The Pok\u00e9mon Go craze continues unabated, with accounts being sold on auction sites such as eBay for thousands of pounds, despite contravening developer Niantic\u2019s terms of service.<\/p>\n
The accounts, which list high-level trainers and specific rare or powerful Pok\u00e9mon 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 Pok\u00e9mon for weeks.<\/p>\n
However, both buyers and sellers run the risk of having their Pok\u00e9mon Go accounts being disabled. Niantic\u2019s terms of service for Pok\u00e9mon Go state:<\/p>\n
“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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prices for the accounts sold through eBay range from \u00a35 to thousands of pounds.<\/p>\n
One eBay user, who eventually auctioned his account for $1,500, wrote: \u201cWhat you\u2019re purchasing is my account, which I have put my time and effort into, which makes this a whole lot easier for you! \u2026 I\u2019m just a broke college student in debt, and every penny helps.\u201d<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the first time enterprising players have attempted to profit from the Pok\u00e9mon Go craze. Ads for professional Pok\u00e9mon 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.<\/p>\n
The Pok\u00e9mon Company and Niantic have also attempted to cash in on the game\u2019s popularity, selling in-game currency for real money as well as offering a Bluetooth accessory that connects to the player\u2019s smartphone wirelessly to notify them of in-game events such as passing Pok\u00e9stops or the appearance of Pok\u00e9mon ready for capture. The \u00a335 Pok\u00e9mon Go Plus attaches to a small wrist band and vibrates and flashes when something happens.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: Guardian UK<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Pok\u00e9mon Go craze continues unabated, with accounts being sold on auction sites such as eBay for thousands of pounds, despite contravening developer Niantic\u2019s terms of service. The accounts, which list high-level trainers and specific rare or powerful Pok\u00e9mon with combat powers over 1,000 points, promise to help users defeat others in battle and take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":232448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[106],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n