Official Event for July 6th - July 24th
TL:DR: Hat Pikachu, Anniversary box with Incubators, Max Revives, Ultra Balls, and Raid Passes...
My opinion is there will be more announced (hopefully during Go Fest weekend)...boxes better assume Revives and Ultra Balls are near free since Incubators aren't really as useful anymore...
http://pokemongolive.com/en/post/birthday2017
Trainers,
It’s hard to believe that Pokémon GO launched just a year ago, and what an amazing year it’s been! Since joining us last July, you’ve demonstrated the true power of Pokémon GO and augmented reality gaming by searching for Pokémon in the real world, exploring on foot, building new friendships, and discovering new places right in your own neighborhoods. Throughout this incredible journey, you’ve caught over 125 billion Pokémon and made countless memories along the way. But there are many more adventures still to come.
Just a few weeks ago, the one-year anniversary celebration kicked off with a bang. You and millions of other Trainers went outside to battle in revamped Gyms and participate in Raid Battles with family and friends for the first time, but this was only the beginning of an action-packed couple of months. The celebration continues with a special Pikachu wearing a familiar hat appearing all over the world. From July 6 at 1:00 P.M. PDT to July 24 at 1:00 P.M. PDT, Pikachu discovered in the wild will be wearing Ash’s famous hat from the Pokémon animated series, so make sure you don’t miss out on your opportunity to catch one! You’ll also be able to stock up for Raid Battles and the events ahead with the special limited-time Anniversary Box, which will include Incubators, Max Revives, Ultra Balls, and Raid Passes at a discount in the in-game shop.
Stay tuned for even more exciting news over the coming weeks, including additional information on Pokémon GO Fest Chicago this July, events hosted at select Unibail-Rodamco locations this August and September in Europe, and Pokémon GO events at the Pikachu Outbreak in Yokohama, Japan, this August!
—The Pokémon GO team
Answers
The main problem with this event is that there is little reason to play "MORE" than normal.
Pikachu spawns are mostly pretty uncommon, you can buy the box from the shop...then what? No buddies to walk for more candies, no need go grind since we just had 3x xp for catches...you can do more raids maybe with cheaper passes...assuming you have enough people to even handle level 4 raids in bigger cities...that's it though.
No need to rush hatch more due to no bonus stardust/exp/candies...
Certainly underwhelming.
Totally agree, and the key is like you said no need to play more than normal. Anything that won't make players play more than normal is a very bad event.
No matter what are the bonuses, some players that spend a ton of money will enjoy for sure the packs, but for most of the playerbase this is probably the worst event we had, and it has come on the anniversary day, a very bad joke...
Just another confirmation that Niantic has no idea on how to manage hype and players desires and expectations, if they would have just added a 2xdust to that we would have played the game like crazy this month.
A sale for bag space and I'd open my Pokecoin wallet...
Depending on Pikachu spawns, it may or may not be easy to get more Pikachus (remember Anniversary Pikachu was insanely rare at the start of that event?)...
Agreed that with being able to spin gyms, my bag space is never empty now and I don't need potions or revives neither since no prestiging, no gyms to hold/rebuild/or tear down...
As mentioned, I get that some people like to battle, but after 4000+, it's not fun for me.
