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Nintendo’s Pokemon Go hailed as huge success

Nintendo’s Pokemon Go hailed as huge success

Nintendo may not have released any official figures, but the buzz around its new augmented reality game Pokemon Go has made it clear it’s a big hit.

 

SensorTower estimates the app had passed 15 million downloads on Google Play and Apple’s App Store, with revenue from the latter standing at around US$1.6 million per day.

What’s more, on July 11, the average iPhone user spent 33 minutes in the game, compared to 22 minutes in Facebook and 18 for Snapchat.

In the US, it was installed on more than 5 per cent of Android devices within the first two days of being launched, according to web analytics firm SimilarWeb, which added that it is now on more Android phones than popular dating app Tinder, with daily active user numbers closing in on Twitter.

It is currently available in Australia, New Zealand, Germany and UK, with new regions expected to be added soon.

The Wall Street Journal said Nintendo’s market value was boosted by $9 billion following the launch.

The app is based on the popular Pokemon franchise and was developed by Niantic, maker of the popular augmented reality gaming app Ingress.

It uses real locations to allow players to find and catch Pokemon (fictional characters collected by players to battle with) as they explore their surroundings.

Security concerns

Several security issues have come up since the launch of the game. For one, there are reports that users have been lured into areas by criminals using the geolocation feature.

“We encourage all people playing Pokemon Go to be aware of their surroundings and to play with friends when going to new or unfamiliar places,” the Pokemon Company and Niantic said in an emailed statement. 

 

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