participate (such as serving as an op) at more affordable sites.
Thanks again to all who contributed to the letter!
Great points. Some may say Niantic should have means to make more money. I can get behind that. The community-side problems are, as @Claudija illustrated: 1) continued poor communication, and 2) these events rely on extensive volunteer hours to succeed.
If these events are going to be 100% paid events now, cool, tell us when you announce the events, not after people have committed to them; and change the company description that literally says free events to better reflect the change. Otherwise Niantic comes off as very deceptive.
If these are going to be 100% paid events, change the system that heavily relies on extensive volunteer labor, or make it clearly known they're volunteering for a paid event so they can make informed decisions on whether to shoulder the paid event or not.
Why the heck do Vanguards not know about these huge changes until they're announced? That's brutal on them, too, and this isn't the first time these community volunteers have been caught off guard by poor company communication with them.
First, thanks for writing the letter, @Claudija. It's very well written.
I would like to comment on this section: "Reason 5: Unrealistic Prices"
A little about me and my perspective - I'm a Native American professional woman who used to be home less. At science conferences, I am often misread as Asian and therefore (racism FTL!) am assumed to come from a less developed country. People will treat me like I paid the cheap price when I paid the full price. In addition, why should I pay $15 when someone can pay $3? (And yes, $15 is affordable to me now. But $15 was unrealistic to me when I was home less *in the United States*.)
Solutions
Option 1 (Best Option): Anomalies are free to attend.
Option 2 (Alternate Option): All can participate for free and count for their team, but the special anomaly badge + swag pack is offered as a paid option.
Option 3 (Alternate Option): Site-based pricing. For example, everyone recharging for Beijing pays $2 USD, everyone recharging for NYC pays $15 USD. A portion of the ticket pricing goes to the agent’s faction to help POCs defray costs. Agents who cannot afford more expensive sites can find ways to participate (such as serving as an op) at more affordable sites.
Thanks again to all who contributed to the letter!
Many thanks to put all of our thoughts in this letter. Many players agree with you.
The last years were a succession of loses in Ingress play base. The time is passing and we see more and more "pay to play" and less "lets play and have joy in doing it".
Also, It is unbelievable that Nia wants to charge for a anomaly on site medal since all preparation for that is made by volunteers... Also, the orga pays a royal for the anomaly, now they need to pay the anomaly ticket as well? This is nonsense.
If this persists we will see a huge decrease of agents attempting an anomaly from now on... It is really sad to see that.
A lot of members of our slowly dying Ingress community will not bother going to a paid event like this, at least in India where 15 USD is no joke. The prices are very much unfair in a lot of Asian countries.
I have seen a lot of Ingress agents worldwide spend their time, money, creativity and so much more to keep the community alive and make Niantic's game and events enjoyable and meaningful, while Niantic itself has barely shown any direct support to those volunteers. Heck if they hired some of these people they will help Niantic earn the money it needs and help keep the community alive at the same time.
Backing these POCs and volunteer organizers into a corner with this surprise announcement is nothing but an evil move. People at Niantic need to learn to be at least a little mindful of how they treat the people who are working for them for free. This is no less than a very hurtful punch in the face.
Comments
Nemesis wins. And all they had to do was one cross faction event, and one paid anomaly.
Who knew it would be so easy to take over a whole universe?
A couple of weeks ago, i had a new player ask how much it costs to attend a First Saturday. I replied that there is no cost for ingress or their events. You can spend money if you wish, but ingress does not expect it like pogo and harry potter. Ingress is for the love of the game, not money.
Thanks for making me a liar.
TOP, wahre Worte !!! Besser hätte man es nicht ausdrücken können. Vorallem nach dem ganzen Ärger, Fehlentscheidungen, nicht gehaltenen Zusagen, hin und her mit Prime, der Abschaltung von Redacted etc. NIA tut immer weniger für die Events & dass drumherum (im großen Gegensatz zu den anderen Spielen) ABER dafür wird immer mehr Vorraussetzt & monitär verlangt und das ganze bei genehmigten sowie gebuchten Events ! Tolle Leistung, tolles Management 🤘🏻!
Great post, thank you!
On a technicality, people are still able to participate in the event for free, and only part of their actions won't be counted - maybe Niantic lawyers think it'll be sufficient defense. That'll be so much fun to watch, though
+1
Thank you, Claudija, for writing this up so well.
I don't object to paying myself, and I've often bought the rare packs just to support the game. But many years ago it was the low barrier to entry that got me into anomalies in the first place, and having to pay for an anomaly or recharge room probably would have put me right off it. The short notice and impact on lower-income regions is appalling.
I've always wanted to work my way up to being a POC. Current players don't always have time, and whatnot. But now I think I'll take a step back. Monetization as a means to justify LESS WORK FOR NIA is just shameful. You have the technology, NIA, just use it and get your money elsewhere.
Been wanting to compile my thoughts into less of a mess so I could do what you just did so clearly and so perfectly. You addressed all of my concerns except one that I'll mention here. For that @Claudija thank you thank you thank you. You are being a good VG and I appreciate you.
I'm concerned in addition about Niantic encouraging off site rechargers to participate without approval or input from faction POC's. Niantic giving off-site agents incentive to not show up and means of getting an event badge to recharge without considering their team's strategy is just rude.
Great letter Claudia, very nice put...
Since Niantic would like to have money from us, they should look at it from our point of view....
If there was no Ingress, there would be no Pokemon Go and Harry Potter: WU. We discover the Portals, we put them through paces (OPR) and evaluate everything, while they can just use what we "prepared" for them.
If most of Agents quit because of Niantic's super stupid decisions done in last few months (discontinuning Redacted, raising lot of prices in shop, paying for events participation, paying for off-site participation, etc), there will be no more new Pokestops, Fortresses, Gyms, Greenhouses and Inns in other games...
Niantic think before you act... especially before you act stupidly...
Very good post.
But don't WORRY. In a few days Hank "sometimes you need more Johnssons" will announce that the registration was hacked by Comic Sans. And now they have reverted the hack to the correct text
Well written and hopefully Nia will show some attention. Otherwise the game will be dead rather sooner than later. Sad but true.
Perfekt Claudija .....
+1
+1
Totally agree. At least the organisers on the ground should get free tickets!
Are these POCs looking to lose their own money if the expected number of agents don't turn up? I've already bought plane tickets and hotel room, but am tempted just to visit Gothenburg as a tourist now, and not bother hanging round on street corners jabbing at my phone.
+1 !
I'm not sure if this is the end of Ingress or not. But I sure am wondering which of these straws will break the camel's back.
Many people in my local chats are upset about the move to paid anomaly participation, but this post has articulated so many more issues we hadn't thought about:
1. The ethics of converting a free event to a paid event after volunteers have put in thousands of hours organizing and promoting it for you.
2. The legal issues surrounding permits and insurance. (I've always felt that Niantic event planning left some safety issues uncovered; with a paid event I'm curious if you have someone underwriting your liability.)
3. The tax implications around ticket sales and fees, which you seem to have completely neglected (remember all the trouble with pack sales in Vancouver?)
4. The inability for teenagers to participate. (Maybe this was deliberately done, but certainly not mentioned.)
Look, we all understand that the world has changed and Ingress needs to start making a profit. There have been dozens of suggestions of ways to monetize the game that wouldn't **** the core of what makes the game great. Try thinking things through a bit more before making sudden changes, please.
A starting suggestion:
Give players a way to earn small amounts of CM in-game (like PoGo and HPWU) and then charge for anomaly tickets in CM. With enough advance notice that players can plan and save up for it.
Thank you! I agree this letter.
I 100% agree with what's been said they have messed up and needs to be looking I to about the legal side if everything seeing as they already us Europe for paid events in pokemon go they should know better. they need to be sending boots on the ground to help with everything if they are being paid
First, thanks for writing the letter, @Claudija. It's very well written.
I would like to comment on this section: "Reason 5: Unrealistic Prices"
A little about me and my perspective - I'm a Native American professional woman who used to be ****. At science conferences, I am often misread as Asian and therefore (racism FTL!) am assumed to come from a less developed country. People will treat me like I paid the cheap price when I paid the full price. In addition, why should I pay $15 when someone can pay $3? (And yes, $15 is affordable to me now. But $15 was unrealistic to me when I was **** *in the United States*.)
Solutions
Option 1 (Best Option): Anomalies are free to attend.
Option 2 (Alternate Option): All can participate for free and count for their team, but the special anomaly badge + swag pack is offered as a paid option.
Option 3 (Alternate Option): Site-based pricing. For example, everyone recharging for Beijing pays $2 USD, everyone recharging for NYC pays $15 USD. A portion of the ticket pricing goes to the agent’s faction to help POCs defray costs. Agents who cannot afford more expensive sites can find ways to participate (such as serving as an op) at more affordable sites.
Thanks again to all who contributed to the letter!
This is so well put. I couldn't agree more 👍
Great points. Some may say Niantic should have means to make more money. I can get behind that. The community-side problems are, as @Claudija illustrated: 1) continued poor communication, and 2) these events rely on extensive volunteer hours to succeed.
If these events are going to be 100% paid events now, cool, tell us when you announce the events, not after people have committed to them; and change the company description that literally says free events to better reflect the change. Otherwise Niantic comes off as very deceptive.
If these are going to be 100% paid events, change the system that heavily relies on extensive volunteer labor, or make it clearly known they're volunteering for a paid event so they can make informed decisions on whether to shoulder the paid event or not.
Why the heck do Vanguards not know about these huge changes until they're announced? That's brutal on them, too, and this isn't the first time these community volunteers have been caught off guard by poor company communication with them.
Communication, please. LOL.
Every single point +999! Thank you very much for yoir effort @Claudija!
First, thanks for writing the letter, @Claudija. It's very well written.
I would like to comment on this section: "Reason 5: Unrealistic Prices"
A little about me and my perspective - I'm a Native American professional woman who used to be home less. At science conferences, I am often misread as Asian and therefore (racism FTL!) am assumed to come from a less developed country. People will treat me like I paid the cheap price when I paid the full price. In addition, why should I pay $15 when someone can pay $3? (And yes, $15 is affordable to me now. But $15 was unrealistic to me when I was home less *in the United States*.)
Solutions
Option 1 (Best Option): Anomalies are free to attend.
Option 2 (Alternate Option): All can participate for free and count for their team, but the special anomaly badge + swag pack is offered as a paid option.
Option 3 (Alternate Option): Site-based pricing. For example, everyone recharging for Beijing pays $2 USD, everyone recharging for NYC pays $15 USD. A portion of the ticket pricing goes to the agent’s faction to help POCs defray costs. Agents who cannot afford more expensive sites can find ways to participate (such as serving as an op) at more affordable sites.
Thanks again to all who contributed to the letter!
Many thanks to put all of our thoughts in this letter. Many players agree with you.
The last years were a succession of loses in Ingress play base. The time is passing and we see more and more "pay to play" and less "lets play and have joy in doing it".
Also, It is unbelievable that Nia wants to charge for a anomaly on site medal since all preparation for that is made by volunteers... Also, the orga pays a royal for the anomaly, now they need to pay the anomaly ticket as well? This is nonsense.
If this persists we will see a huge decrease of agents attempting an anomaly from now on... It is really sad to see that.
Spot on.
Amen, well said! Can't agree more!
Greetings from India.
Thank you for making this post.
A lot of members of our slowly dying Ingress community will not bother going to a paid event like this, at least in India where 15 USD is no joke. The prices are very much unfair in a lot of Asian countries.
I have seen a lot of Ingress agents worldwide spend their time, money, creativity and so much more to keep the community alive and make Niantic's game and events enjoyable and meaningful, while Niantic itself has barely shown any direct support to those volunteers. Heck if they hired some of these people they will help Niantic earn the money it needs and help keep the community alive at the same time.
Backing these POCs and volunteer organizers into a corner with this surprise announcement is nothing but an evil move. People at Niantic need to learn to be at least a little mindful of how they treat the people who are working for them for free. This is no less than a very hurtful punch in the face.
Goodbye Ingress and Niantic. Get well soon.
+1