The spectacular revival of Pokémon

I was born in 1980 and Pokémon was launched in 1996. So I barely understood the phenomena as I was not a child any more. I realized the characters and the world that the Pokémon creators established was a very big deal for the coming generation but that was it. 

I had practically forgotten about the cute little yellow electrifying Pikachu until Pokémon Go was released.

When I first heard about the launch, I never guessed that it would create such a huge impact in only a week. Even though I am a technology journalist, I had underestimated the big trends. Pokémon Go combines every big trend that we love. It is mobile, it is a game, it is social, it is location-based and it uses augmented reality.

This combination proved so powerful that Nintendo shares surged 25 percent. Shares in Nintendo have seen market-value gains of $7.5 billion as of Monday, according to Reuters. Industry analysts estimate Nintendo is earning between $800,000 and $1 million from the game on a daily basis.

Another fascinating fact is that the location-based augmented reality game has only launched in the App Store and Google Play Store in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand. The company plans to launch in Europe and Asia soon. Think about the money pouring in when the whole world will be able to play it. 

Another fun fact about the game is that Apple is earning more than its concept creators. Macquarie Capital Securities analyst David Gibson told Bloomberg that “we presume that out of every 100 units earned at the App Store, 30 would go to Apple, 30 to Niantic, 30 to Pokémon and 10 to Nintendo.”

According to bizjournal.com, Niantic, the game’s creator, had raised $25 million prior to the launch of Pokémon Go. Investors included the Pokémon Company Group, Google, Nintendo, Alsop Louie, You and Mr. Jones (a new venture from former Havas CEO David Jones), Fuji Television and individual investors such as Cyan and Scott Banister and Lucas Nealan.

However, not everyone is amazed by the game. The fans are trying to catch Pokémon everywhere in masses and these Pokémon hunting crowds does not amuse many people. 

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum told Pokémon Go fans not to play the popular new mobile game in its premises, describing it as “extremely inappropriate” in a memorial dedicated to the victims of Nazism. “We are attempting to have the museum removed from the game,” the museum’s communications director, Andy Hollinger, said in a statement.

The spectacular revival of Pokémon has once more shown us that Turkey is still prioritizing the wrong industries. I don’t know if it can be fixed or I don’t know how it can be fixed. Maybe if someone in the government would read these digital success stories, we could get better incentives for technological industries rather than construction.