Pokemon Go arrives in Japan, ushers in global server meltdown

At long last Japanese players are finally able to download Pokemon Go. Whether they can play it is another question entirely, however.

The app itself is available to download on the Japanese versions of both iOS and Google Play. If reports are to be believed it’s a couple of days late, with Niantic taking extra time to try and ensure its server capacity is up to scratch.

That mission seems to have failed. The game appears to be inoperable worldwide, with players either unable to login or suffering assorted errors if they do login. The game’s servers have been struggling for a week or so now.

Surely Niantic and Nintendo will be pondering at what stage the ongoing disruption will become enough to dent the prospects of what has to date proved to be game launch unlike any other. The size and speed of Pokemon Go’s impact on the global psyche is unmatched, but if the game won’t work the pop could fizzle out just as quickly.

But, for the time being the world – and its media – remain gripped. Just take a look at some of the headlines that have appeared in the last day or so:

Pokmon Go transforms Republican convention into gym full of rare catches – The Guardian
Pokemon Go players aren’t ignoring reality. We’re changing it – The Telegraph
Reporter Busted Playing Pokmon Go During State Department Briefing – Kotaku
Pokemon Go: Teenager shot dead while searching for creatures – The Independent
Oliver Stone links Pokmon Go to totalitarianism during privacy debate – The Guardian
Pokemon Go? In my day we had to make do with good old boredom – Liverpool Echo
Pokemon Go: Is the hugely popular game a global safety risk? – BBC
Pokemon Go sees its first death: Teenager, 18, is killed and his cousin injured while playing game in Guatemala – The Daily Mail
Catch yourself a date on new ‘Pokmon Go’ dating site – Mashable
Syrian campaigners use Pokmon Go to ask world to save war children – The Guardian
Yes, Mr. Robot Plays Pokmon Go – Wired