But that finally ended Friday as the game was made available online in Japan.
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Apple has not released a download count for the app.
Pokemon GO has already been a major success globally, and that will probably be added to greatly by the Japanese market- Japan loves Pokemon, social games, and mobile games, and Pokemon GO is all three at once.
Separately, TheStreet Ratings rated this stock as a “buy” with a ratings score of B.
Up to Tuesday’s close, Apple’s shares had gained 5 percent in market value, or about $25 billion, since the launch of the game in the United States on July 6.
Hanke also mentioned that Pokemon Go’s central gameplay element-leaving your home and traveling into the world in search of creatures-pays homage to the first game in the series.
While Niantic and Nintendo are likely mining data from everyone using the app, they aren’t the first to do so. “Pokemon is a attractive franchise which originated in Japan”. In fact, the BBC writes that just hours after the game launched, a student at Osaka’s Kindai University reportedly fell down the stairs while playing and had to be taken to the hospital. With plans to launch two mobile games this year based on the popular Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing series – which have sold roughly 32 million units as console games – the hits could keep coming. Few details have been released, but consoles are usually a more sustainable revenue driver for gaming companies. Even though the country is the second-most lucrative market for smartphone apps, Japanese gamers had to sit and watch as 35 other countries, including Malta and Luxembourg, became virtual playgrounds for Pokemon trainers hunting virtual monsters on streets and in parks.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.
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The biggest thing I think is neat about the game however is that in addition to Pokemon being near places they’d be in the real world with the Pokemon map overlaid on the real world is that apparently you’ll have to travel the world to “catch ’em all” because certain rare Pokemon can only be found in certain areas around the world. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
