"[Video] Interview with Niantic Designer David Hollin, Clarifies "Save Your Candies" Comment"

#PokemonGO: Link to interview: https://youtu.be/xbvInEo-MaEThe interview is 16 minutes long, so here is a brief outline of the questions, for those who don't want to watch the whole video. The "save your candies" clarification happens around 10:34. Also, keep in mind that this interview took place in mid-March, so before the Water Festival/Shiny Magikarp reveal.0:28: What were some of your personal contributions to PoGo?(AR functionality, buddy system, how Ditto was released)0:53: Are you a player yourself?1:01: Who's your Pokemon buddy?1:22: Do you happen to get any special perks, being a member of the team?1:41: Did the huge surge of popularity [at the game's launch] surprise you or your team?2:17: Was that [the server issues at launch] tough for you to deal with?3:00: Did you notice any upsurge in popularity when Gen 2 launched?3:45: Do you think your job is more to cater to the solid userbase, or do you still hope to draw in more of the casual players?4:24: Are you a fan of Pokemon games in general?5:06: Were you with Niantic prior to the PoGo days?5:22: So you were involved with the development of Ingress?5:58: If you had your own way, would you make PoGo a little bit more like the games, in terms of some of the obvious player battles and features that are not quite there yet?(This part I found pretty interesting because he contrasts the model of the Gameboy games, where you basically play the game once and then never touch it again, with that of PoGo, where they want to maintain a player community.)7:17: What's the level of contact Niantic has with The Pokemon Company?8:06: There were some balance issues when the game first came out, with some Pokemon being more powered than others. [...] Was that intentional, by any chance?(Pokemon will continue to be buffed or nerfed as necessary.)8:57: You mentioned some new features that were implemented somewhat recently. [...] Are there more plans with that going forward?(He basically hints at the Water Festival/Shiny Magikarp.)9:26: Since Day 1, there have been rumors that have been mentioned... the Legendaries. Is there any official word on perhaps bringing them in soon?("I don't think I can comment on the state of the Legendaries, except that... we haven't forgotten them.")9:48: Is it part of the plan to eventually attempt to perhaps relase all 700+ Pokemon?(Yes, but he personally would like to improve gameplay and add more features/activities, rather than just dumping new Pokemon at players.)10:34: What is some of your advice for somebody starting the game new today?(Here is where he clarifies his previous "Save your candies" comment, which he originally meant as advice for PoGo newbies but was miscontrued as a herald of breeding or a double XP event. We also learn that he approves of the Pidgey farming + Lucky Egg combo.)11:33: Are there any other features closer to the horizon that you could perhaps speak about?(There will be calendar-year-based events, while trading/PvP are more long-term developments.)12:26: Is PoGo a franchise you see spanning many years?13:47: What's been your most difficult thing you've encountered since PoGo launched?("It's tough when you sort of agree with what fans want, but then you end up becoming the punching bag for them." He did used to read /r/TheSilphRoad and /r/PokemonGO to gauge user interest/sentiment, but he felt they sometimes got a little too toxic, which is unfortunate because they would be good ways to engage with the developers.)15:03: What are your thoughts on the Nintendo Switch?15:53: Can you give us a closing message for fans of the game and fans of Pokemon?(This troll answer LOL.) via /r/pokemongo http://ift.tt/2o7RYXx