In a bizarre turn of events, Niantic, the developer of Pokémon Go, used a screenshot taken by a player two years ago to promote their game. The player had originally shared the screenshot on a subreddit to voice concerns about spawns near beaches. Little did they know that their image would end up being used by Niantic themselves.
The player, with a keen eye, immediately recognized their own screenshot when they saw it in the promotion. They zoomed in to confirm their suspicion and couldn’t help but find the situation amusing. Sharing a link to their original post, the player mentioned how Pokémon Go had literally taken their screenshot and used it in an official social media post.
The promotion, titled “Does something look out of place to you?”, was for the Adventures About event on Twitter. It featured a person playing Pokémon Go on their phone near a cruise ship. Interestingly, the picture on the phone was the player’s screenshot.
The community found the whole situation hilarious. Many found it amusing that Niantic used a screenshot that was initially meant to criticize Pokémon Go in their promotional material. Others laughed at the player’s sharp observation skills and their dedication to zooming in to confirm the image’s origin.
Everyone was left wondering how this mishap even occurred. Most people speculated that developers at Niantic simply searched for “Pokémon Go screenshot” online and picked one they liked without thoroughly checking its background. However, many felt that it would have been simpler for Niantic to just take their own screenshot.
This wasn’t the only mistake in the promotion. The screenshot displayed a touch indicator on the screen, which only appears when someone touches it. However, the person in the ad wasn’t touching the phone’s screen, so the indicator shouldn’t have been there. Players quickly noticed this discrepancy and made jokes about the game lagging.
This incident has garnered significant attention. While it doesn’t necessarily reflect poorly on Niantic, it does make them appear careless. Hopefully, they will exercise more caution when creating future promotions.
Source: DOTESPORTS
