Home | WebMail | Register or Login

      Calgary | Regions | Local Traffic Report | Advertise on Action News | Contact

Toronto

Pokmon Go in Toronto: How hundreds of gamers are trying to catch 'em all

Pokmon Go isn't even officially out in Canada but that's not stopping hundreds, maybe thousands, of Torontonians from trying to catch 'em all.

'Its what the kids of the 90s dreamed of,' says German player living in Toronto

These gamers had their focus firmly on the Pokmon Go quest in Toronto's David Pecaut Square on Monday. (Bruce Reeve/CBC)

Pokmon Go isn't even officially out in Canada but that's not stopping hundreds, maybe thousands, of Torontonians from trying to catch'em all.

You may have seen some of them walking around downtown with their heads buried in their phoneswhich is nothing new, reallybut thesefolks aren't texting. Instead, they're using an app that taps into theirphone's GPS to spawn Pokmon creatures all around the city.

"You can happen to find thePokmonon your desk,under your desk, in your car, on your bedthey can appear everywhere," NiklasWagner, who's been playing the augmented reality game on his phone for the past four days, told CBC's Metro Morning.
Niklas Wagner recently moved to Toronto from Germany and says that Pokmon Go is "what the kids of the 90s dreamed of." (Metro Morning/CBC)

Wagner saidthat the appeal ofPokmonis worldwide, and he should know considering he just moved to Toronto from Germany a couple of weeks ago. As a result, the game has atwo-fold purpose for the young Germanas he enjoyscatching thecreatures whileexploringacity that's relatively new to him.

"I had nothing to do yesterday afternoon, so why not just walk for a bit?"Wagner said."I went fourkilometres all alongDundas Street because I needed to get my eggs hatched and I wanted to check out some of the gyms there and Pokstops."

Wagner is in a Toronto group for Pokmon Go that he says has about 700 members, although he estimates that there's at least double that numberplaying the game in the city. He met up with about 200 other players at the CN Tower on Monday.

"It's what the kids of the 90s dreamed of," Wagner told host Matt Galloway."Everyone from 14 to30 is playing it right now. It's super-addictive, andyou just want to catch 'emall."
The augmented reality mobile game "Pokemon Go" by Nintendo has skyrocketed in popularity since it launched last week. (Sam Mircovich/Reuters)

with files from Metro Morning