Pokemon Go players clown Niantic for breaking TOS in ad
Unsplash / NianticPokemon Go fans have screenshotted a now-deleted ad from Niantic that showed players breaking Terms of Service while playing the game.
Like any modern live-service game that players have to sign up to enjoy, Pokemon Go has rules that trainers must follow otherwise they risk action against their account from the game’s developer, Niantic.
One of the rules in Pokemon Go’s Terms of Service, or TOS for short, is that players are not allowed to play the game on multiple accounts using two smartphones.
However, eagle-eyed trainers were quick to notice that in a now-deleted advertisement for the mobile game, Niantic showed footage of players violating the developer’s own TOS.
Pokemon Go players lose it over TOS-breaking ad
A post on the Pokemon Go subreddit signal-boosted a tweet from Twitter user OvrEdge, who quickly screenshotted the ad before it was taken down.
Both posts showed screenshots of a trainer clearly playing the game on two separate devices at the same time, which is something heavily frowned upon by Niantic. The company’s official Player Guidelines clearly state that players are not allowed to use “multiple or shared accounts to circumvent gameplay.”
Naturally, fans couldn’t contain their amusement at this blunder, with members making jokes about the situation. “I’m not sure how. but Niantic has gotta get banned from Pokemon Go,” said one trainer.
Reddit user SwimminginMercury suggested the company simply doesn’t know what normal Pokemon Go gameplay is anymore. “That’s amazing; its one thing to not actively play the game and then there’s not knowing what ‘normal’ game play looks like.”
Others joked that ‘multilogging’ was no longer against TOS as Niantic seemingly endorsed it itself. “Guess we can discuss multi accounts now since it’s officially endorsed by niantic.”
The footage in the ad was undoubtedly something the developer didn’t want to slip through, but that didn’t stop trainers from capitilizing on the admittedly funny situation.
