PokemonGo to add $3-bn revenues to Apple inc

21 Jul, 2016 17:18 IST|Sakshi

Over 21 millions of PokemonGo players are expected to contribute $3 billion revenues to the technology major over next two years as they’re buying ‘PokeCoins from App Store.&nbsp;

New York: Pokemon Go is not only entertaining millions of people globally, but also bringing cheer to the world’s biggest technology company by revenues Apple Inc, which suffered drop in earnings during the second quarter. Over 21 millions of PokemonGo players are expected to contribute $3 billion revenues to the technology major over next two years as they’re buying ‘PokeCoins from App Store.

In less than two weeks after PokemonGo going live on July 6, it had 21 million active users in the United States alone. The game has been rolled out in 35 countries.

Since the launch of PokemonGo, the market value of Apple rose over five percent in just two weeks. A pack of 100 PokéCoins costs 99 cents in Apple’s app store. This price may also go up as much as $99.99 for a pack of 14,500. Japanese games firm Nintendo developed Pokémon Go, the augmented reality game, and this can be downloaded for free, but iPhone users can use PokeCoins to buy additional features.

Market analysts forecast that Apple may retain 30 percent of revenues coming from its App Store on account of Pokémon Go and spend on on iOS devices. This will add to the topline of the company. In less than two weeks after PokemonGo going live, it had 21 million active users in the United States alone. The game has been rolled out in 35 countries and is also available on Android devices as well. In general, App Store is already leading Alphabet Inc and Google’s Play Store in revenues per app by four times.

The market value of Apple Inc was $520 billion on June 5 and it grew $27bn to $547.74bn during the fortnight.

Pokémon Go’s ratio of paid users to total users was 10 times that of Candy Crush, the hit game from King Digital that generated more than $1bn of revenue in both 2013 and 2014. People are going crazy and spending far more time playing PokemonGo than they are using Facebook or WhatsApp, according to app analytics firm Sensor Tower.

Electronics retailers are also upbeat as sales of mobile chargers and charging cases are increasing since the launch of the game. As on July 19, Apple’s shares had gained five percent in market value or about $25bn since the launch of the game in the United States on 6 June. The market value of Apple Inc was $520 billion on June 5 and it grew $27bn to $547.74bn during the fortnight.

The Kyoto-based Japanese company Nintendo has developed PokemonGo game. During the last fortnight, Nintendo’s share price rise has doubled its market capitalization to 4.5 trillion yen ($42.4 billion) on Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).

Nintendo’s market cap doubles

Meanwhile, Nintendo’s stock has nearly doubled. Since the launch of PokemonGo on July 6, Nintendo’s share price rise doubled its market capitalization to 4.5 trillion yen ($42.4 billion) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). Nintendo’s stock has been rising on the bourse and closed at 28,000 yen ($300). The Kyoto-based company accounted for nearly one in four shares that changed hands on the TSE’s main board. The sharp rise has doubled its market capitalization to 4.5 trillion yen ($42.4 billion).

‘Pokemon Go’, a smartphone app that uses Google Maps to overlay reality with Pokemon creatures, was developed by Niantic, a Google spinoff that Nintendo invested in last year.

Apple Inc posted quarterly revenue of $50.6 billion and quarterly net income of $10.5 billion, or $1.90 per diluted share for 2016 second quarter. The company recorded revenues of $58 billion and net income of $13.6 billion, or $2.33 per diluted share, in the previous corresponding quarter. Apple Inc registered $233.7 billion in 2015.