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Pokemon Game Adds $7.5 Billion To Nintendo Market Value In Two Days (reuters.com)

Who would have thought that Nintendo will ever make a strong return to the market... especially with an app that is not designed for company's signature hardware. But that is exactly what has happened. Shares in Nintendo soared again on Monday, according to a report on Reuters, bringing market-value gains to $7.5 billion in just two days as investors cheered the runaway success of Pokemon Go, the company's first long-awaited title in mobile gaming. From the report: The game, which marries a classic 20-year old franchise with augmented reality, allows players to walk around real-life neighbourhoods while seeking virtual Pokemon game characters on their smartphone screens - a scavenger hunt that has earned enthusiastic early reviews. In the United States, by July 8 -- two days after its release -- it was installed on more than 5 percent of Android devices in the country, according to web analytics firm SimilarWeb. It is now on more Android phones than dating app Tinder and its rate of daily active users was neck and neck with social network Twitter, the analytics firm said. The game is also being played an average of 43 minutes a day, more time spent than on WhatsApp or Instagram, it added. Update: 07/11 11:03 GMT by M :A report on Quartz states that Pokemon Go has added nearly 11 billion USD to the value of Nintendo since its release.

168 comments

  1. Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    its rate of daily active users was neck and neck with

    I don't think you can draw many conclusions about something based on two days of history. Is it remarkably popular? Apparently. Will it continue to be so? That remains to be seen.

    This post is not meant to be in favor of or against this article or game or company. Just noting that the comparison isn't really valid.

    1. Re:Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      STFU. You're ruining the momentum of the group think. Later, on CNN, we'll have dozens of so-called Pokémon Experts(tm) weighing in on this topic.

    2. Re:Two days? by Dins · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I played the game this weekend with my 18 year old son. It was actually pretty fun. The app needs a good bit of work, but assuming they keep developing and don't mess it up, I can easily see the added market valuation.

      It made a kid who usually sits inside at his computer most of the time walk a total of ~8 miles this weekend (not an exaggeration - he's hooked). As my son put it, "Michelle Obama has been trying to convince kids to go outside for 8 years. Nintendo did it in 24 hours."

    3. Re:Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Not Nintendo. Niantic did it. As they've been doing for four years with Ingress.

    4. Re:Two days? by Dins · · Score: 1

      Yes, but Ingress isn't a huge IP. Pokemon is.

    5. Re:Two days? by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 2

      Pokemon uses Ingress portals as Pokestops n such. So, Ingress paved the way for Pokemon, and the ONLY reason Pokemon is popular is because of the Pokemon name. Good for them.

      AND there are already HUGE problems for Pokemon with both Servers being overloaded, and hacked APKs that spoofers are going to use to ruin the game. At least with Ingress, you know who the spoofers are, not that Niantic does anything about them.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    6. Re:Two days? by jeti · · Score: 1

      I can't see the added market valuation. Assuming that you pay 200k per year for a developer, 11 billion pays for 55,000 man-years. That amount of money is just crazy.

    7. Re:Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The market valuation is based on profit, not on whether it's beneficial to have certain types of products be able to generate 6 digit percentage ROI.

    8. Re:Two days? by chispito · · Score: 5, Insightful

      So, Ingress paved the way for Pokemon, and the ONLY reason Pokemon is popular is because of the Pokemon name. Good for them.

      AND there are already HUGE problems for Pokemon with both Servers being overloaded, and hacked APKs that spoofers...

      I get it, you're upset because you like Ingress and why didn't all these people get excited about your alien hacking game instead of Pokemon? I like Ingress, too, but there was never any chance it was going to take off like this.

      --
      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
    9. Re:Two days? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Unlikely. That would be past their bed time.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    10. Re:Two days? by freak0fnature · · Score: 1

      Welcome to the world of the stock market! This has nothing to do with the value of this game itself, but with investor confidence in a company. This release symbolizes the end of Nintendo's stubborn refusal to make games for anything but their own hardware. That is great news for investors.

    11. Re:Two days? by DiSKiLLeR · · Score: 2

      Nintendo had NOTHING to do with this, it was created by Niantic. Nintendo still doesn't want to release games outside of its own crappy consoles.

      Pokemon Go only exists because of Niantic's previous game, Ingress, which has been out for 3 years now. Everything in Pokemon Go from the location of all pokestops and gyms to the way the game functions and tracks you as you move throughout the world and your travel speed was done in Ingress 3 years prior.

      --
      You can tell how powerful someone is by the magnitude of the crime they can commit and be able to get away with.
    12. Re:Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      more specifically.. GOOGLE (i refuse to call them 'alphabet, inc.') did it, seeing how they own the game developer of both titles...

      just what the hell are they going to do with the massive trove of location data they're collecting on everybody playing these games?

    13. Re:Two days? by cfalcon · · Score: 3, Interesting

      > the ONLY reason Pokemon is popular is because of the Pokemon name

      Wrong.

      Pokemon is popular because Pokemon are cool and fun. Ingress is interesting, but Pokemon is great. It's also much more approachable, and the game has user settable goals (collect all of my favorite pokemon, etc), whereas Ingress is much more about raw power.

      I played Ingress and didn't like it. I love Pokemon Go, however.

      Music? Pokemon Go has pokemon music, which fucking rocks. Ingress is some mood setting noises, but nothing like Pokemon.

      Graphics? Over a hundred pokemon, able to be rendered into your backyard. You have a somewhat customizable avatar too. Ingress has a tricorder.

      Brand name, lol.

    14. Re:Two days? by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      > just what the hell are they going to do with the massive trove of location data

      I'd appreciate a high combat point Dragonite spawn, personally.

    15. Re: Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What profit has Nitendo seen from a free game?

    16. Re: Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      3 years and their game went nowhere. Nitendo slaps their name and IP on it and it is one everyones phones in 2 days. Tell me again that Nintendo had nothing to do with it.

    17. Re:Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Pokemon uses Ingress portals as Pokestops n such. So, Ingress paved the way for Pokemon, and the ONLY reason Pokemon is popular is because of the Pokemon name. Good for them.

      That does gloss over the fact that Pokemon itself is a hugely successful game franchise in it'd own right with regular new releases that continue to be popular and introduce new gameplay, that has been flirting with this concept for a long time.

      Original pokemon was the game that justified owning a link cable (so you could trade and battle with your friends), later generations introduced the pedometer tracking your steps so walking in the real world hatched your eggs, and the internet based trade and battle systems. An AR game where you take your pokedex (smartphone) and travel the world (your home town) looking for pokemon and challenging gyms, is the obvious direction to take Pokemon.

      Frankly I'd be surprised if there aren't any design documents for Ingress that had a find/replace done on them to remove the "pokemon" references, as pokemon go is the obvious application of the technology. Like so obvious I'd bet pretty much anyone between the age of 8 and 35 has at some point thought "hey you know what'd be cool..." and described the basic premis of Pokemon Go.

      If Ingress hadn't existed Pokemon go would still have hapened (likly delayed due to needing ot invent the tech instead of copying it), there'd juts be fewer artifacts from the Ingress design and we'd probably have a more familiar battle/capture/level system in Pokemon Go, and the map data would have come from Google instead of Niantec.

    18. Re:Two days? by bws111 · · Score: 1

      Market valuation is simply the stock price times the number of outstanding shares. The company sees none of that money. The only thing market value is useful for is an approximation of how much you would have to spend to buy the company.

    19. Re: Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey guys I found someone born in the 90s!

      Get off our lawn and get a job, you college arts major!

    20. Re:Two days? by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Saying I am "upset" isn't quite right. I find it "amusing" that something that is so "new" isn't really all that "new".

      They should have used different places for their Pokestops, which are based on Ingress (and backstory) Portals. Create your own backstory, and own locations. Oh wait, that would be ... re-inventing the wheel! (not that new, after all)

      And yes, Pokemon is going to be all the rage, until all the idiots come out and get themselves hurt and killed. It happens in Ingress, but the PokeKids are pretty damn stupid about slamming on their brakes in front of the nearest pokestop doing whatever they do there.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    21. Re: Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A) Google don't own Niantic since it was spun off in the Alphabet reshuffle (though they are an investor)

      B) Google already has far more (and more useful) data from everyone else who uses Google Maps etc. PoGo & Ingress players tend to meander around semi-randomly.

    22. Re: Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm still curious. Is it really the collection & leveling mechanics of PoGo that you like more than Ingress, or is it mostly franchise nostalgia? I'm assuming you don't play it just to look at the Porygons or listen to the music.

      Ingress has interesting strategic fielding and group-cooperation mechanics in addition to the leveling, badge-collection, and basic combat, which I feel makes a significantly deeper game than Pokemon Go. Perhaps you never got to those parts.

      Interestingly, I'm seeing big increases in new Ingress players too, lately - perhaps from people who liked PoGo's location-based gaming but want something different or deeper.

    23. Re: Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ingress and Pokemon Go are actually quite different, with only the real-world game locations in common. Beyond that they're very different to play - apart from the obvious theme differences, Ingress is considerably more strategic and places much more emphasis on group play, but has little of the collection and walking aspects that Go has.

    24. Re: Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You haven't seen the sheer number of in-app-purchased Pokemon lures etc being used. People are throwing their money at Nintendo.

    25. Re:Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can squirt fangirl all over it but it's still a cheap badge job.

    26. Re:Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ingress was garbage. The user base was tiny and the content was incredibly sparse compared to Pokemon Go where I can literally walk down my own street and catch 4 or 5 creatures. Even at the local mall there was no Ingress content.

    27. Re:Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >So, Ingress paved the way for Pokémon...

      Pfft! And augmented reality in general paved the way for ingress. Travel apps, museum apps, sightseeing & taxi apps have had a "hold your phone up & pan around to see new stuff projected onto the world" style of interaction for years. Ingress's weakness is that it makes you choose between teams, is about a global subversive plot & its counter-rebellion, and finally- it's an mmo with a niche audience. Not a bad game mind you, but a niche game that is themed with science fiction, team collaboration, and a competitive lean. To some, that's a lot like work, the place they just left. Most (most) people want to escape reality to something lighthearted, not have actual reality painted over with more dark times.

    28. Re:Two days? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ingress had a smaller market because of it's dark, mysterious, syfi & rebellion theme. A competitive 'game' that layers itself on top of real-life, and hopes its players will appreciate their reality has been replaced. Too much for most folks. Can YOU imagine living in an alien war, political intrigue, team loyalties, looking for clues all the time, AND living a regular life with relationships, work, and appointments?

      Niche content, niche audience.

  2. How long will it last though? by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Seems more likely to be a fad, especially when things like this happen. How many people are going to get mugged trying to catch 'em all?

    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
    1. Re:How long will it last though? by The-Ixian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This makes sense until you look at the game.

      This thing has staying power.

      It has all the elements of a good game, it:

      - is cool (uses GPS and map data to make a game of outdoor activity)
      - is fun
      - is addictive
      - has continuing progression
      - has pvp aspects
      - has crossover potential (aspects appeal to kids and adults alike)
      - has brand recognition
      - is cheap
      - utilizes hardware you already have
      - has "gone viral"

      In addition, you don't have to walk around at all if you don't want to. You can be in a vehicle. A friend of mine got 1 pokemon while we were driving along the freeway and 1 while on a residential road.

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    2. Re:How long will it last though? by Dins · · Score: 1

      In addition, you don't have to walk around at all if you don't want to. You can be in a vehicle. A friend of mine got 1 pokemon while we were driving along the freeway and 1 while on a residential road.

      If you're traveling above a certain speed (around 30 mph in the US) it won't work. Yes, you can occasionally grab a pokemon here and there, but it can't really be played reliably at highway speeds. There was a video of a guy who mounted his phone to a drone to play. Which kinda defeats the purpose, but is amusing.

    3. Re:How long will it last though? by Rinikusu · · Score: 1

      Don't worry. You go out and someone tries to mug you, they'll see your greasy, cheetos stained shirt and realize it's more work to clean whatever the fuck you might be carrying to bother with.

      --
      If you were me, you'd be good lookin'. - six string samurai
    4. Re:How long will it last though? by SumDog · · Score: 1

      I thought that car accident thing was a myth/urban legend.

    5. Re:How long will it last though? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Seems more likely to be a fad, especially when things like this happen. How many people are going to get mugged trying to catch 'em all?

      The market may price in other things.

      I've seen claims Nintendo only owned 1/3 (30%?) of the company which actually make the game / of the money from it.
      So 7.5 billion would become 22.5 billion.
      Is the game worth that much? Does it have ads?
      I don't know.

      But more importantly does this show that Nintendo is ok with releasing their games on Android and other consoles and PC? I guess they have already answered that question before but possibly the market price in Nintendo games on other platforms too just not Pokemon Go revenue.

    6. Re:How long will it last though? by arth1 · · Score: 1

      People said the Wii was cool and had staying power too.
      Yet where you find it now is mainly in attics and basements.

      The problem is that people are willing to physically move and sacrifice time as long as something is new and in, but once that's gone, it will quickly dwindle off, and people go back to the couch and recliner.

      Sure, some will still use it, but the great majority will leave until they jump on the next fad.

    7. Re:How long will it last though? by ranton · · Score: 4, Interesting

      This game only has potential if Nintendo makes an actual game out of it. As it stands this is the worst Pokemon game I have seen, but with a great gimmick which helped make it go viral (along with brand recognition). I downloaded it and played for a couple days, until I found out what the game play was actually like after level 5 (which only takes an hour or so to get to). The novelty wore off right about then.

      This is an amazing example of how Augmented Reality will create a whole new segment of gaming. But as an actual game Pokemon Go is horrible. It does make me hopeful for the games we will start seeing in the very near future, and Nintendo will likely be at the forefront of those games. But I doubt this game will have much staying power once Augmented Reality games with actual game play come out. If that doesn't happen for a year or more then Pokemon Go will probably stay strong until then.

      --
      -- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
    8. Re:How long will it last though? by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

      Ingress - is cool (uses GPS and map data to make a game of outdoor activity)
      Ingress - is fun
      Ingress - is addictive
      Ingress - has continuing progression
      - has pvp aspects
      Ingress - has crossover potential (aspects appeal to kids and adults alike) (Actually, Pokemon is very generational, the under 40 crowd
      - has brand recognition
      Ingress - is cheap*
      Ingress - utilizes hardware you already have
      - has "gone viral" (debatable, considering "Brand recognition"

      So from My perspective of comparing Ingress vs PokemonGo!, the Only advantages are PVP (ingress is Very team based), Brand Recognition (duh), and "gone viral" (a variation of "Brand Recognition"). The fact that PokemonGo builds a lot on what Ingress has already done, is just a testament to Ingress. Lets compare what happens in the next three years with Pokemon to compare it with what Ingress has done. My guess, is in an effort to monetize PG, it will become Pay-To-Win or ruined by bots farming Pokemons and selling them in an online store.

      And I can't wait for the "human interaction" problems to explode, as the assholes ruin that aspect of the game.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    9. Re:How long will it last though? by arth1 · · Score: 3, Funny

      If you're traveling above a certain speed (around 30 mph in the US) it won't work. Yes, you can occasionally grab a pokemon here and there, but it can't really be played reliably at highway speeds.

      Unless, of course, you live in L.A. where the prevailing highway speed is more like 10 mph...

    10. Re:How long will it last though? by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 2

      Just wait until the inevitable accidents and people dying while playing PokemonGo. I've already seen several near misses as PokeStopped vehicles causing road rage.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    11. Re: How long will it last though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Who said Pokémon can't be caught using drone warfare tactics. This isn't the 1990s anymore where you use your Pokémon as substitutes for aerial and water transport.

    12. Re:How long will it last though? by beanpoppa · · Score: 2

      What is 'staying power'? In this context, I don't think it implies that 10 years down the line this game will still be playing this game. But it will certainly still be popular in a few months or even a few years. It's up to Nintendo (and what the markets are betting on) to capitalize on this success and turn it into a resurgence of everything Pokemon (trading cards, stuffed animals, TV show, and follow-up games)

    13. Re:How long will it last though? by beanpoppa · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The value that the market sees isn't in this game. Nintendo owns the Pokemon brand, and that is what they will be able to capitalize on.

    14. Re:How long will it last though? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      The value that the market sees isn't in this game. Nintendo owns the Pokemon brand, and that is what they will be able to capitalize on.

      They did that one week ago too.

    15. Re:How long will it last though? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Yet where you find it now is mainly in attics and basements.

      You should mention that you find their owners there, too, so...

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    16. Re:How long will it last though? by Bigbutt · · Score: 1

      Unless you're on a motorcycle :D

      [John]

      --
      Shit better not happen!
    17. Re: How long will it last though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you run out of Pokemon balls you can buy more. It's already pay 2 win.

    18. Re:How long will it last though? by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      What is the equivalent of collecting all the Pokemon in Ingress?

      Ingress has no brand recognition. Half the people I've mentioned that the map data come from Ingress are like, what's that? Whereas everyone knows what a Pokemon is.

    19. Re: How long will it last though? by sims+2 · · Score: 2

      That sounds like a fun project android phone + vnc + rc quadcopter.

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    20. Re:How long will it last though? by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      > . You need to use in game cash, acquired only by real money, to level up pokemon after a certain point

      Please be specific. I'm not aware of this system. Pokemon level by a type of candy ("pidgey candy" for pidgey, pidgeotto, and pidgeot) and "stardust". You can buy neither of these items in the game store- stardust is acquired from capturing and hatching pokemon, as well as defending gyms. $TYPENAME candy is only acquired from capturing pokemon.

      Do you know something I don't? I think you are full of shit, but I could be missing something that happens later.

    21. Re:How long will it last though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your list of goodness also applies to heroin

    22. Re: How long will it last though? by Miamicanes · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The Wii's longevity is downright AMAZING when you realize it was basically a GameCube with a higher-clocked CPU, slightly more RAM, a normal-sized dvd drive (that STILL couldn't officially play DVDs), and controllers that could have easily been ported to GCN with little more than a receiver hanging from a controller port. Graphically, the Wii literally WAS a GameCube, with EXACTLY the same GPU.

      It's a shame that "Nintendo-type" games are still almost nonexistent on other platforms. If you want to play yet another depressing "if it moves, shoot it!" FPS, or deep simulation or adventure game that fully expects you to dedicate the next 5 months of your life to its mastery, xbox and ps have you abundantly well covered. If you want a game like Pikmin or Chibi Robo... you're almost out of luck. The other platforms have hardware that stomps Nintendo's into the ground, but almost no games I'd ever really want to play. Meanwhile, Nintendo's games are kind of fun, but the low resolution and lack of good anisotropic filtering makes my eyes bleed, and Wii U doesn't offer enough added value to be worth its high price relative to other systems.

    23. Re:How long will it last though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      People will eventually burn out. Ingress had a pretty heavy following initially, but after a year or so, people started getting bored/burning out.

      I was a pretty heavy player for the first year, a little less heavy the second, but pretty much have almost not played at all for the past two years.

      Gave Go a try - fun so far despite a mostly lack of clue. Helps a LOT to be a former Ingress player - for example I know where to expect high Pokestop density, and I have some good ideas for finding out-of-the-way Gyms to hold.

    24. Re:How long will it last though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He may be referring to the items for reviving fainted/injured Pokemon after gym battles?

    25. Re:How long will it last though? by Fnord666 · · Score: 1

      Unless you're on a motorcycle :D

      What do you call someone lane splitting on a motorcycle while using a cell phone to try and catch Pokemon?
      An organ donor.

      --
      'The tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny.' - Aesop's Fables
    26. Re:How long will it last though? by Dareth · · Score: 3, Funny

      Harvest them all!

      --

      I only look human.
      My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
    27. Re:How long will it last though? by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

      "Brand Recognition" was left blank. Ingress was a New Game, by a New Company with New Mechanics. The whole thing was "new". Pokemon, while having "brand" recognition, is largely dependent upon Ingress for much of its game play (Gyms, Stops etc). Which is pathetic for a franchise to be dependent on something that has none. When I first saw that, I thought "Lame" .

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    28. Re:How long will it last though? by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      > People said the Wii was cool and had staying power too.

      It did? The Wii had a successful lifespan. It came out in 2006. The comparable consoles are the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

      > Yet where you find it now is mainly in attics and basements.

      Right next to the PS3s and Xbox 360s, statistically.

    29. Re:How long will it last though? by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      Revives are not available for pokecoins either though. Neither are potions.

      Pokecoins (which you get from holding gyms or spending money) can buy pokeballs (which you also get at pokestops), incense/lures (which lets you encounter pokemon, and only very rarely available without spending), lucky eggs (which increase XP, and are only rarely available), and expand storage. There's stuff to pay money for, assuredly, but none of it is what OP is discussing.

    30. Re: How long will it last though? by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      Having 500 pokeballs doesn't let me take a gym, though. Pokestops hand those things out like candy. This is a hard game to call pay to win, man. Unless your definition of "pay to win" is "any power or convenience for sale at all, ever". Normally a pay to win game will actually sell you power directly in some fashion.

      The closest to pay to win is, IMO, the lucky eggs. Increasing XP gain maximizes the gain you get from spending time with the game.

    31. Re:How long will it last though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It will last long enough for people to not care that this is the next evolution of spying when they find out. Just like Facebook.

      Pokémon Go is made by Niantic, who is owned by Alphabet/Google.

      In addition to the standard fare of spying on users info and content, this app allows a whole untapped market- iphone users.

    32. Re:How long will it last though? by tehlinux · · Score: 1

      >People said the Wii was cool and had staying power too.
      >Yet where you find it now is mainly in attics and basements.

      Sounds like someone didn't have Big Buck Hunter and the shotgun controller!

      --
      Most linux users don't know this, but the man pages were named after Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris fsck'ing hates noobs!
    33. Re:How long will it last though? by budgenator · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't know jack about the poke-verse, but it seems to me that having people collecting virtual goods located at physical locations is tremendous marketing opportunity. Now I look at something on Ebay or Amazon and the adds follow me around for weeks on the internet. Consider looking at paddle boards online then all of a sudden the two store locally that sell paddle boards become pokestops or pokegyms! If retailers are willing to pay for a Google view or a click, imagine what they would pay for getting a meatsack through the door; and if I actually buy, I'd recieve sum in-game credit or an unlock.

      Maybe have a QR code on a drink cup that award a pokemon, occasionally a rare and expensive one, like McD's monopoly game.

      If memory serves me correctly, my Grandson was Poke-crazed in grade school and is now 24ish, single adults with disposable income and little life responsibilities are a highly desirable demographic. Seems to me that this would be really easy to monetize through 3rd party marketing

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    34. Re:How long will it last though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This makes sense until you look at the game.

      This thing has staying power.

      It has all the elements of a good game, it:

      - is cool (uses GPS and map data to make a game of outdoor activity)
      - is fun
      - is addictive
      - has continuing progression
      - has pvp aspects
      - has crossover potential (aspects appeal to kids and adults alike)
      - has brand recognition
      - is cheap
      - utilizes hardware you already have
      - has "gone viral"

      In addition, you don't have to walk around at all if you don't want to. You can be in a vehicle. A friend of mine got 1 pokemon while we were driving along the freeway and 1 while on a residential road.

      https://www.buzzfeed.com/josephbernstein/heres-all-the-data-pokemon-go-is-collecting-from-your-phone?utm_term=.vhbvxOnQbX#.caoRg81GdX

      And it’s all, or mostly, in the hands of Niantic, a small augmented reality development company with serious Silicon Valley roots. The company’s origins trace back to the geospatial data visualization startup Keyhole, Inc., which Google acquired in 2004; it played a crucial role in the development of Google Earth and Google Maps. And though Niantic spun off from Alphabet late last year, Google’s parent company is still one of its a major investors, as is Nintendo, which owns a majority stake in The Pokémon Company. Indeed, Google still owned Niantic when the developer released its first game, Ingress, which is what Niantic used to pick the locations for Pokémon Go’s ubiquitous Pokéstops and gyms.

      https://pando.com/2015/07/01/cia-foia-google-keyhole/

      One of the first big milestones in this transformation took place in November 2004 when Google acquired a tiny and little-known 3-D mapping startup called Keyhole Inc. Google paid an undisclosed sum for the company, immediately absorbed it, and began turning its tech into what we now know as Google Earth. The acquisition would have gone unnoticed, had it not been for one not-so-tiny detail: Keyhole Inc was part-owned by the CIA and the "National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency" (NGA), a sister agency to the NSA. Keyhole Inc also had one major client base: US military and intelligence agencies.

      In-Q-Tel, a venture capital fund run by the CIA on behalf of the military and intelligence community, made a “strategic investment” in Keyhole in February 2003, a month before the US launched Operation Iraqi Freedom.

      In a press release announcing the investment a few months later, In-Q-Tel discussed Keyhole’s close collaboration with military and intelligence partners and explained that Keyhole technology was already being successfully deployed by active military forces in Iraq.

    35. Re:How long will it last though? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Crossover potential? The only people who are vaguely interested in pokemon grew up with them. Your crossover potential is between children and millennials, not children and adults.

  3. Who would have ever thought? :-p by Narcocide · · Score: 2

    (Other than anyone who has been paying attention to Nintendo and has seen them do it repeatedly.)

    1. Re:Who would have ever thought? :-p by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly. These people predicting Nintendo's failure are bone-headed idiots and/or sad wishful thinkers. Must be pretty tiring being wrong for several consecutive decades now.

    2. Re:Who would have ever thought? :-p by Z80a · · Score: 1

      Nintendo is not a good company, its a very, very, VERY lucky bad company.
      They're always doing bad moves, but then finding "that thing" that boosts the company value tenfold and allow em to keep doing bad moves forever.
      Donkey kong (a game that was not even supposed to exist, but just to toss the blame of the failure of radar scope on a rookie)
      Famicom (a console where nintendo bought 5 million of chips (to get em cheap) on a era where consoles not called atari sold less than a million of units and atari iself was at 7, AND that had a total recall due a hardware failure)
      Portable tetris (A russian roulette with the rights for publishing the game that ended landing right and allowed the gameboy to thrive)
      Pocket Monsters (A game that is the very definition of development hell made by 6 guys)
      Wii...Amiibos..

    3. Re:Who would have ever thought? :-p by Narcocide · · Score: 1

      [proceeds to list their biggest hits, and one console made by an entirely different company]

      Heh, troll harder kid.

    4. Re:Who would have ever thought? :-p by Z80a · · Score: 1

      Which console are you talking about?

    5. Re:Who would have ever thought? :-p by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, they're a very very shrewd company that put one thing first; profitability.
      Seriously, look at their history. In the 80s when they refocused on gaming hardware, they made sure the system would be cheap and sell at a profit. Something other companies didn't. They made sure every deal was in their favor and grew it slowly. That, coupled with some incredibly solid titles, made sure they were always making money. They grew slowly whenever they could. THAT is what made them successful.

    6. Re:Who would have ever thought? :-p by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      Nintendo haters are so funny. Because luck allows you to be one hundred and twenty fucking seven years old, and the good examples of companies are things that hatched in the last dozen or three years. Ntintendo has cash reserves for miles, refuses to expand out of caution, and has the capital to try their hand at creative innovation.

  4. This is... safe? by skids · · Score: 1, Funny

    allows players to walk around real-life neighbourhoods

    I don't know what this app actually does, but isn't there a huge liability issue in maybe the pokemon leading a kid to step out in traffic, or into the yard of the local registered sex offender?

    1. Re:This is... safe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      fricken really? Letting your kid play outside in your local neighborhood is now considered a safety issue?

    2. Re:This is... safe? by ADRA · · Score: 1

      You use the app stores unless you're 13, so unless one can prove that children were under 13, somehow enticed by Google/Nintendo to break the rules thwen maybe a case could go on.

      But nah, its so much better to have kids cramed away at home for the few minutes they're not in school, because that'll lead to better people in the long run or something... Ultimately it always links back to parents. If they're not going for a walk with their kids either then sure, bad things can happen (with or without a game leading them).

      --
      Bye!
    3. Re:This is... safe? by houghi · · Score: 2

      maybe the pokemon leading a kid to step out in traffic, or into the yard of the local registered sex offender?

      We used to have that same issue in my time. It was called "a ball". And either the parents sorted it out with their kids or Darwin did it for them.
      There is even a movie that used it as inspiration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... .

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    4. Re:This is... safe? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      I don't know what this app actually does, but isn't there a huge liability issue in maybe the pokemon leading a kid to step out in traffic, or into the yard of the local registered sex offender?

      Into traffic, not so much. That's the parents' responsibility. Their job might be harder without the PSA of the steamroller flattening the kid into a cardboard cutout, but it's still their job. The local registered sex offender? That's a possibility, but it's unlikely unless he lives in a historic building.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re:This is... safe? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      but isn't there a huge liability issue in maybe the pokemon leading a kid to step out in traffic, or into the yard of the local registered sex offender?

      Hopefully not because that would be retarded.

    6. Re:This is... safe? by skids · · Score: 0

      Look, I was a free range kid so I'm just as astounded as many here with the kid overprotection these days. But that's the world we live in, and that's why I'm surprised a company would open itself up to potential legal liability.

    7. Re:This is... safe? by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      or into the yard of the local registered sex offender?

      Wow! You people can dream up the wackiest shit... Look at the bright side, maybe you can sue the game maker for not connecting to the sex offender database and warning you when you approach the property.

      Please, turn off your TV

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    8. Re:This is... safe? by skids · · Score: 2

      but it's unlikely unless he lives in a historic building.

      I just read about a poor sop that lives a few towns over who has a gaggle of people constantly in front of his used-to-be-a-church home.

      Curating the map data properly sounds to me like a pretty impossible task, and given the appalling lack of rigor these things are done with these days, I'd say we are in for quite an interesting news cycle.

    9. Re:This is... safe? by skids · · Score: 3, Insightful

      maybe you can sue the game maker for not connecting to the sex offender database

      If it happens, I'm sure someone will. This is the land of lawsuits, after all.

    10. Re:This is... safe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      smh. you're being totally absurd.

    11. Re:This is... safe? by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      You know the old mantra of the sex offender, gotta catch 'em all!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    12. Re: This is... safe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Some guy named Baby Ruth"

    13. Re:This is... safe? by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      Look, I was a free range kid so I'm just as astounded as many here with the kid overprotection these days.

      Is that what they call being a normal kid these days...."free range", like a freakin' chicken?!?!

      So...I'm guessing my parents if raising me today would be arrested for child endangerment? I mean, especially during summer vacation, I would eat breakfast and at times leave out and not come back home till about 4:30pm or so to make it in time for dinner. I would roam the neighborhood, and early on before the housing division was finished, I'd run wild in the woods, building forts, shooting BB guns...skateboarding all over creation, with my friends.

      Kids don't do that anymore? I can understand if you live in the hood, but in regular suburban neighborhoods don't allow this anymore...?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    14. Re:This is... safe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "It" can happen anywhere, don't you watch the 24 hour news cycle. "It" being all sorts of horrific and terrible things to your children. Also "it" can be a visit from DHS for giving your children a little bit too much freedom.

    15. Re:This is... safe? by skids · · Score: 1

      It was a cute name started by this anti-overprotection website:

      http://www.freerangekids.com/

    16. Re:This is... safe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I mean get the imagination on that crazy guy. It isn't like people have figured out to use the thing to lure victims for other crimes. http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/11/...

    17. Re:This is... safe? by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      > maybe the pokemon leading a kid ... into the yard of the local registered sex offender

      Don't worry, the local registered sex offender won't be home, he'll be out chasing Pokemon.

    18. Re:This is... safe? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Curating the map data properly sounds to me like a pretty impossible task, and given the appalling lack of rigor these things are done with these days, I'd say we are in for quite an interesting news cycle.

      You do raise a good point, and if I were in charge of that I would definitely be concerned about registered sex offenders and liability. But that raises the question, what do you do about it? If you try to do something about it and fail, does that increase or decrease your liability as compared to throwing up your hands and claiming that you can't possibly solve such a problem?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    19. Re:This is... safe? by Bratch · · Score: 1

      Armed Robbers Used Pokemon Go App to Target Victims, According to Cops

      http://abcnews.go.com/US/armed...

      --
      Beware of the Redittor who loans you a Sharpie.
    20. Re:This is... safe? by cayenne8 · · Score: 1

      It was a cute name started by this anti-overprotection website:

      http://www.freerangekids.com/ [freerangekids.com]

      Wow..that's just freaking scary!!

      The first thing on that site, a "seal" on the top right says "Children Deserver some Unsupervised time".

      Aside from the extremely young (infants, etc)...I would think kids need MOST of their time unsupervised, to allow them to learn to play, use imagination, etc...

      Is this really what parenting has come to in this modern day?!?! Is every single activity planned out, organized and supervised!?!?

      If so...sheesh...glad I'm not a kid today!!

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    21. Re:This is... safe? by DRJlaw · · Score: 1

      I just read about a poor sop that lives a few towns over who has a gaggle of people constantly in front of his used-to-be-a-church home.

      The public is using public property adjacent to private property? How dare they! We should totally create a buffer zone around homes that is exclusive to the owner. We could call it a "yard." If you wanted to, you could purchase a home with a "yard." If you didn't want to, you could simply suck it up rather than summoning the WHAAAAmbulance.

    22. Re:This is... safe? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      But that's the world we live in,

      No it's not. The world hasn't changed. Just a select group of people think it has.

      and that's why I'm surprised a company would open itself up to potential legal liability.

      What liability could a game company have if a parent doesn't supervise a child and it gets hurt? It didn't force someone to walk into traffic any more than sending a text message to someone who's about to cross the road does.

    23. Re:This is... safe? by skids · · Score: 1

      Is this really what parenting has come to in this modern day?!?!

      I couldn't say if the experiences posted on that website are typical, but some are truly appalling.

    24. Re:This is... safe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes every moment is supervised. If your attention lapses for a minute and something terrible happens, then the whole world will tell you to kill yourself on social media.

    25. Re:This is... safe? by skids · · Score: 1

      Well, so far this guy seems only to be amused by it. We'll see if that lasts over the course of months/years, or not.

    26. Re:This is... safe? by skids · · Score: 1

      If you try to do something about it and fail, does that increase or decrease your liability as compared to throwing up your hands and claiming that you can't possibly solve such a problem?

      Yeah, from a pure "stockholder's interest" approach, the funds to do that might be better directed towards lobbying a legislator to sneak something into a farm bill that makes you immune from prosecution for it.

    27. Re:This is... safe? by Outta_the_way_peck! · · Score: 1

      There was already a group of teens in Missouri arrested for armed robbery of victims at various Pokestops.

    28. Re:This is... safe? by tehlinux · · Score: 1

      It's not like they can't call for help!

      --
      Most linux users don't know this, but the man pages were named after Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris fsck'ing hates noobs!
    29. Re: This is... safe? by Ilgaz · · Score: 1

      Every single software licence agreement you/kid's parent accept while installing software has a section freeing developer from such charges.

      Here is the part from Apache 2.0 licence

      "8. Limitation of Liability. In no event and under no legal theory, whether in tort (including negligence), contract, or otherwise, unless required by applicable law (such as deliberate and grossly negligent acts) or agreed to in writing, shall any Contributor be liable to You for damages, including any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages of any character arising as a result of this License or out of the use or inability to use the Work (including but not limited to damages for loss of goodwill, work stoppage, computer failure or malfunction, or any and all other commercial damages or losses), even if such Contributor has been advised of the possibility of such damages."

    30. Re:This is... safe? by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      Good.
      I find that hilarious, like people have been meeting there for 150 years.

    31. Re:This is... safe? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You clearly do not live in any of the Democrat run cities (Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, etc.)

  5. Pokemon is for fags by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No normal person would play such a game.

    1. Re:Pokemon is for fags by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      HEY! There really is no reason to offend fags here!

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  6. Meh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Just forge your GPS coordinates.

    1. Re:Meh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't, my GPS jammer has been swallowed up by my rolls of fat.

  7. Sell! Sell! Sell! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    One game isn't going to turn around Nintendo. Especially since the game was developed by Niantic, which is part of Google. I'm sure Google gets at least part of any potential profits.

    Also, the fundamentals of Nintendo are shit. The P/E is 160! The dividend is a tiny .85%. One game developed by Google that uses the Pokemon brand isn't going to suddenly turn around Nintendo. I suggest shorting.

    1. Re:Sell! Sell! Sell! by dwillden · · Score: 1

      Niantic is no longer part of Google. The spun off entirely a little over a year ago. Ingress felt the reduction in resources as well as the diversion to the development of Pokemon

      --
      I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
    2. Re:Sell! Sell! Sell! by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 1

      Niantic isn't owned by Google (Alphabet) any longer.

      http://www.theverge.com/2015/8...

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    3. Re:Sell! Sell! Sell! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Interesting, I didn't know that.

      Looking further, however, Google is a "major investor" in Niantic. It looks like Nintendo is another investor. I'd surmise that Niantic is beholden to both Google and to some degree Nintendo.

    4. Re:Sell! Sell! Sell! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damn you are as butthurt as your postings are pervasive. Go and ask any random teenager what is more popular, Niantic or Pokemon.

      Niantic is nothing without this opportunity.

  8. Play Pokemon, get robbed at gunpoint by cant_get_a_good_nick · · Score: 1, Interesting

    It sucks that people can't lave others alone.

    But forgetting that "people are real assholes sometimes", here you have a game that leads someone with a multi-hundred dollar smartphone to a location not necessarily controlled by them. May you live in interesting times.

    1. Re:Play Pokemon, get robbed at gunpoint by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bet it's that dastardly Team Rocket!

  9. Re:Nintendo by Z80a · · Score: 2

    It's that company that sells prescrambled hanafuda cards for the yakuza, because they can't trust anyone to scramble the cards due all the ninja methods of scrambling em in a way that favors a side.

  10. Linus had this to say about Nintendo on his by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  11. Gamechanger by richman555 · · Score: 1

    This is great news for Nintendo. The marriage of Pokémon to Virtual Reality is a good one which makes this 'work'. They always had VR card games which came with the DS.... but to put this on cell phones which everyone has and combine it with GPS with Pokémon. While VR games and GPS has come before it, undoubtedly, like it or not, this ushers in a new style of gameplay, with lots of possibilities.

    1. Re:Gamechanger by DiSKiLLeR · · Score: 1

      Except Nintendo had nothing to do with this, it was created by Niantic and it wouldn't have been possible without their prior now 3 year old game, Ingress.

      --
      You can tell how powerful someone is by the magnitude of the crime they can commit and be able to get away with.
    2. Re: Gamechanger by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But but it's a game changer bro.

    3. Re: Gamechanger by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Hey props to Niantic... and Ingress... but it wasn't going to become big without the big Nintendo IP. Pokémon is a huge franchise and a staple of Nintendo handhelds. The style of Pokémon coupled with the VR game mechanics from Ingress. Nintendo even had a Super Bowl commercial created to advertise this game... so someone there thought it was going to be big.

      Stating Nintendo has *nothing* to do with its success is wrong... but you are correct that they don't deserve all the credit for creating it.

    4. Re: Gamechanger by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And yes, it is a gamechanger, especially for augmented VT games.

  12. Demise of location based games by 1080bogus · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I can't wait for Pokemon GO to lead to the demise of any and all location based games. Niantic's other game, Ingress, was the basis for all the locations in Pokemon GO. I've seen an influx of people at the locations of portals. Mind you, there's usually an abundance of portals inside of cemeteries. I, along with others in the area I play, normally don't visit those portals often out of respect. With Pokemon GO and a younger (immature) group more apt to play, they will probably not have that same respect. It's an unfortunate thing that will probably lead to more problems for people playing Ingress. I'm sure it will also bring negative community attention if/when there's destruction of property.

    On the flipside, it's brought many new players to Ingress.

    1. Re: Demise of location based games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "abundance of portals inside of cemeteries"

      When I'm dead I'd rather kids have fun catching Pokemon around my overpriced plot then "respecting it".

    2. Re: Demise of location based games by skids · · Score: 0

      OK, that's cool. Just remember, once those kids grow up, they'll know you plot is a great place to drink a sixer of wine coolers at 2AM and take a leak.

    3. Re: Demise of location based games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They can fuck on my tomb, for all I care... Or won't, as I'll be dead.

    4. Re:Demise of location based games by Narcocide · · Score: 1

      In LA we throw parties in the cemeteries. The dead become angry if they are forgotten, but they're never opposed to being a source of happiness for the living.

    5. Re: Demise of location based games by Gryle · · Score: 1

      I say let 'em have at it. The dead don't care. Cemeteries are for the living.

      --
      Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not entirely sure about the universe - Einstein
    6. Re: Demise of location based games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, but the living who have the greatest interest in them, most of the time, are those whose loved ones are buried there.

      Those people are entitled to an opinion.

  13. Things my wife won't let me install by OrangeTide · · Score: 5, Funny

    It is now on more Android phones than dating app Tinder

    That's only because my wife wouldn't like it if I installed Tinder, but Pokemon are OK.

    Ladies, do you find it strange that your husband is going out at odd hours to "catch pokemon" ?

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:Things my wife won't let me install by CrashNBrn · · Score: 1

      +1 *snicker*

  14. Seems so familiar... by cyberfunkr · · Score: 3, Interesting

    An extremely addictive AR/VR game... Makes people ignore their normal day to day... Some kind of mind control...
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  15. Only one not playing by SumDog · · Score: 1

    I took a walk the other day and everyone was either catching Pokemon or taking weird/creepy photos with their cellphones. All my friends in other countries are playing it. I feel like I'm the only one not playing it. I don't really want something else to get addicted to.

    1. Re:Only one not playing by immortalcrab · · Score: 0

      Heroin is a hard mistress, right?

  16. Yay by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

    Now release Wii-U Zelda dammit.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:Yay by Narcocide · · Score: 1

      +1 underrated

  17. A powerful beast the unicorn is by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

    They can create and destroy entire economies. Does Wall Street live on its blood? This has to be some gag that's going to pop the balloon, maybe before November, eh?

    --
    “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
  18. Overvalued by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes it's an amazing idea. Yes it's extremely popular. Yes it's extremely valuable. However, I see no way that it's 11 billion valuable.

    1. Re: Overvalued by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The game isn't the value here. It's the fact Nintendo are proving they can release a peace of popular IP onto multiple platforms and see success.

    2. Re: Overvalued by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

      It's the fact Nintendo are proving they can release a 20-years-old piece of popular IP onto multiple platforms and see success.

      FTFY

  19. Too much effort by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    I gave up on Pokémon Diamond because it was too much work to play once a week to prevent a mass extinction of the trees in the game. No way in hell I'd play a version that makes me go outside and walk around!

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  20. why hunt virtual things... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    when you can hunt for real things?
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
    AND it's not platform locked to one type of device.

  21. Congrats to Niantic by dwillden · · Score: 2

    Sounds like their second game is a bigger hit than Ingress was. Hope they get a big cut of the profits.

    --
    I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
  22. SELL, Mortimer, SELL!!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If you have the stock right now, this is the perfect time to unload. Then you can repurchase once things settle down in a few days or weeks, or after the public outcry when people become convinced it should be shut down because it is causing so many accidents.

    Lather, rinse, repeat, PROFIT!!!! /// :-( I don't have this stock

  23. Re:Pokemon Go is the worst game ever. by Calydor · · Score: 1

    Is it really objectively worse than E.T. for the C64?

    --
    -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
  24. Like 'World of Warcraft' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just another fad. Don't worry, if you're wrong about this one though, just wait until the first expansion pack and then start doomsaying again.

    1. Re:Like 'World of Warcraft' by Eosi · · Score: 3, Informative

      Um, but WoW has been going for over 10 years, and still have a higher number of players than any other MMO out there. Most MMO's still wish they were even a fraction of successful as WoW.

      This is the first big name AR game, and I am guessing that it will get better, and be copied, just like WoW was.

    2. Re:Like 'World of Warcraft' by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      WoW is down from its 10 million peak, but it is at least at 3 million players still. That's certainly nontrivial.

    3. Re:Like 'World of Warcraft' by Woldscum · · Score: 1

      WoW is down from its 10 million peak, but it is at least at 3 million players still. That's certainly nontrivial.

      Soon to be about 1 million with in 1 year. Blizzard took all the skill out of WoW and made it a AFK Facebook game. They drove off the hardcore no life players in favor of 4 hour a week casuals. Face it MMOs are dead in terms of growth.

    4. Re:Like 'World of Warcraft' by datavirtue · · Score: 2

      Filthy casuals!

      --
      I object to power without constructive purpose. --Spock
    5. Re:Like 'World of Warcraft' by cfalcon · · Score: 1

      It won't go down to a million. You're correct that no one is really developing in the mmo space right now, and that Blizzard is, err, innovating away a lot of their players. But there's enough lifers to keep it above a megasub. My 3 million is a lowball estimate- when they hit the number of subscribers that they had in vanilla WoW, they stopped releasing numbers. I'm projecting a roughly similar fall of subscribers that they have seen all of WoD. It could be higher than 3 million, and likely is a little.

      Interestingly, the raids for hardcores have been pretty seriousface, and still make the best gear. I think they've more lost the formula that kept enough of the players happy. There's a big balkanization of the playerbase activities, which probably has something to do with it to, but not in a really obvious way.

  25. Can someone photoshop me next to this pokemon? by burhop · · Score: 1

    I bet there will be some good memes coming...

  26. So how do you get people playing this on a bus...? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You poke 'm on!

  27. wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Undercapitalization intended. Since Nintendo's market capitalization is 2.87 *Trillion*, a jump of 7.5 Billion is a rise of .26%. (Not 26%, twenty six hundrethds of a percent.) Which is a yawn, even if it is in the billions.

    Anyone impressed by that, I'll happily sell you 30 Zettamolecules of water for $5.00. Imagine that! 30,000 Examolecules. What a bargain!

    1. Re:wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I'll only pay up to 5000 microcents for 300K examolecules of water.

    2. Re:wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No deal. You have too great a command of metric prefixes.

  28. People are getting robbed already by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    People are getting robbed already by playing this game, http://www.tmz.com/2016/07/11/pokemon-go-robberies/.

  29. Tech has been up the last few days by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Attributing this rise to pokemon go is a pretty silly thing to do.

  30. Profit comparison by grilled-cheese · · Score: 1

    For comparison, the WiiU currently is sitting at about $12.8 million. So Pokemon Go is almost as profitable in a few days without hardware obligations as their latest hardware platform in a few years.

  31. Google Earth Ingress Pokemon Go by cliffjumper222 · · Score: 2

    This game is pretty good and much more fun than Ingress. It also has serious incentive to buy stuff in-game, like the incubator. To hatch an egg you have to walk 5K and with only one free incubator, I'm inclined to buy a couple - they're only $1.50 each. Niantic, the company behind the game is a spin out from Google, who in turn were a spin out of the Google Earth team, who were acquired by Google way back when. The Ingress SiFi game has been running for years and you can still spot the mid-20's to 30's crowd every so often in a park trying to take down or protect a portal. That said, Ingress's business model was based on putting portals at places like Jamba Juice to try and attract customers to go there. As far as I know, it didn't really work out. Pokemon GO's approach seems much more likely to pay off.
    Right now, the biggest problem is that the servers keep crapping out. We'll have to change the phrase "Slashdotted" to "PK'd" or "Go'ed" or something because they are hammered. If you don't think this is a big thing, go to a park and look for teens hanging out looking at phones. Then tell them you haven't reached level 5 yet and they'll nod knowingly.

  32. Re:Google Earth Ingress Pokemon Go by immortalcrab · · Score: 0

    You get throw away (good for a couple of times) incubators as you level up. And currency if you get to hold a gym for more than 24 hours, so I'm pretty sure you can save your buck and a half.

  33. That's quoteworthy by Timmy+D+Programmer · · Score: 1

    That's a pretty quotable remark your kid made :-)

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    (If at first you don't succeed, do it different next time!)
  34. Very long if they play their cards right. by Timmy+D+Programmer · · Score: 1

    They need to learn the lesson from World of Warcraft. Take a LOT of that early money, and make more and more content. Also respond quickly to negative feedback/bugs etc.

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    (If at first you don't succeed, do it different next time!)