If you’re like me, you’re a 90’s child with a deep love of Pokémon and you’ve been waiting what feels like your entire life for Pokémon Go. Unfortunately, I live in the Great White North, also known as Canada, and Pokémon Go has not been released in Canada. For days now, my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram has been filled with countless pictures, posts and videos of Pokémon Go. I have become quite salty over Niantic’s decision to slowly release the app to certain regions of the globe. The current list of regions that support Pokémon Go are limited to New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Germany and, as of 8 AM this morning, the UK. In an official email to IGN concerning the release of the of Pokémon Go in other countries, they had the following to say:
“The team is currently heads down working on the game. We do not have any announced plans for countries beyond New Zealand, Australia, US and Germany at the moment.”
Chris Kramer, Vice President
fortyseven communications
This did not help my saltiness. I’ve never been a fan of slow releases. Ever. I won’t say it’s not fair because honestly, I’ve heard “life isn’t fair” one too many times but it seems weird to deny 80% of the globe the ability to play Pokémon Go. What I found really interesting is that countries like Japan, Hong Kong or Taiwan don’t even have the game yet and they were the first countries to have the original Pokémon game back in 1996. Ninatic has tried to calm the masses by posting on social media to wait patiently but that’s working just about as well as praying to not find a Zubat when you desperately try to get quickly through a cave.
Now, there’s a good chance that you are reading this article and have screamed once or twice at the screen. I can just hear the, “Kendryx, you can just download Pokémon Go through nefarious means and finally play!” This is a valid point and I have countless friends who have done this to satisfy their Pokémon Go craving. My hesitation with this option is that there is currently no supporting evidence to say that my account won’t be either deleted upon the “legal” release of Pokémon Go in Canada or that I won’t get banned while playing with an “illegal” version. There are accounts of players being deleted or ‘soft’ banned for a period of time due to in-game infractions such as changing your region or hacking certain aspects of the app. I weigh the pros and cons of this situation hourly and my Pokémon Go-less phone visibly displays the choice I have made. It seems I am destined to remain the salty native of the Great White North who longingly, and bitterly, watches all the Pokémon Go posts on social media with envy.
Until Pokémon Go is released, you can catch me hosting #MOBAMondays on Mondays and In the Spirits of Gaming on Fridays on Twitch!