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Virginia Postrel: What Pokemon Go actually is (and isn’t)

On a steady increase in users since its release, Pokemon GO is a path to possibly overtake popular apps like Snapchat and Maps on Apple devices. Three days after its release, it had more downloads than Twitter.

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Have you played Pokemon GO yet? Niantic, the app’s developer, claimed that it is earning millions of dollars every day. As the report points out, that kind of revenue is more than enough to motivate Niantic and Nintendo to keep players engaged through things like content updates that would add Pokemon and features to the game. While the game is free for download on all platforms, users can spend real money on “in-app” purchases (Pokemon GO microtransactions).

The global game furore has lifted the stock price stood of game company Nintendo by 70% this week to JPY27,780 per share.

“Back in 2012, Draw Something consumed the public consciousness for a few weeks before its user numbers dropped like a stone”, SurveyMonkey said. The fate of Miitomo, the last game Nintendo developed, had a very short success story.

“The expectation is that Pokemon Go’s success will contribute to the success of Nintendo’s other original games, and even to the success of its next game console”, SMBC Nikko Securities analyst Eiji Maeda told AFP.

Shooting to the top of the app store on the day it was released, within 24 hours Pokémon GO beat out indie hit Slither.io and Supercell’s heavily promoted blockbuster Clash Royale to become the biggest game of 2016, as measured by daily active users.

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The game has gained a huge number of avid players and has been breaking records since it was launched in the United States.

Pokemon Go now the biggest mobile game in US history