'Pokémon Go' Officially Launches in Canada, Losing Its Illicit Allure

As with most cool things Americans have access to that Canadians can't get north of the border, many in Canada had gone through a not-wholly legal workaround to get access to Pokémon Go ahead of its release in the country. So many had downloaded it, in fact, that there was already a "lure party" at Toronto's Yonge and Dundas Square, a crowdsourced Pokémon map of Toronto created, and we had already seen some Poké-related accidents (including this car crash in Quebec). But as of July 16, the game has finally had its official launch in the Great White North and is available in both iPhone and Android app stores.

Following the official announcement on Sunday afternoon, Pokémon Go's servers, which have been criticized for a number of issues, were predictably overloaded. Would-be trainers attempting to make their accounts in Canada were greeted with the following message on the load screen: "Our servers are humbled by your incredible response. We are working to resolve the issue. Please try again soon!"

Before its release in Canada, Pokémon Go had launched on July 6 and had been available in the United States, Australia, and Asia.

Now that the game has lost is illicit allure in Canada, we're sure you'll never be forced to read Pokémon Go-related content again.

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