The lawsuit (PDF) was filed by a California man who traveled to the event claiming that Niantic, the software company that developed Pokémon Go and held the festival, failed to account for the large number of people in attendance.
“Fest attendees, many of whom like Plaintiff traveled to Chicago from other states or countries, had the reasonable expectation of arriving at Grant Park for a day of capturing rare 3D monsters with their friends, families, and other so-called Pokémon Go ‘Trainers,’ but the reality of the Fest fell flat in comparison to Defendant’s promises,” the complaint states. “Upon reaching Grant Park, Fest attendees encountered a ‘three-mile line’ and an unplayable Game.”
The suit goes to list a number of technical difficulties including overloaded cell phone towers, software glitches, and malfunctioning servers, which made playing Pokémon Go impossible for the crestfallen festival-goers.
According to the lawsuit, attendees were also unable to complete timed in-game challenges to collect special rewards and unavailable or “rare” Pokémon, and compete against other ‘Trainers’ within the game.
Had ticket holders (many of whom incurred significant travel expenses) known they would be unable to play Pokémon Go at the festival, they would have never purchased tickets or paid money to travel to the event, according to the lawsuit.
The class action, which was filed July 27 in Cook County Circuit Court, seeks to represent any and all aggrieved festival-goers. Plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages, alleging that Niantic failed to live up to the hype it promoted during the run-up to the festival.
Source: CBS Chicago