POKÉMON GO IS ALREADY WORTH BILLIONS

POKÉMON GO IS ALREADY WORTH BILLIONS

 In the week following its release, Pokémon Go has become an instant blockbuster, crashing Nintendo’s servers as countless nostalgic millennials and gaming enthusiasts download the augmented-reality-based mobile app, and sending the Japanese game maker’s stock soaring.

Pokémon Go, which uses a mobile device’s G.P.S. and camera to allow players to capture, collect, and battle digital creatures while traveling around the physical world, has remained the top-downloaded app in Appel’s App Store since its July 6 release in the U.S., according to analytics firm App Annie. By Sunday morning, Nintendo’s market value had increased by $7 billion since its stock started to surge on Friday, Bloomberg reports, following its release in the U.S. on Wednesday evening. With legions of players trying to catch Pokémon and meeting up at thousands of real-world locations to battle their fellow players-in-arms, user engagement has quickly escalated to the point of a cultural phenomenon. Similar Web reports that as of Sunday, more than 60 percent of Android users who downloaded the game were using it daily, putting the game on track to surpass Twitter in daily active Android users.

As Pokémon Go downloads continue to soar, dozens of bizarre stories surrounding the game have begun making headlines. The mobile game is reportedly at the center of a battle between the Westboro Baptist Church and Pokémon Go users after it was discovered that the controversial church had been labeled as a “gym,” or battle location, within the game. Trump Tower in New York is also a gym in the game, marking the second time in as many months that the presumptive G.O.P. nominee has been linked to the Pokémon world. In a more gruesome turn of events, a 19-year-old user discovered a dead body in Wyoming while wandering along a river hunting for water-based Pokémon, and armed robbers have also reportedly used the app to take advantage of unsuspecting players in secluded areas, CNN reports.

Whether or not Pokémon Go will maintain this level of success and engagement, it is clear that the game is a hit. The bigger question for investors is whether the app’s extraordinary success will translate into lasting revenue for Nintendo, which has struggled in recent years. Before the company’s stock exploded on Friday, it was down almost 50 percent over the last year, CNN notes, amid disappointing sales for Nintendo’s Wii U gaming console. The Japanese company has had to compete both with a host of rivals, including Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s Playstation, as well as newer mobile apps, which have attracted a new generation of gamers away from traditional consoles. But Nintendo’s foray into the mobile-gaming space could pay off. While Pokémon Go is free to download, the game offers opportunities for in-app purchases that investors hope will create millions of dollars in sustainable, daily revenue.