The head of the company behind “Pokemon Go” says more capabilities for the wildly popular smartphone game are coming, including the ability to trade Pokemon.
Advertisement
This prompted Nintendo’s stock to fall by 18 percent on Tokyo’s Stock Exchange, according to Bloomberg, dropping the company’s market value by roughly $6.7 billion.
Pokemon GO has now become the most successful ever first-week app launch in the App Store.
The app uses satellite locations, graphics and camera capabilities to overlay cartoon monsters on real-world settings, challenging players to capture and train them for battles.
However, some of these financial spikes have now come back down to earth after investors were warned that Pokemon Go is not necessarily going to herald a tsunami of cash into the company. One of the most interesting tidbits from his session was a hint that the game might soon add a staple of the mainline Pokemon series; Pokemon Centers.
Be that as it may, Nintendo’s shares had soared since the game’s launch, growing around 50 percent in value.
Given the popularity of Pokemon Go and its development in other mobile gaming apps that don’t involve the complicated ownership of the Pokemon franchise, it’s likely that Nintendo will still make plenty of money on mobile gaming.
The game has already been factored into the standing forecast for the fiscal year ending March 2017, the company said.
Nintendo could also profit from sales of “Pokémon GO Plus”, a separate device that enhances the gaming experience. Nintendo owns a 32% direct stake in the Pokemon Company and has a reported 30% stake in Niantic as well. Not only were a few hundred of the tens of millions of players anxious to hear about any upcoming updates firsthand, but there was a rumor that developer Niantic would unleash the first legendary Pokemon at some point during the panel.
Nintendo is scheduled to report earnings on Wednesday, but they will cover the quarter prior to Pokemon Go’s release.
Advertisement
Nintendo stands to rake in 13 billion yen to more than 20 billion yen in operating profit related to the game, securities analysts estimate.
