The Pokémon Go craze continues unabated, with accounts being sold on auction sites such as eBay for thousands of pounds, despite contravening developer Niantic’s terms of service.
The accounts, which list high-level trainers and specific rare or powerful Pokémon with combat powers over 1,000 points, promise to help users defeat others in battle and take over gyms without needing to pound the streets catching Pokémon for weeks.
However, both buyers and sellers run the risk of having their Pokémon Go accounts being disabled. Niantic’s terms of service for Pokémon Go state:
“Use the Services or Content, or any portion thereof, for any commercial purpose or for the benefit of any third party or in a manner not permitted by these Terms, including but not limited to (a) gathering in App items or resources for sale outside the App, (b) performing services in the App in exchange for payment outside the App, or (c ) sell, resell, rent, or lease the App or your Account.”
Prices for the accounts sold through eBay range from £5 to thousands of pounds.
One eBay user, who eventually auctioned his account for $1,500, wrote: “What you’re purchasing is my account, which I have put my time and effort into, which makes this a whole lot easier for you! … I’m just a broke college student in debt, and every penny helps.”
This isn’t the first time enterprising players have attempted to profit from the Pokémon Go craze. Ads for professional Pokémon trainers costing $20-30 an hoursprung up in New York within days of the US launch of the game, while some keen players jacked in their jobs to play full-time.
The Pokémon Company and Niantic have also attempted to cash in on the game’s popularity, selling in-game currency for real money as well as offering a Bluetooth accessory that connects to the player’s smartphone wirelessly to notify them of in-game events such as passing Pokéstops or the appearance of Pokémon ready for capture. The £35 Pokémon Go Plus attaches to a small wrist band and vibrates and flashes when something happens.
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Source: Guardian UK