Pokemon Go Still Making Around Two Million Per Day

This story from 2016 is about Pokemon Go and the vast amounts of money it was still making its creators at that point.


Published: October 4, 2016 10:55 AM /

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Zorua standing on a pavement in Pokemon Go

While the hype surrounding Pokemon Go has certainly passed its peak for a while now, it seems like the popular mobile game is still raking in a pretty sum on a daily basis.

According to a new report by Newzoo, a company of industry analysts, Pokemon Go has made around $470 million in the first 80 days of its lifetime thanks to more than 550 million installs, most of which are comprised of people playing the game due to them growing up with the franchise, instantly catapulting developer Niantic Labs to the pole position of mobile gaming.

A chart showing the number of daily downloads for Pokemon Go

While the hype has mostly blown over by now, Newzoo reports that the game is still generating around $2 million per day, which is still a rather high amount of money even when compared to the $16 million a day the game made during its peak earlier this year.

Additionally, the game is still being downloaded approximately 700,000 times per day, and these statistics may swing up a bit (or a lot) once Pokemon Go releases in China and South Korea.

This report also shows us some other interesting data regarding the popular app. According to Newzoo, 24% of players hadn't installed another mobile game on their device in the past three months, which means that Pokemon Go has introduced many new players to the mobile gaming industry.

Most of these players were already playing games on other platforms, but 8% of these players had never installed a mobile game prior to Pokemon Go.

In the end, Pokemon Go gained enough popularity to eclipse any other game available for download on smartphone devices in any part of the world where it's available, with the game becoming even more popular than the likes of Candy Crush Saga.

A chart showing Pokemon Go's demographic appeal

As you can see on the graph above, Pokemon Go has been especially appealing to millennials in the West, who were growing up during the time that the Pokemon TV show and Game Boy games were at the height of their popularity. 

Most players are between the ages of 21 and 35 and it's interesting to note that women make up 43% of players. Truly, nostalgia knows no gender divide. 

A chart showing the IP appeal of Pokemon Go

Unsurprisingly, the game got scored the highest by players who were already familiar with the handheld games that remain as popular today as they were back in the 90s. These statistics also suggest that franchises that enjoyed similar popularity in the 90s may be able to use this nostalgia to reintroduce their IP to the mobile audience.

So which kinds of gamers are most likely to play Pokemon Go? Well, according to the report, Dota 2 and Smite players are most likely to play Pokemon Go

The game has less of a crossover with Candy Crush, the second most popular mobile game out right now, with only 46% of Candy Crush Saga players also playing Pokemon Go. However, 77% of Clash Royale players played Pokemon Go at some point. 

A chart showing Pokemon Go's unique gameplay appeal to players

The most popular aspect of the game for many is how easy it is to pick it up. One of the other popular features of the game is that it has gamified being outside and walking around, and the arbitrary dividing of players into three different teams means that the game features some form of competition, and there's nothing like working together to beat other players.

Due to this, the game has more in common with certain core games than it does with traditional mobile experiences that are designed to play in very short bursts.

All in all, these stats seem to suggest that Pokemon Go's popularity is because of three things: the adoption of a popular brand from the 90s mixed with modern mobile gaming capabilities and a willingness to develop something that caters to the tastes of an audience largely comprised of young adults.

What do you think of these statistics? Do you still play Pokemon GO? If you don't, why? Let us know in the comment section down below!

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


Chris Anderson
| Staff Writer

I've been playing games since I was just barely able to walk so I might as well write about them.

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Pokemon Go
Game Page Pokemon Go
Developer
Niantic
Publisher
Niantic
Platforms
Android, IOS
Release Date
July 6, 2016 (Calendar)
Purchase (Some links may be affiliated)