The wonderful world of Pokémon has become something of a digital goldmine for Nintendo. And don’t we know all about it.
Ever since Game Freak’s RPG franchise debuted in 1996, Pokémon has expanded onto every conceivable platform – from Game Boy to cinema – and its global success is practically unrivaled. Case in point: to date, Pokémon mobile games have grossed $2.5 billion in revenue, 98 percent of which was brought in by the wildly successful Pokémon Go.
Not that that comes as much of a surprise, but a revenue stream in excess of $2 billion proves that The Pokémon Company and Niantic really struck gold when Pokémon Go made its worldwide debut two years ago. As Sensor Tower points out, that total cume also accounts for five other titles: Pokémon Shuffle Mobile, Pokémon Duel, Pokémon Quest, Pokémon: Magikarp Jump, and Pokémon TCG Online.
Upon closer inspection, this data confirms the United States as the world’s biggest spender when it comes to mobile Pokémon games, with total revenue reaching $875 million. That’s 35 percent of the overall figure, with Japan arriving in second place with 20 percent of $2.5 billion – or *checks calculator* $725 million of the total Pokémon game revenue.
The takeaway? Pokémon is currently firing on all cylinders, as one need only look to the live-action Detective Pikachu movie for evidence of the franchise’s global appeal. There’s big changes coming to Pokémon Go, too, as players will soon be able to switch teams between Team Mystic, Team Valor or Team Instinct.
Next up for the Big N’s cash cow is the launch of Pokémon Sword and Shield this fall, which will mark the franchise’s much anticipated debut on the Switch – Let’s Go: Eevee and Let’s Go: Pikachu notwithstanding, of course.
