Pokemon GO Lure module box fluctuating price part of a test, confirms Niantic; powering up to Gym level 3 issue acknowledged too

Pokemon Go is one of the most popular video games on mobile devices. Since its release in 2016, the Augmented Reality-based title is played by millions worldwide.

Developed by Niantic and The Pokemon Company in partnership with Nintendo, the game generated a revenue of $6 billion in just 4 years. Unsurprisingly, the developers update the game and bring new features and content.

The game uses in-app purchases that offer various discounts for items and loot boxes. One of the recent examples of the same is the Lure Module Box. While players do buy these boxes, some Pokemon GO players noticed that the price of the Lure Module Box varied from account to account.

While regional pricing is understandable, many said that the price of the box varied hugely between two accounts in the same region and even place.

Hey @NianticHelp Waving hand I’ve noticed a huge difference in cost of the new Lure Module Box regardless of location or phone type? Can you please help me & my community understand why this box is 350-700 Pokécoins rather than a set price for everyone?
(Source)

So the new lure module box, which gives you 1 of each lure, costs 350 coins for me. But for someone else, it costs 600… then someone reported 500… and suddenly I start to wonder why. The 600 coin player in our group is an avid money spender on raid passes and currently has 9.5k coins, while I have 900 and only spend free coins. Could the price of the boxes be determined by this, or just random coincidence and the prices are just randomly given?

The player went on to say,

If the first option, then Niantic is doing some scummy stuff to trick players into becomming payers, and we should not allow this to continue. If the latter, then that is just bad design or an attempt to scout players spending habits Ps: All accounts in my group are from the same country.
(Source)

Replying to the Lure Module Box controversy, Pokemon GO developer Niantic explained to some that the price difference was a test. Moreover, they said that the concerned team chose not to disclose the varying prices for the box to the community since it would cause an outroar.

In this particular test, the team ultimately opted to be quiet about it since widespread knowledge of the test may affect the results. They are aware of the upset this is causing with the community. The feedback is being seriously considered in how we work to improve transparency and communications with Trainers.
(Source)

Adding to the outrage, players are also saying that the Level 3 gym scan spawns are broken at the moment and are not interactive rendering them unusable.

The gym at my place of work is completely inaccessible for some reason. I can’t even tap on it to look in, plus nothing is spawning around me. I can still spin pokestops just fine though. Anyone have this happen to them or know what’s going on?
(Source)

Level 3 gym scan spawns are a little broken… Both caught at my home, the seel was the gym spawn. No location shows up for the seel either.
(Source)

Thankfully, Niantic Support has acknowledged the issue and said that added it to their known issues list.

Sorry for the trouble, Trainer! We’re investigating the issue where powering up a Gym to level 3 causes the Gym to not be interactive and no Pokémon to appear in the wild. Please keep an eye out on our known issues page for updates: http://bit.ly/394xXsl Thanks! ^MS
(Source)

They also acknowledged some weather-related visual bugs and said that it is currently under investigation.

Trainers, we’ve temporarily disabled some weather-related visual effects in Pokémon GO as we investigate a bug. Gameplay will only be visually affected.
(Source)

That being said, we will be keeping a keen eye on all the issues and update this article as and when required. In the meantime, you can check out our dedicated Pokemon Go bug tracker to see issues currently affecting players worldwide.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Gaming Section so be sure to follow them as well.

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