WNT Radio: Pokémon GO- the latest fitness app, could come to India soon

By Frances Clayton

 

Pokémon GO- the latest fitness app, could come to India soon

 

You might think you’re so addicted to playing Pokemon Go because you loved Pokemon growing up, but that’s not the only reason.

 

Superdata Research estimates Pokemon Go is generating around US$1.6 million (NZ$2.2mil) a day in the United States via Apple’s iOSplatform and another US$700,000 (NZ$962,000) from Android.

 

The cost to actually develop the game was about $30 million. Niantic was spun out of Google and its investors include Google’s parent company Alphabet.

 

The New York City Police Department’s 19th Precinct tweeted a photo of an officer riding in his cruiser with his “new partner” seated beside him, the popular Pokemon character known as Pikachu.

 

Pokemon Go has led gamers on quests around city neighborhoods to hunt for Pokémon and battle in “gyms”, which are real-world locations, ranging from parks to restaurants. But it’s a little unclear how all of that money is being split up.

 

Nintendo shares had already started the week with a 25% jump on Mondayalone. “Users are able to write off a lot of the initial issues because they’re so attached to the brand“, said Jordan Edelson, CEO of developer Appetizer Mobile.

 

“When it works, Pokemon Go feels like a natural evolution for the series, very much a product of the times without making the mainline series obsolete”. “Other risks this game exposes are physical risks to actual life and limb”, the report said.

 

Analysts have long criticised the company for lagging its rivals like Sony and being late to the game in catering to the growing smartphonemarket.

 

While there is no confirmation of a specific partnership for Pokemon Go yet, some have noticed references to “McDonalds” in the game’s code for what appears to be the sponsorships feature.

 

Another question is whether Nintendo can come up with another blockbuster. The company predicted issues like these might occur and even delayed the global release of the app until they sort through initial bugs.