Pokémon's a pretty popular franchise, and smartphones are pretty popular devices, so combining the two was probably a pretty smart idea. Well, as it happens, it definitely was a smart idea, as new data suggests that players have now spent an approximated $2.5 billion on the games to date.
The data comes from mobile app intelligence site, Sensor Tower, which has taken into account total spending across six smartphone Pokémon titles. You can probably guess which game tops the charts in terms of revenue, but let's dive into the good stuff anyway, shall we?
Pokémon GO is obviously the highest-earning mobile game in the franchise, taking home almost 98% of that total with an estimated $2.45 billion in total player spending. The other $50 million (which sounds strangely tiny in comparison) is split across Pokémon Shuffle Mobile (estimated to have taken $25 million in player spending), Pokémon Duel, Pokémon Quest, Pokémon: Magikarp Jump, and Pokémon TCG Online.
Interestingly, Sensor Tower's report also suggests that 35% of this revenue has come from US players (or $875 million), with Japan accounting for 29% (approximately $725 million). The apps have amassed "nearly 640 million" downloads between them.
Anyone else wishing that they'd invented the series back in the '90s? There are some pretty staggering figures here!
[source sensortower.com]
Comments 17
A fool and his money...
That's a lot of cash! Are we going to keep seeing this report over and over when they keep raising more and more money however?
I ****ing hate Team Rocket
In Pokemon Go you can earn a max of 50 coins a day, if you take and hold a gym for about 5 hours or more. Or you can spend 20 dollars and get 2500 coins. Or about 50 days worth!
While I enjoy Pokemon Go while walking to and from work and while out travelling and such, and I even defend it as being MUCH better than it was during the time everyone was playing it...
This system is insanely greedy. The limit on how many coins you can earn per day is insultingly greedy and works very well at encouraging people to spend some money on occasion.
Just think about that. 20 dollars worth of coins required 50 days of in-game play. And that 50 depends on you actually holding gyms for a total of about 5 hours each day. (you can get it divided among several gyms, but that's only a small comfort)
@gcunit Team Rocket wants to know your location
@Heavyarms55
50 day's worth of coins isn't as high of a commodity as it seems.
The bulk of meaningful coin purchases in Pokémon Go come from sales boxes, in Special, Great, and Ultra flavour, for 480, 780, and 1480 coins respectively.
The Ultra boxes always offer the best value for money, and can be earned with 30 day's worth of 50 coins each.
The most prized items are usually raid passes (100 coins), incubators (150 coins), and super incubators (200 coins), but the constant sales boxes mean these serve little more than as a value reference, as the price of the boxes alone is usually lower than the number of incubators included by themselves.
The other part is that the premium items in Pokémon Go usually just enhance gameplay by granting faster access to eggs hatching, storing more pokémon/items, or participating in larger numbers of raids in a single day. This is keeping in mind that you get a free raid pass every day, as long as you aren't holding a free raid pass and haven't claimed one yet. Also that you have a single infinite use incubator, so you can always hatch eggs even if it's only one at a time.
My point is that there is no urgent need to spend money on Pokémon Go, they usually give you ample time to get any timed stuff, and the distribution of items from Poké Stops means unless you live in an area with very few of them, you can keep playing no matter what.
Saving up your gym coins day by day to purchase an ultra box whenever it's most suitable is the best way to play the game, unless maybe if you're starting out and you have too little storage space.
It just prints money doesn't it!
@RupeeClock "My point is that there is no urgent need to spend money on Pokémon Go, " yeah, instead you just have to spend months and months and months and months and months to accomplish what paid players can do in about a week. Totally no urgent need. That's why they have shiny legendaries and all Pokemon currently obtainable, and I've obtained a total of 4 chansey since the game came out.
@Heavyarms55
You'd be paying to make faster progress towards the same non-existent end game.
Hatching eggs loses a lot of meaning when you have all currently available Pokémon, and all you do is keep trying to get the same thing but with better IVs, etc.
It might be fine for enabling players who only started recently to catch up, but past a certain point you'll discover the lack of worth of the premium items, if you've already got powered up teams that can approach most gym and raid battles without issue.
"I'll sell the formula and make myself zillions of bucks. That's enough money to buy my own country, or my own planet even." -James Team Rocket
That's a lot of allowance!!
Good now use that money to make a good pokemon game
That, is a lot of money
I played a lot of Pokemon Quest on the Switch and completed it with no money spent. Granted it was grindy in parts but gotta say while incredibly simple, did enjoy my time with it. The game is relatively generous as well in terms of what it gives you.
Pokemon TCG Online isn't a smartphone game. It's only available on tablet or PC.
@Heavyarms55 I know several people who have reached max level (or are very close to it) without spending a cent of real world money. Sure, spending money might allow you to achieve certain things faster, but you're not at a disadvantage if you don't because you can still make steady progress. This isn't like Ingress where it's virtually impossible for low-level players to advance without spending money to get them over the hump where they can actually begin to take and hold portals.
Magikarp Jump being the best pokemon mobile game.
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