WhenPokemon GOwas at the peak of its popularity last year, the Pokemon GO Plus accessory briefly became something of ahot ticket item. However, players have been quite disappointed by the fact that the hardware hasn’t been updated alongside the app.
Arecent updatetoPokemon GOgave trainers the ability to spin a gym’s disc, earning rewards in much the same way as they would at a Pokestop. This mechanic is a major component of Niantic’s attempt to give players more reason to visit gyms.
However, it’s not possible to spin a gym’s disc using the Pokemon GO Plus wearable, which makes the device significantly less useful than it could be. Unfortunately, it seems that Nintendo has no plans to distribute a firmware update that would introduce this functionality to the accessory.
“At this time this is expected behavior of the GO Plus device,” read a response from Nintendo Support to a question about whether or not the wearable would be updated. “We are not aware of any plans to make changes to that behavior but keep an eye out for updates as they become available.”
It’s possible that this message is just a stock response, as Niantic would probably be responsible for putting together a solution, rather than Nintendo. However, it remains to be seen whether or not it would even be practical for a firmware update to be distributed to all the Pokemon GO Plus devices that are in circulation.
Owners of the Pokemon GO Plus are understandably frustrated that the hardware they paid for — and manypaid more than retaildue to supply shortages — is already outdated. Of course, that’s the price Niantic pays for trying to move the game forward with content-heavy updates that shake up its core mechanics.
Pokemon GOis available now for iOS and Android devices.
