‘Pokemon GO’ International Release Delayed — Canada, UK, Europe And More Left Hanging


Pokemon GO broke pretty much all app store records upon its release in the United States — so much so that, according to the International Business Times, it took developer Niantic Labs completely by surprise. Even expecting a significant release, according to Niantic CEO John Hanke, they were totally unprepared for the sheer number of Pokemon GO players that hammered their servers straight into oblivion.

“We thought the game would be popular, but it obviously struck a nerve.”

As such, Niantic has “paused” the international release of Pokemon GO “until we’re comfortable,” leaving Canada, the UK, and Europe — and other areas that have been frantically anticipating Pokemon GO since its American release — in the lurch.

On the bright side, Hanke also said that they’ve made considerable progress in achieving that comfort, having had a “great run” of Pokemon GO server stability on Thursday night, and is reassuring the public that Niantic is well-aware of the problem and keenly pursuing a fix.

Of course, as Eurogamer notes, this hasn’t stopped many players from attempting to sideload Pokemon GO regardless (“sideloading” is the term for installing an app or update without going through the official app stores — Google Play and the Apple AppStore/iTunes respectively). Articles with download links and instructions to get Pokemon GO running outside of its three released countries – America, Australia and New Zealand – were up before the dust of the game’s official release State-side had even settled. Other less-scrupulous sources have even announced the game as officially live, snaring eager Pokemon fans with misleading headlines and leading them to a download link for the APK (app package).

“These children may be illegally capturing Pokemon” — words none of us ever expected to say. [Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are risks to that. As the Inquisitr previously reported, while it is possible to sideload Pokemon GO (quite easily on Android; iOS users will need, at the least, a jailbroken device), there are dangers associated with the process. For one thing, the official app stores are the primary (almost only) tool preventing Android and iOS devices from becoming infested with malware — almost all malware and viruses that end up on mobile devices get there through sideloading, and hackers will surely be dancing with glee at the chance to infect such a large percentage of the population at once. As Yibada notes, Pokemon GO APK files available for download across the web have already, surprising nobody, been found to contain a malicious root access tool known as Droidjack, or SandroRAT.

Another risk, as yet unsubstantiated, is that Niantic may be banning accounts found to have installed Pokemon GO before official release. Niantic first gained fame (while they were still a subsidiary of Google) through their other augmented reality (AR) game, Ingress, and Ingress players know that one of the certain ways to get your Ingress account banned is to sideload a copy of Ingress that hasn’t been verified by installation through the app store. And while there are no confirmed reports of bans yet, Niantic currently has their hands full trying to get existing servers stabilized — much like an unexploded bomb, the fact that it possibly hasn’t happened yet is no guarantee of safety.

In the meantime, Pokemon GO has shattered app store record in the United States. It became the No. 1 downloaded app within moments, and — as a completely free app (with in-app purchases) was the No. 1 grossing app on the iPhone (and possibly Android as well) within half a day, which, some have noted, “just doesn’t happen.”

So, what does this mean for prospective Pokemon GO players in Canada, the UK, Europe, and elsewhere? Well, we don’t know when Pokemon GO will officially be available — but it shouldn’t be too much longer, and you’re really best off being patient. If you’re desperate to scratch that itch, dust off an old copy of Pokemon and brush up on your training skills — or you could always give Ingress a try — you’ll still be training yourself for Pokemon GO, as the underlying map, including the “Poke Stops” in Pokemon GO, match up to Ingress and its portals.

‘Ingress’ players will find the ‘Pokemon GO’ interface and map to be very familiar — for good reason. [Photo by D. Kelleher/used by permission]
[Image via Niantic Labs/Nintendo]

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