Skip to main content

Pok¨¦mon Go's Dortmund Safari Zone event was a fumbled success

Roselia-tinted glasses.

My legs are still aching, but what an amazing weekend I've just had. I'm just back from Pokémon Go's first big live event of the summer, in Dortmund, Germany, where a Safari Zone full of ludicrously generous Pokémon spawns attracted hundreds of thousands of players - some of whom had travelled from all over the world.

Safari Zone was a free event - spread over Dortmund's enormous and beautiful Westfalenpark, and then across the whole inner city centre - but the associated costs of travel and accommodation for attendees (the entire city was booked up) meant the pressure was on for Niantic to deliver an event without the widespread technical troubles which marred Chicago last year. It had a whole year to take stock - and you could see the extra provisions around the park: mobile cell towers for extra coverage, areas of wireless internet. And yet, as players dribbled into the park from lengthy queues, things did not go to plan.

A little before midday, with network coverage in some areas of the park beginning to show signs of the 50,000 people - the site's quickly maxed out capacity - playing, a major bug erupted in Pokémon Go's game code. Anyone using Incense, a premium item bought to boost nearby Pokémon numbers, was locked out. And they continued to be - for up to five hours. Players were left listening to regular announcements over tannoys that Niantic was aware of the issue, and that those like me who could still patchily play would find better results back in Dortmund city centre.

People queued from early in the morning to enter Westfalenpark.

Niantic had always planned to use the whole of central Dortmund, but had also heavily promoted Westfalenpark as the place to be. For the groups of players I spoke to from Cambridge and London, who had queued at the park gates from 3am and 6am, being told to leave the place they had waited hours to get into was - to put it lightly - something of a communications fail. Outside of the park on Saturday afternoon, things continued to be wobbly. I spoke with furious players from Germany, Mexico, Scotland, and a lady from Belgium affected by the Incense bug who'd slept in her car to get there.

But then, miraculously, around 4pm Niantic found a fix to the Incense issue and - with everyone better distributed around Dortmund city centre, plus some likely having headed home for the day - the network issues calmed. Baffled locals looked on as thousands of players walked the streets and stopped to sort through their catches in its squares. I have never seen as many valuable Pokémon within the game in such volume, and it was clear from the group I was walking with - players I'd found from Brighton - that Niantic had boosted the rate of encounters for the ultra-rare Shiny Pokémon variants. The mood quickly lifted, and I ended up playing until past 10pm, hoovering up everything I could in the good company of others doing exactly the same.

Team lounges had colour-coded benches so you could show your in-game team allegiance.

Day two brought nothing more than the odd network wobble - a need to reset the game and go again - as the crowds once again surged through the city. Niantic managed queues at Westfalenpark by quietly opening its gates early to those who had turned up, meaning easy access by the time I got there. WiFi was now advertised as available throughout the park, not just in specific spots. And players had now learned from experience that the same spawns were available across the city, allowing everyone to spread out. Up until I had to leave in the early afternoon, I chatted to players from Finland and Wales, Oxford and London, all playing fine. Why hadn't it been like this on day one?

Saturday's issues had put a dampener on the first day, and there was disbelief Niantic had hosted another event which hadn't gone to plan. But throughout it all, and despite the understandable griping, the event never hit the stage-heckling lows of Chicago. Dortmund this past weekend was a baking 30C hot. Throughout, there remained a rock festival atmosphere to the event, Westfalenpark filled with players enjoying the weather on bean bags in the shade and under the enormous team-coloured pavilions. People proudly wore their free Pikachu headbands, many already dressed up for the occasion. The shouts of "Shiny!" - the same in any language, apparently - were loud and constant. Goodness knows how hot the cosplayer in a full furry Squirtle suit was, but bless him for asking for "ein euro" for a photo. In those temperatures you deserve it, mate.

Westfalenpark on day two was noticeably more serene.

I love Pokémon Go for its unexpected, unique moments of social interaction. Not the circle of people silently staring at their phones, but the groups of mums and dads and kids and couples and retirees playing together. Over the weekend I spoke to dozens of these. I remember the family from Margate - mum a wheelchair user - who had found a disabled parking spot just outside the park. Their kids were having a whale of a time. The party from Nebraska, over especially for the event. The guys from my home city of Norwich, who'd hired a bus and got there on the overnight ferry, their specially-printed T-shirts proudly displaying PoGo Norwich and their trainer names. The couple from East Grinstead who usually play with their dog, who has an account himself and plays wearing an auto-catching Go-tcha device on his collar. The rush of people from one side of the park to the other after a hoax call of a rare spawn, prompting a hurried tannoy announcement that "there was nothing behind the stage!".

Dortmund streets turned into a hive of Pokémon players, after word of a rare spawn nearby.

Sunburned and exhausted, Pokémon Go-account stuffed to the brim, I left Dortmund remembering these people and moments and everything that went right from Saturday afternoon onward. On the way to the station, small stampedes were taking place, as people shouted about a high-level Pokémon a block away. Niantic pulled it off - just - although I had plenty of questions to ask its boss John Hanke during an interview on the second day - look for that online soon. With Pokémon Go's even bigger return to Chicago up next in just a fortnight, Niantic needs to deliver.

This article was based on a press trip to Dortmund, Niantic paid for travel and accommodation.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com