The Global Launch Of ‘Pokémon GO’ Has Been Delayed Amidst Server Issues

Briefly: Sorry, world.

While seemingly every single person populating the US, Australia, and New Zealand has been playing Pokémon GO non-stop for nearly a week a this point, the rest of the planet (including the Great White North, where I’m situated) has been waiting (im)patiently for the unbelievably anticipated title to hit their respective App and Google Play stores.

While Niantic was originally planning to roll the title out to additional regions in the days following its soft launch, it now sounds like it could be some time before Canada, Europe, and even Japan (well, and everywhere else) will be able to start their new addiction.

In an interview with Business Insider, Niantic CEO John Hanke let the outlet know that the expansion of the game has been “paused until we’re comfortable.”

While the game’s reliability has been constantly improving, errors, crashes, and server outages are still consistent problems at peak times (and it seems like it’s always a peak time).

I don’t think that Nintendo or Niantic could have guessed the absolute phenomenon that they now have on their hands (Hanke stated that “We thought the game would be popular, but it obviously struck a nerve,”) so the server problems that have plagued the online-only game aren’t surprising whatsoever. Hell, I’m playing in a country where the game hasn’t launched yet (which isn’t overly hard to do), and I witnessed 50-75 players rush to a Lure Module placed a couple of blocks from my house. I have never seen anything like this before.

What have you thought of Pokémon GO so far? Do you agree with Josh’s initial impressions? Be sure to sound out in the comments below! #TeamValor!