Regionally exclusive events make no sense for both developers and gamers

Last week, over on our sister site AppSpy, I babbled excitedly about the Pokémon GO Safari Days event. You can get nine Eevees with an explorer hat per day.

Or, can you? Specifically, you, reader. Do you have the time or funds to possibly fly for hours and pay for a hotel? I don’t.

After writing that article, it hit me that I wouldn’t be getting that Eevee, and that was disheartening. I don’t understand why companies have to have these regional, time-limited, exclusive rewards. Niantic even went a step further back in August with their Indonesia-only event. I think this is really unfair, not to mention stupid.

Even back when we were kids, game stores held giveaways that you had to take your device to. At least that one you can understand; they are hoping you buy things. What does Niantic get out of me flying to Amsterdam? Last time I checked, they don’t own a stake in KLM. It isn’t just Pokémon GO, either, although shockingly, it is mostly them.

Back in February, Genshin Impact sold some exclusive merch only available in London. It's not just merch, either; it is experiences. Square Enix brought a real-life Aetheryte from Final Fantasy XIV to London for less than 24 hours, on a Monday. That would have been cool to attend. Admittedly, however, that might be the exception to my complaint.

Things like the Aetheryte or Gamescom, these are events that I fully understand why they are localised. It would be financially untenable to hold all these around the world. It is the same with Pokémon GO regional events, but the big key difference is that Niantic has an incredibly easy out for their situation: digital access.

They already have digital access for some of their events, so why limit these? There is no gain in keeping these exclusives regionally, but there is a huge upside for digital sales. You are limiting your potential revenue from a global audience to the population of each country, plus a few lucky people with the resources to travel. And this way isn’t even taking advantage of the exclusivity attraction.

If I can’t afford to fly, a Eevee in a hat isn’t going to change that.

I am not a marketing guru, but I don’t think you need to be one to see that this event approach doesn’t benefit anyone. Niantic is losing potential money, and we don’t get our special Eevee. So let’s leave that approach, and either release the rewards globally after the event, or release digital tickets. It is a better way for everyone involved.

But more importantly, Niantic, send me an Eevee in a hat. Thank you.