Pokémon Go event a ‘hot flaming mess’

Outrage about connectivity issues at a huge Pokémon Go event in Las Vegas spurred an apology from the organizers and backlash from participants who took to social media to describe the event as a “hot flaming mess” and a “total nightmare” on Saturday but “a lot better” on Sunday.

The sold-out, two-day Pokémon GO Tour: Hoenn — Las Vegas event at Sunset Park was apparently marred by issues that rendered the game unplayable for many for significant stretches of time on Saturday and to some extent, Sunday.

“Oh my goodness, it’s bad. Yesterday was worse. I didn’t play for almost two hours yesterday,” said Marie Johnson, who flew in from Colorado for the event.

Organizers issued an apology in a statement posted Saturday by the Pokémon GO team on pokemongolive.com, the event’s official website.

“We apologize for the gameplay issues currently impacting Pokémon GO Tour: Hoenn – Las Vegas Saturday ticket holders,” the statement said. “We appreciate your patience as we work to resolve the issue.”

A statement from software development firm Niantic, the event’s organizer, said 50,000 tickets were sold for the event. But Niantic said there was a higher-than-expected demand because a “large amount of nonticketed Trainers arrived.”

Pokemon Go players are called trainers.

“Yesterday, we encountered connectivity issues due to higher-than-expected demand that impacted the beginning of Pokémon GO Tour: Hoenn — Las Vegas,” the Niantic statement said. “The team took steps to secure connectivity for Sunday’s session, and we experienced a smooth day of gameplay.”

Because tickets for the event were $30 per day, with two optional $15 add-ons, some participants felt they weren’t getting their money’s worth.

At Sunset Park, players said the accessibility issues and technical glitches marred Saturday but seemed to be resolved on Sunday.

“I have T-Mobile. We tried to connect to the wireless. I talked to people who had Verizon, AT&T. Nobody,” Johnson said. “Nobody could connect yesterday. Today is a lot better but yesterday was awful. We were here for eight hours. Three of them I didn’t get to play at all.”

“Today it’s way easier,” said Michael Noriega, of Las Vegas.

According to the official website, Pokémon are “creatures of all shapes and sizes who live in the wild or alongside their human partners,” who are called “Trainers.” Pokémon Go is an augmented reality mobile game that allows players to catch and battle Pokémon and other trainers in the real world.

On Twitter and Reddit, users also expressed their frustrations.

“As the in-person event turned into a hot flaming mess. Saw my fair share of people leave and rightfully so,” tweeted verified user @InstinctAvenger.

“The event was a total nightmare yesterday, and I couldn’t log in,” tweeted @AngelShTuSabes.

Niantic explained how it was compensating players affected by the problems.

“To compensate Trainers who were affected, Niantic extended the area Trainers could participate in to the entire city of Las Vegas, and extended the event time to 10 p.m.” the statement read. “Trainers were also offered a bundle through the in-game shop for free. The bundle contains three Premium Raid Passes and three Remote Raid Passes.”

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter. Review-Journal photographer Bizu Tesfaye contributed to this report.