Pokémon Home – the new cloud-based service for Pokémon – has been downloaded and installed 1.3 million times in its opening week.
As reported by mobile analysts Sensor Tower, this has generated an estimated $1.8 million in user spending to date, reportedly 94.7 per cent of the publisher’s mobile revenue since the app launch across its tiered subscription plans.
34 per cent – that’s around 444,000 – of installs were in the US, whereas the second best-performing region was Japan, which gathered 23 per cent of all downloads, around 299,000. The UK took bronze, making up 5.7 per cent with 74,000 downloads.
The top countries generating profit were also the US, Japan, and Great Britain, accounting for 40.8, 35.3, and 3.7 per cent of user spending share respectively.
“We’re eager to see if Pokémon Home’s early success pans out in the long run, especially once transfers become available between it and Pokémon Go,” the report author, Katie Williams, said. “If the service continues to demonstrate financial viability, it may encourage publishers of other multiplatform games, particularly inventory-based titles such as MMORPGs, to consider implementing their own paid inventory services as additional revenue sources.”
In other Nintendo news, its six mobile games have generated $1 billion (£768m) in total lifetime revenue, with whopping 61 per cent of that income – $656 million (£504m) – generated by strategy RPG Fire Emblem Heroes.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, was the second highest-grossing Nintendo title with 12 per cent of all user spending, whilst Dragalia Lost came in close on Animal Camp’s heels with an 11 per cent share. Whilst Super Mario Run remains Nintendo’s most-downloadable mobile game, it contributed a much smaller share of overall revenue at just 7 per cent. Mario Kart Tour took 8 per cent of the revenue, and Dr. Mario World generated less than 1 per cent.
If you thought Pokémon Go’s best days were behind it, think again. In another recent report by Sensor Tower Store Intelligence, Niantic’s fan-favourite augmented-reality game has just had its biggest year to date, generating an estimated $894 million (£688m) in gross player spending last year, making 2019 the company’s most successful year to date.
A complaint against Nintendo’s digital sales practices has been dismissed by German courts. German and Norwegian consumer advocates took Nintendo to court for preventing consumers from cancelling pre-orders. The complaint, which was first lodged in early 2018, said that preventing customers from changing their minds about a pre-order contravened European consumer law.
