Pokemon Go players with less time to dedicate to the game have taken issue with the inconvenient nature of Community Days.
The feature, a staple of the mobile game since its introduction in 2018, usually runs for three hours in the early afternoon (local time) over the weekend.
While Niantic’s timing has always been to ensure as many people as possible can participate, the limited nature of each Community Day has inevitably left certain people out, including those who work weekends or are at the mercy of poor weather.
Sharing their frustrations on Reddit, a player questioned why the occasion is “so short and exclusive.”
Blaming their inability to participate on having to “work 9-5” on the Sunday in which Beldum’s Community Day Classic took place, they continued, “Why does the time frame have to be so short for those that do work? It would be nice if Niantic made them more accessible.”
Responding to the thread’s author, some suggested that Niantic could address the issue by giving players a choice over when to ‘activate’ the event.
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“I wish they would give you a Raid Pass-type item that you could activate at some point throughout the day and when you activate it, it starts,” one said.
“It would be nice for people stuck at work or inside for weather, to get the option for a mystery box-style Community Day similar to the Meltan Box,” echoed another.
Others were less sympathetic, stating that the author should have planned a day off and that the small window of availability is intentional to encourage social play.
Niantic has adjusted the parameters for Community Days in the past for the sake of accessibility, so it’s not without precedent that it could review how they operate.
Pokemon Go’s next iteration of the limited-time affair will focus on Gen 7’s Popplio and take place on August 21.