‘Pokemon GO’ Tracker Updates: FastPokeMap, PidgeyFinder, PokeAlert Back Online, Niantic In Legal Trouble?

Niantic has hit the bullseye with Pokemon GO’s Halloween event, with the developer extending the limited-time offer and maintaining its generous bonus system for players across the globe. As the augmented reality title’s massive user base once more attempted to catch them all, a number of third-party Pokemon GO tracker updates were announced, enabling players to make the most out of the game’s Halloween event through some good old-fashioned monster tracking.

As of Wednesday, one of the most popular and most effective third-party Pokemon tracking app, FastPokeMap, has managed to get back online. This was despite a series of shutdowns and blocks that forced the popular free tracker to go offline for the last few days. Regardless of the ever-pervading threat of Niantic’s band hammer, FastPokeMap has successfully gone back up.

We're back.

— Ex-FastPokeMap | Shadow | My Sanity Wasted (@MySanityWasted) November 2, 2016

The news of FastPokeMap’s return was well-appreciated by fans of the mobile title, with numerous Pokemon GO players lauding the developer for managing to get the tracking service back on despite Niantic’s constant efforts to block its progress. However, this was not all, as the return of FastPokeMap also heralded the reinstatement of two beloved third-party trackers – PidgeyFinder and PokeAlert.

And we're the third. Intresting indeed! #backsoon https://t.co/jodNc6jkM3

— PidgeyFinder (@PidgeyFinder) November 2, 2016

With the return of these three popular third-party Pokemon trackers, players of the popular augmented reality monster-catching game were able to take advantage of the title’s Halloween event immensely. The Pokemon GO Halloween event involved the increased spawn rates of Pokemon like Haunter, Drowzee, and Ghastly, as well as generous candy bonuses. With third-party trackers at their disposal, players of the game were able to maximize the perks that are available in the limited-time offer.

With their connection to Niantic’s servers seemingly secured, the developers of the third-party trackers also announced that they would be implementing various improvements to their services. In the official Twitter account of FastPokeMap alone, numerous Pokemon GO players have remarked that the tracking service is now faster than before, with each scan only taking a few seconds to complete.

PokeAlert, an Android app, has also successfully conducted a beta test of its revamped services on Tuesday, and despite the fact that the tracker was suffering from severe lags by Wednesday night, its developers promised its users that the tracker would not go down without a fight. Nevertheless, its users have lauded the developer for keeping itself afloat despite Niantic’s constant blocking efforts.

PidgeyFinder, which used to be called OpenPokeMap, has also pledged its efforts to its user base, stating that it would be releasing a web, iOS, and Android app soon. New enhancements to its features, such as a suggested routes for grinding and push notifications, are also said to be coming soon.

Apart from third-party tracking apps, users of avid Pokemon GO fans have also stated that a number of bot services have also gone back online. With this, the battle between Niantic and third-party developers has reached yet another chapter.

The conflict between Niantic and third-party developers stemmed largely from the developer’s removal of Pokemon GO’s native tracking system. When the highly-popular augmented reality game was initially launched, players became somewhat dependent on the title’s tracking capabilities. Eventually, Niantic found itself in the midst of controversy after a number of Pokemon GO players were injured while playing the game.

Niantic’s removal of its native tracker proved very unpopular with players of the game. Despite universal criticism, however, Niantic has remained steadfast in its removal, expressly refusing to return the much-requested feature to the title. Thus, independent developers took it upon themselves to provide players with capable tracking services. While Niantic has largely considered the use of third-party trackers as a form of cheating in the game, millions of Pokemon GO players have opted to rely on these services to get information that Niantic is so far keeping to itself.

The developer’s refusal to return the game’s native tracking app is found by many to be quite unusual, especially since the developers of third-party trackers themselves have stated that they would cease their activities once Niantic releases an official tracker for the hit mobile title. Thus, many are wondering why Niantic has been very hesitant to bring the feature back.

This has caused a number of speculations to emerge, with most of them stating that Niantic is in legal trouble due to the effects of its tracking app. Looking back at the first few weeks of the game, numerous crimes and complaints were lodged, from robberies to attacks to allegations of trespassing. Considering the number of complaints that were reported then, it would be no surprise if a handful of those untoward Pokemon GO-related incidents resulted in legal actions against the developer.

Pokemon GO remains a top-grossing mobile game, with millions of players accessing the title every day. Despite its numerous flaws and controversies, the title still carries the allure of the massively popular Pokemon franchise. Over the course of the last few months, Niantic has slowly but steadily improved the game, making it more engaging and rewarding to play. All that’s really left to do is to roll out an official Pokemon GO tracker. Once that is done, Niantic would be sitting on an ever-growing gold mine once more.

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[Featured Image by Pixabay]