Pokemon GO is many things to many people. It’s definitely a return to childhood for some nostalgic gamers. For others, it’s an excuse for exercise or a time-waster to pass minutes during a boring afternoon. But, for Apple, Pokemon GO is a HUGE moneymaker – and it looks like it’ll be raking in a lot this year.
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According to Laura Martin of Needham & Co., Apple could make as much as $3 billion in revenue over the coming 18-24 months due to Pokemon GO‘s explosive popularity. How, you might be asking? The answer is in Pokemon GO‘s in-app purchases. Apple, as well as Google’s Android, all receive a certain cut from the sale of in-app purchases. So, for all you players spending big bucks on pokeballs and such, Apple is getting a percentage of your hard-earned cash.
Martin predicts that Apple could benefit from Pokemon GO in a similar way that Nintendo has since the game’s launch. The studio has stunned investors this week as news broke of Nintendo’s record-breaking stock surges, and the company’s $5+ billion market increase was directly related to Pokemon GO‘s popularity. But, here’s the thing: Nintendo didn’t really have anything to do with the app’s creation; Rather, the company is profiting from its association with Pokemon and their shares in Niantic / The Pokemon Company.
As for Apple, the company will benefit purely from hosting the app in its mobile app store. Martin even cited research which proved that the majority of gamers downloading the app were doing so on Apple products as opposed to Android devices, and what’s more is that Apple’s potential to host impending augmented reality games is growing. Given Pokemon GO’s success, other franchises are sure to dip into the trend, and new apps would mean more money for Apple.
Still, some in the financial industry are warning investors of what’s being dubbed ‘The Pokemon Bubble.’ Trader Jason Bond has said that Pokemon GO‘s selling point may decrease should the game prove to be a dying fad. Whether that prediction is true or not, no one can be sure. But, for now, Apple can just congratulate themselves as they make money for doing, well, almost nothing.
Hopefully, the company is giving its employees some Pokemon GO breaks to celebrate the app’s generosity. If anything, by doing so, Apple would just be earning even more money. Crazy, huh?
