Chicago festival to mark Pokemon Go ’versary goes awry

Technical glitches prevent fans from logging on

CHICAGO, July 23, (AP): A major Pokemon Go festival in Chicago Saturday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the virtual game went badly awry when technical glitches prevented many fans from logging on.

The problems forced Niantic Inc., the developer of the wildly popular augmented reality game, to issue a statement saying everyone who registered for the event would get a full refund for the $20 tickets and $100 in credits for use of the app.

Niantic CEO John Hanke was booed when he took the stage at Chicago’s Grant Park to address the thousands of frustrated Pokemon enthusiasts.

Some in attendance had paid as much as $400 online for the tickets, which sold out within minutes of their June release. While no official attendance figures were available, organizers had planned for as many as 20,000 Pokemon players and “trainers” at the festival billed by Niantic as the first official

Left: London Robles, 8, wears a Pikachu hat at the Pokemon Go Fest on July 22, at Grant Park in Chicago. Right: Dan Aliotta, 24, and his sister Willow,

15, both of Staten Island, New York, wander the grounds looking for cell phone service. (AP)

THE Embassy of the Republic of Korea organizes the Preliminary Competition in Kuwait for the “2017 Quiz on Korea” contest. 1. Time and Venue 6pm, 27(Thu) July, 2017 at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Mishref 2. Contestant eligibility a) Kuwaiti Nationals & Expats who can speak English and/or Korean.

* Korean nationals and those who and whose (grand) parent have (had) Korean nationality are not eligible for this contest.

b) Participants in the Preliminary Competition will be divided in two groups.

i) Kuwaiti Nationals who are 18 years old or more (reference date for age : July 27, 2017)

ii) Kuwaiti Nationals who are under 18 years old and Non-Kuwaiti Nationals

* Participation in the final round in Seoul, Korea on 15 Sep, 2017 will go to the grand prize winner of the group i) for whom flight ticket(Economy) and accommodation will be provided. (Tentative visit schedule to Korea : 11 Sep, 2017 to 16 Sep, 2017)

c) If the grand prize winner of the group i) is not available for the trip to Korea, the second-best contestant of the group i) will be given the opportunity to visit Korea and participate in the final round in Seoul, Korea on 15 Sep, 2017.

d) Good result holders for the group ii) will also be granted some prizes and souvenirs. 3. Application a) Individuals who want to participate in the Quiz Contest must send “Application form” to the e-mail address, kculturekuwait@gmail.com by July 22, 2017.

b) Spectators who will not participate in the Quiz Contest can visit the Embassy Premise without prior registration. 4. Quiz Guideline a) Contestants can prepare for the Quiz by downloading or viewing books about Korea at:

(English) http://www.korea.net ? Resources ? Publication ? About Korea

5. Contact point : kculturekuwait@gmail.com or call us at: 25378621/2/3/4/5 anniversary event in the world.

John Haberkorn of Chicago, a member of the Official Pokemon Go 40 Club, an international online community of high-level players, said he started waiting in line for the opening of the festival at 6 a.m. “The excitement has just been drastically minimized because of what we’ve experienced today,” Haberkorn told the Chicago Tribune.

Late in the day, Niantic’s Chief Marketing Officer Mike Quigley tried to placate irritated players by announcing that everyone who scanned a code when they entered the park would automatically receive the Legendary Pokemon Lugia, a rare and powerful creature difficult to defeat in virtual battle and prized by Pokemon enthusiasts.

Niantic says Pokemon Go has been downloaded 750 million times since it was launched. The augmented reality game that uses GPS to locate, capture, battle and train virtual creatures was introduced in the United States in July 2016.