Niantic enables new tracker for rest of US and parts of Europe

December 3, 2016. Posted by: Alex Wong

About four months ago, Niantic unveiled a new tracking system designed to replace their old tracking system. Previously, there was a box in the lower right corner of a player's screen that showed which Pokemon were nearby.

Clicking the white box at the bottom left would bring up a menu.

Once pressed, a menu would pop up that showed which Pokemon were nearby and also how far away they were to the player.

The footsteps show how far away a Pokemon is, ranging from zero to three

Four months ago, Niantic developed a new tracker that showed Pokemon that were near  Poke Stops. As a reminder, Poke Stops are locations in the world that give items. They are usually note worthy spots such as monuments or parks.

This WWI monument has become a Poke Stop.

Niantic gave this tracker to players in San Francisco in order to test out the feature. There were mixed reviews about the tracker, with many people upset about how it worked. However, Niantic continued to roll out the tracker, enabling it in several states in the Midwest. 

Niantic has now enabled the tracker for everyone in the US and in parts of Europe. Many people on social media have come out against the tracker and want these changes reverted.

I personally think this new tracker his good for me, but I can understand why other people do not like it. I have a lot of Poke Stops near my house, so I can no easily track down Pokemon. However, I do recognize that rural/suburban players often have little to no Poke Stops near their houses, making this

this new tracker a downgrade. 

I hope that Niantic takes in the feedback they are getting about this new tracker and allows for both the old tracker and the new tracker to be used.