Dunedin: Pokemon-Go Capital

It's official – Dunedin is the Pokemon capital of New Zealand.
Figures out today show there are more of the virtual critters hopping around Dunedin than in any other New Zealand centre.

Statistics New Zealand thinks the city's varied terrain is the lure for a wide range of Pokemon types which players of the 'augmented reality' game Pokemon Go attempt to find and catch using their smartphones.

“Within Dunedin is Otago Harbour for Water Type Pokemon, Otago Peninsula for Rock Type Pokemon, and Larnach Castle for Ghost Type Pokemon, not to mention the cooler winter temperatures attracting Ice Type Pokemon,”  Pokemon statistical analyst Bridget Snodgrass said.

New Zealand’s Pokemon population tops 446,000 a day, according to Statistics New Zealand.

Around 6200 Pokemon are active across the country at any given moment.

Dunedin tops the Pokemon per person scale, with about 15 Pokemon per 10,000 people.

However, Auckland Central East area and Lambton Quay in Wellington are the country’s hot spots for Pokemon catching during daytime hours, with 41 and 40 Pokemon per square kilometre, respectively.

For night-time hunters, Auckland Central East and the Willis Street to Cambridge Terrace area in Wellington are the best spots.

The South Island hot spot is Riccarton South in Christchurch during the daytime – with 10 Pokemon per square kilometre. At night, it’s Riccarton West – with nine Pokemon per square kilometre.

“The Pokemon population maps show that the Pokemon population correlates with our human population across New Zealand,” Ms Snodgrass said. “Each of our three major centres – Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch – have several hundred active Pokemon at any one time.”

- The Otago Daily Times