Pokémon Go was a phenomenal hit over the summer when the app first launched on smartphones, but players have needed new reasons to keep playing the AR-based game after the initial hype calmed down. Hosting in-game events that reward players has been one strategy used to recreate the excitement, and this week Pokémon Go will see it’s second-ever holiday-themed event.
Niantic has today released a new update for Pokémon Go on both iOS and Android, bringing with it a handful of new features and capabilities. On Android the update brings the app to version 0.450, while the iOS update bumps it to 1.15.0…
An update to Pokémon Go means that you now get rewarded for collecting medals, providing ‘catch bonuses’ for certain types of Pokémon that make it easier to catch rarer ones. As Eurogamer explains it:
For example, earning the bronze Kindler medal – by catching 10 Fire Pokémon – will increase your chances of capturing Fire creatures in future, with additional bonuses available when unlocking silver and gold tiers.
The update also makes training more accessible …
Announced over the weekend, the latest version of Pokémon Go with the new Buddy feature is rolling out now. Version 1.7.0 for iOS includes many bug fixes and support for the Pokémon Go Plus accessory, but also disables the game on jailbroken devices.
Apple has announced that Pokémon Go is coming to the Apple Watch. Niantic Labs CEO John Hanke revealed that the iPhone app has been downloaded 500 million times, players walking almost three billion miles while playing.
A report earlier claimed that Pokémon Go usage is in decline from its fever pitched height two months ago. Direct battling and trading might spark a revival in the game, but so far Niantic is still focused on international expansion and stability. Version 1.5.0 on iOS adds a new Pokémon appraisal feature, minor fixes, and the promise of new features.
If you’re one of the people who’ve been watching in bemusement as half the planet seemed to be devoting their lives to catching fictitious characters on their iPhones (even Siri getting in on the action), relief is at hand. New data from an investment company shows that Peak Pokémon Go appears to be behind us as four separate app metrics show the popularity of the game in decline.
It’s no secret that Pokémon Go is quickly overtaking the world. With over 100 million downloads and $10 million per day in earnings, it’s quickly become the so-called “game of the summer.” Now, even Siri is getting in on the Pokémon Go craze, offering up a variety of funny responses when asked about her feelings.
Version 1.3 of Pokémon Go is rolling out on iOS and brings a few minor features and fixes to the hit game. Most notably, users now have the ability to change their username once and a bug that prevented bonus XP from throws has been resolved.
There seems no end to Pokémon Go mania as App Annie notes that the app has now hit 100M downloads and is still earning a cool $10M a day some three weeks after launch.
Apple had previously said that the app had set a new record for launch week downloads, but had not revealed the number – though one analyst estimated that the game could be worth as much as $3B to Apple over a 1-2 year timeframe. Interestingly, that success doesn’t appear to be at the expense of other games, as overall revenues across all games saw dropped only briefly.
Pokémon Go has not had a sustained and meaningful impact on the daily revenue of other games on iOS and Google Play. Daily revenue for Games other than Pokémon GO did see a brief dip in the US shortly after the game’s launch, but quickly climbed back to previous levels in a few days.
Indeed, the analytics company believes that the popularity of the game represents an opportunity for other developers as it has popularized the concept of augmented reality and demonstrated to businesses the value of sponsorships …
In this week’s top stories: The latest iPhone 7 leaks and mockups, Pokemon Go mania continues, and we go hands-on with the latest iOS 10 and macOS betas.
Without giving away official download numbers or stats (or ever featuring the app), Apple has officially shared that Pokémon Go has broken the record for the highest number of downloads during launch week on the App Store. The popular iOS app has ranked #1 on both the Free and Top Grossing Top Charts in the App Store since its launch earlier this month.
Rounding out the major launch countries, Pokémon GO has hit Japan — the home nation of Nintendo and Pokémon. Due to the major cultural significance of the company and intellectual property behind Pokémon, developers are expecting Pokémon GO to be a big hit in the region.
The launch in Japan also has knock-on effects for the player base in the rest of the world as it shows how the game plans to add advertising to the game for additional monetization. In Japan, 3000 McDonald’s outlets have been turned into sponsored Pokémon gyms where players can go and take over the area after battling.
Earlier today, we detailed the $3 billion value that Pokémon Go represents to Apple, while we also noted of the effects the game is having on distracted driving and calls placed to emergency officials. Now, the United States Congress has started to look into the data usage of the game. No, not data in relation to user privacy, but rather cellular data usage.
If you were of the view that the Pokémon Go hype has gotten completely out of hand, the evidence file just got thicker. Nintendo’s value has more than doubled since the game was launched, notes The Verge.
Ever since the launch of Pokémon Go earlier this month, Nintendo’s market capitalization has more than doubled, ending Tuesday trading at a fantastic $42.5 billion. Such has been the appetite for Nintendo stock, in fact, that on Friday it broke the single-day trading record in Tokyo this century, with $4.5 billion of stock changing hands.
Yep, that makes the games company – which only sees indirect benefits from Pokémon Go – worth more than Sony, at around $40B. And if that weren’t crazy enough, one analyst has even made the unlikely claim that the game could be worth $3B in revenue to Apple …
While Pokémon Go has been successively rolled out to a growing number of countries, there’s one country that won’t be seeing it for a few days at least: France. In a brief statement, Niantic told IGN that the French launch would be delayed as a sign of respect following the terrorist attack in Nice.
As a sign of respect for the French people in this time of national mourning, the release of Pokemon Go is postponed. Our thoughts and prayers are with France and the victims affected by this terrible attack.
The game had originally been set to launch in France on Friday. It’s not known when it will now launch, but a possible reason for delaying it in response to the Nice attack is that there may be Pokémon to be collected on the Promenade des Anglais, where the tragedy took place.
Via CNET. Photo Colorimages.fr.
Good news for Pokémon Go fans in Canada: the game has officially rolled out to the country. Bad news for fans of the game everywhere: the extra load seems to have killed the servers again.
Niantic made the Canadian announcement on Twitter and on the game’s official Facebook page, but so far the company hasn’t responded to complaints that users are again unable to login. It did acknowledge the server problems experienced over the weekend …
In this week’s top stories: iPhone 7 leaks, Pokémon GO mania continues, Apple recruits developers for its ‘Planet of the Apps’ reality TV show, and much more.
We kick things off with the latest iPhone 7 reports, including one alleged leak of the device on video, and yet more leaks claiming to show Lightning EarPods as Apple’s ‘AirPods’ trademark surfaces once again.
Since its initial launch last week, the insanely popular Pokémon Go has gradually been rolling out to more countries. Most recently, the app launched in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Now, it has been announced that the title is available in 26 new countries across Europe.
Following launches in the United Kingdom and Germany, Pokemon GO is making good on its promise to rollout to more European countries. The game is now officially available in Italy, Spain and Portugal. Download it for free in the App Store. The game continues to top App Store charts worldwide.
Reaction to Pokemon GO has been mixed. It has no doubt become a gaming sensation but the augmented-reality geocaching nature of the game has caused some frictions in the wider world. Via Reuters, there is a theory spreading on Chinese social media that the game is a plot to reveal the location of hidden Chinese military bases …
T-Mobile has announced today that for its next T-Mobile Tuesday promotion, Pokemon Go players — in the wake of what has been no less than an explosive launch — will receive free, unlimited data for the mobile game. Set to take effect July 19th, the Un-carrier will give its customers a full year’s worth of data that won’t count against their high-speed plan…
With Pokemon Go encouraging millions of users to walk around and catch Pokémon throughout the day, its popularity has also caused disruption to public venues and businesses. Several museums have already had to send out announcements banning the use of the game out of respect. We received an amusing tip from a reader that a major aerospace company in the US has also blacklisted the game on its work phones.
Pokémon Go is now officially available in the UK! Download it for free in the UK App Store here. The official rollout in the United Kingdom follows Pokémon Go’s expansion to Germany yesterday and brings even more people into the scope of the smash hit title, which is now the most successful mobile game of all time.
Hit mobile game Pokemon Go plans to soon implement advertising via “sponsored locations,” tapping into its ability to drive foot traffic to retail stores, reports Financial Times.
