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Pokémon Go why it was able to have revenues of over $200M during firs month

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Based on estimates of Sensor Tower the Pokémon GO was able to earn over $200M net revenue on App store and Google Play combined during its first month. This result easily beats two of the previous top-earning applications. The Candy Crush Soda Saga during its first month in 2014 was able to gather just over $25M while Clash Royale from this year in the same period gathered close to $120M. Pokémon Go gathered seven times as much revenue as Candy Crush Soda Saga did. The difference shows not only Pokémon’s position on the market but also how 2 years changed industry end games earnings. The Clash Royale had similar start until the 18 day when Pokémon GO earnings were drastically boosted. It was a date of games launch in Japan which is the home of Pokémon franchise and home of the most loyal fans.

pokemon-go-first-month-cumulative-worldwide-revenue

 

Why is it so successful?

  • It’s easy to play. With its simple mechanics, it is playable for kids and adults.
  • Allows to be played in short sessions, for example during a walk to shop, work, school. On the other hand, can be played in very long sessions if time is not an issue.
  • I good at keeping as focused on it: You never know what Pokémon you are going to find. This gives much more dopamine(pleasure) each time you find something special (it’s like gambling and similarly, can be addictive).
  • Uses nostalgia to attract adults by bringing memories from their childhood allowing them to chase monsters they were playing with many years ago.
  • Parents are comfortable with their kids playing Pokémon as they already now this brand and are not scared of it.
  • Allows to meet real people playing the game and triggers conversation with strangers. This based on researchers boosts well-being.
  • The game is rewarding and does not introduce a concept of “pay to win” or “pay to be able to play” (which is common in free to play games after an hour or few hours of gameplay). On the other hand, items that can be bought by real money are relatively easy to be obtained without money or are not necessary
  • Fights with cheaters but in a polite way giving only soft bans or giving error notifications. – not sure it is the best option. Time will tell; moreover, it can be caused by two things, keeping them as potential clients or at least promoters of a game or because they are waiting for the product to be finished and the time with cheaters will allow them to cover all holes.

Pokémon seems to have one more opportunity of creating revenues which have not been utilized namely location based marketing. Though it needs to be done with caution otherwise it might kill the joy game is giving and in fact kill the game.

 

What is your opinion on the game and on implementing location-based marketing into it?

Sources:

https://sensortower.com/blog/pokemon-go-first-monthhttps://techcrunch.com/2016/08/05/why-pokemon-go-captured-our-imagination-and-huge-market-share/

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