After almost two decades since the original release of the first Pokémon game, the highly anticipated smart phone version called Pokémon Go! is finally released!  Like a kid on Christmas Eve I immediately downloaded it at the Play Store, eagerness awaits. The expectation was high and overwhelming to say the least considering the last time I was involved with Pokémon was when I was a teenager.  With the feeling of nostalgia running deep within me, I waited for the progress bar to complete so I can begin the journey.

Let’s Go!

So let’s get started, at first launch, you are greeted with this screen to setup and login. You have options to use your Google account or register a new one at the official Pokémon website.

It was a straightforward process and to begin you will need a nickname for your character. Simple enough right?

Wrong! After an hour later and dozens of name combinations, it finally lets you proceed.

Doing a quick google search yielded 2.9 million results with similar issues. Quite a high number considering the game was just launched 24 hours ago!   Not to let this get in the way of the full experience I moved forward.

Pokéball GO!

After catching my first Pokémon, to my luck, the game freezes up after throwing my very first pokéball...

Okay, at this point I understand that the game is still new and there may be a few glitches here and there so I quickly reboot the phone to allow for a fresh start.

…but before we can get back in, we are greeted with another issue, this time it’s authentication

Again I exit out and relaunch the app hoping that things would sort itself out.  I get past the authentication screen and it’s finally loading!

BUT! now it complains about not having any GPS signal…

Great, at this point I decided that the servers are probably overloaded with the high demand and retire for the night.

I relaunch the app the next day and lo and behold the dreaded login screen, again...

Wait a Minute...

So after this whole ordeal I decided to do some research and found out that parts of Asia is still not officially supported, odd since it's origin is from Japan one would think otherwise.  Nonetheless I  will have to wait until I travel stateside to do a full run down.

The only explanation as to why this is is that even if you are in a neighboring country close to Japan, the sophistication of the Geo-location and mapping engine is still at its infancy and still needs to be updated.

Possible Solution?

This method is untested but if you really do want to play the game you can try using a VPN to connect to the servers but because it is GPS dependent, chances of it working are quite slim. The best bet is to wait until an update comes out to fix the existing bugs and for Niantic, the Pokémon company to roll-out additional support for locations globally.

Now what?

Don’t panic, chances are things will work itself out as more people submit bug reports to be fixed. Remember, this is only my experience and yours may be as smooth as butter, please do not let my experience dissuade you.  With that said, a game of this scale is bound to come across a few hiccups due to the sheer complexity and large amounts of moving parts required to make it all work.

Think about it, the fragmentation of different phone models out there, location specific features, server capacity and network requirements all make this a massive undertaking.  Remember the Google April Fools back two years ago that featured the Pokémon Challenge using their Maps service? How many of you looked with amazement and  eagerness wishing to participate? Thought so. Well now it’s here, and I’m glad it is released even if it is not perfect. I actually commend Niantic for taking on this challenge to give users and die hard fans a taste of what’s in store for 2016!