Pokemon GO has launched pretty much all over the globe and yet one of the biggest features from the games initial trailer is still missing.
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The correction comes after the release of the game nearly doubled Nintendo’s stock through Friday’s close, adding $17.6 billion in market capitalization.
The Pokémon Company, in which Nintendo has 32% of the voting power, is getting a licensing fee as well as compensation for collaboration in the development and operations of the app. The Kyoto-based company’s “effective economic stake” in the app is only 13 percent according to Bloomberg.
But while Pokemon Go’s simplicity can be credited for the game’s sudden popularity, developer Niantic’s CEO John Hanke has acknowledged that his team is working on new features needed to maintain fan interest for the longer term. If the game generates about 396 billion yen annually, that would add about 47 billion yen to Nintendo’s bottom line, he said.
The app reportedly generated $35 million in revenue in the first two weeks, which caused overeager investors to bid Nintendo stock up to five-year highs.
On iOS, at least, Pokemon GO managed to break first week download records, mostly thanks to being tied to the Pokemon name and building a huge amount of hype prior to launch.
However, McDonald’s investors should realize that its Pokemon Go partnership isn’t an exclusive one, and rivals could sign similar deals to drive traffic to their stores as well. And a majority of attendees answered in the affirmative when asked if playing Pokemon Go created opportunities for actual human interaction with other players in addition to physical exercise.
In their most recent financial forecast, Nintendo explained that the virtual monster-capturing mobile hit isn’t actually owned by Nintendo, but rather affiliated. Nintendo has promised to release five smartphone titles by March 2017, and is preparing a new console called the NX that will debut next year.
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“It’s still possible to say that in the short term it’s overheated, ” said Tomoaki Kawasaki, an analyst at Iwai Cosmo Securities Co. They’ll be okay and are still making money. “From a long-term perspective, the current stock price isn’t necessarily expensive”.
