Released just shy of two weeks ago, Pokémon Go is closing in on double the daily time spent in-app (iOS) as Facebook and it’s almost four times as popular as the next most-accessed game on the chart, Slither.
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The app, which was already launched in countries like the United States, New Zealand, and Australia, has now made its way to Canada as well as 26 European countries. Users can roam the real world to search for Pokémon. One of the aims of the game is summed up in the catch-phrase that usually accompanies the series title: “Gotta catch em’ all”.
But here’s the thing: I’m actually not a huge gamer.
Despite its popularity, the game could still end up being another fad, Kim warned, adding that “Pokémon Go” was unlikely to help Nintendo recover its share of the gaming market at “the 10 percent level that Nintendo enjoyed in 2009 when the Wii revolutionized the gaming industry”. As of today, the company’s capital has doubled and now sits at $42.5 billion. A number of other businesses have also seen gains, as well.
The app has already become the most downloaded game in USA history and has topped app store charts around the world.
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A June 2016 report from CB Insights tracks the investment in virtual reality (VR) and AR companies worldwide from Q1 2015 to Q1 2016, and it’s immediately apparent that, even before Pokémon Go, such companies saw a massive upgrade in investment-from Q4 2015’s $238 million to a whopping $1.08 billion in Q1 of this year. It might just turn out to be the most profitable gaming mobile app of all time, for a very long time.
