Pokemon Go is a massive success for Nintendo: its stock is up almost 50% since the release of Pokemon Go last week (including a 36% jump yesterday). And players all over the US are running around like a bunch of crazy people avid explorers looking for Pokemon.
According to SuperData Research analyst Joost van Dreunen, the game has been downloaded more than 7.5 million times since last Wednesday, and he estimates that it has generated over $14 million in revenue. All in less than a week.
Granted, the revenue from Pokemon Go will likely be a drop in the bucket for a big company like Nintendo, but the reason the stock market and analysts are optimistic about this is that it proves there is clearly a lot of potential in a Nintendo smartphone game.
They’re hoping (and buying stock on the promise) that Nintendo releases more smartphone games in the future. Because mobile gaming is a $37 billion business, according to some estimates — far more than console and PC gaming.
