The Tribune

CHANGES made by developers of ‘Pokemon Go’ at the weekend have brought a storm of criticism from players of what is being described as the hottest mobile game ever.

The game, released on July 6, has shattered download records, been used more than Twitter or Facebook and sparked fever across the globe.

‘Pokemon Go’ encourages players to walk around in the real world with their phone and find mythical creatures called Pokemon.

When they do, they leap onto the screen, where they appear to be sitting on a stoop or standing in the middle of the street in the real world. Just swipe on the screen to throw a ball to “catch” and collect them all.

But with no warning, ‘Pokemon Go’ developer Niantic removed a key feature that helps players track how close Pokemon are to their location and reportedly told other app makers to shut down apps designed to help people identify Pokemon in their neighbourhood.

That means apps like Poke Radar, which help people more easily find special monsters hanging out nearby in the quest to catch them all.

It means players currently have very few ways to track down wild Pokemon.

Many of the game’s more dedicated players are unhappy and have taken to social media.

As of Monday, ratings for ‘Pokemon Go’ had dropped to 1.5 (out of 5) stars on the iTunes App Store in the US and UK, and two stars in Australia and Japan.