Heard about Pokemon? It’s cool again!
App Pokemon Go is a multiplatform mobile multiplayer game (for iOS and Android) with augmented reality. Players using a smartphone or other mobile device equipped with a GPS, should “look for” and “catch” small virtual monsters Pokemon in the real world, and then teach them to organize battles among themselves.
Pocket monsters first appeared in Nintendo games back in the 1990s, then became the heroes of manga, anime, collectible card games. Cards with their image had “hit” playgrounds before Minecraft and even Tamagotchi but after Marble and Yo-Yo.
People, who are not interested in video games, has been seriously shocked in the recent days due to the sudden influx of Pokemon, which flooded social networks feed, news sites, and even business publications. New Internet memes, jokes and funny pictures with Pokemon, stories of life and analytical articles are falling off every single pore.
Someone in search of a Pokemon finds a body in the river, someone violates private property boundaries, Pokemon begins to be used for advertising, banks, cafes, religious organizations. Some countries are threatening to ban all cute pocket monsters. It seems that the whole world has suddenly gone mad. Let’s look at what is happening and what is the Pokémon GO game itself, and break all the fuss.
Unprecedented success? Yes! Since the launch, Nintendo company’s value has increased by 7,5 billion dollars. The target audience - teenagers who “catch them all”, and thirty-year old men and women who are nostalgic for their childhood Pokémon.
What’s so interesting?
Strictly speaking, a rare Pokemon can be thought of as a virtual pet, which players have to take care of and who needs to be trained. This is interesting itself, but other than that, players can join one of the three global teams and fight for territory. Pokemon GO is not just an interesting game: users say what they like, the app encourages them to explore their cities and interact with other people. For example, two women in New Zealand rent a kayak, to assert their rights to the territory in the middle of Wellington bay.
How does it work?
After downloading the app and creating a character, users gain access to a special anime-like version of Google Maps, where the real names of streets and squares are hidden, and analogs of real buildings associated with certain Pokemon. When users move in the real world, their character in the game repeats their route and can find randomly encounter Pokemon, which, if you’re lucky, can be captured and added to the collection.
Game Pokemon Go price
The game is free, but users can make in-app purchases, saving themselves from having to go somewhere physically. For example, a visit to the location called PokeStop can give the player a chance to get rare items. But lazy players who do not want to search PokeStop can simply buy them.
Let’s talk about revenue
Nintendo owns shares in Niantic Inc. (San Francisco), a company that developed the game. According to the investors calculations, the impressive debut of the game means that millions of users will buy virtual items, and companies are willing to pay for advertising in the game.
Only in the US, iOS Pokémon GO players spending about $1.6 million daily, according to analyst firm Sensor Tower. Revenues for Android is not available at the moment. The popularity of Pokemon GO is so high that the App Annie, another analyst firm, said that during the year application will reach $1 billion revenue.
Pokemon for your business success
INC offers tips for businesses: owners of shops, cafes, and other businesses can capitalize on Pokemon GO. The idea is simple: the game directs people to places of Pokemon frequent appearance. To turn these people into customers, it is necessary to lure them to your place (for example, placing it in the “trap”, which accelerates the appearance of Pokémon for a while) or equip a mobile shop and send it to the places where Pokémons appear. The proposed business model allows you to turn $100 into “84 hours of increased flow of visitors”.
More importantly - the game is already caught up with Twitter on a daily audience on Android in the US. This is serious, because where the audience is, there will be marketing.
Read also: How to Estimate Budget for Mobile App Marketing?
Pokemon GO and Twitter: daily audience of Android applications in the US for the first 3 days after the launch
But the best option for startups is to use the wave of success of the game and make Pokemon Go clone or better - Pokemon Go alternative.
How to develop a game like pokemon go
What should you know to make an app like pokemon go?
Pokemon game development is simple: you just might have to hire mobile game developers. Yes, this is that simple. Here in Erminesoft, we design not only high-quality applications and solutions but games too! Actually, any development will be fun with the right team, which follows the latest trends and always on the wave of new technologies.
Read also: App development cost
In this article, we have tried to describe the basic position of the game, its advantages, and benefits that can be obtained in case you want to build pokémon game. If you are interested in the creation of the game and you’re wondering about game development cost - write us, we will describe not only the cost but also the development process!
