The Pokemon GO Latin America Championships wrapped up on November 17 and the winner Martin “MartoGalde” Galderisi grabbed many fans’ attention when used his post-game interview to tell developer Niantic to “fix your game.”
Pokemon Go has a surprising amount of depth to its PvP, and this competitive aspect of the game has its own official tournament circuit. However, for about as long as Pokemon GO has been around, its multiplayer has been plagued by balance issues and bugs. Though these problems are long-standing, there hasn’t been a proper fix from Niantic.
These frustrations come alongside the continual churn of controversy among casual players. For every major update, including the introduction of Dynamax and the major graphical facelift that happened this spring, there has been some degree of controversy.
This malaise surrounding the game is a problem all the way up to the highest levels, with MartoGalde experiencing significant lag during his final match. Frustrated by this continued difficulty, the champion minced no words when giving his victory speech.
Pokemon GO LAIC champion tells Niantic to “fix the game”
After receiving his trophy at the Latin America International Championships, MartoGalde criticized Niantic for the state of Pokemon GO. When asked about the grand finals, MartoGalde pivoted during a question about the match.
“Also…I have to say, Niantic, fix the game. That one-turn lag was so bad,” MartoGalde said.
During the match, MartoGalde experienced what is referred to as a “one-turn lag” by Pokemon Go players, a delay of about one second between an input and the game recognizing the input and taking the desired action. Obviously, at the highest levels, in a fast-paced game like Pokemon GO battling, having decisions happen an entire second behind the input can be back-breaking for competitive players.
The adage of “[developer], fix your game” isn’t unique to Pokemon GO. Gamers will find it repeated on nearly every subreddit or forum for a game, no matter the title. However, not many games have an international champion whip it out immediately after winning one of the title’s most prestigious championships.
There’s been no official response from Niantic, nor should fans expect one. However, when the champion of a game’s competitive circuit is as blunt as MartoGalde, the complaint is likely to have made its way to the developer.
