The sensational take-off of reality mobile game Pokemon Go proved too much for its servers, pushing the app and its players to breaking point.
Official outage reports peaked across most major Australian cities by lunchtime on Tuesday, by which time thousands of angry Pokemon players had flooded social media looking for answers.
The game has only been released in the US, Australia and New Zealand, with some local players accusing UK residents of clogging up the system by trying to bypass regional servers to access the game Down Under.
Outage reports had reduced to just a few dozen by 4pm AEST.
Pokemon Go is proving enormously popular since developer Niantic opened access on July 6 in the US, but some security concerns have been raised about the app.
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The alarm was raised when it was discovered iOS users granted full access to their Google account including Gmail and Drive by signing up to the game.
The app's creators released a statement saying the access granted was an error and had only received basic account information while Google works to reduce the access.
NSW Police also tweeted a reminder to gamers to avoid venturing into dangerous places in their quest to catch a Pokemon.
Pokemon Go requires users to create an avatar, or online persona, that changes location as the user does in the real world.
The object is to earn points and win virtual lollies and stardust by capturing so-called "wild" Pokemon characters that appear at random as the user moves about.
Pokemon Go player Jessica Sheridon, from Wyong, joined nearly two hundred players who met up in Sydney's Hyde Park for an afternoon hunt on Tuesday.
"I'm 100 per cent addicted," the 23-year-old student told AAP.
The game is proving more than just a fun pastime, with some savvy Australians cashing in on the craze by offering Pokemon car tours.
Pokemon Go driver Mathew Wrightman, who operates out of Newcastle, told AAP he was receiving several bookings a day to drive people around town in search of new Pokemon.
Mr Wrightman said he also knew of a Newcastle pub offering discounted drinks if customers presented certain types of Pokemon to staff.
