The main thing I think is that at its core it is a game designed for mobile phones and playing while out and about . They didn ' t expect the player who goes out and figures out the quickest way to level 40 , and maxing out in gyms to claim bonuses . The problem is that those players then in some areas locked out anyone else from really having a chance to enjoy all the elements of the game . I ' m sure they expected some people to get ahead of the curve but not as far as some did early on so didn ' t account for people in the mid 20 s being shut out of the gym game in those areas within games three or so months . All in the speed with which niantic are developing is impressive as they have been constantly fighting unexpected battles such as server loads on launch , gyms stagnating in some areas within a shorter time frame than they predicted , botters , spoofers , tracking systems to work as intended or prevent scanners . All the while giving us some new features at the same time . Here ' s hoping the reported staff increases will smooth the way the game develops rather than the bursty nature we have just now .