2 ms·

> The number of people you saw playing at the beginning was way more than was sustainable Was it? A lot of people were really enthusiasts. Groups were created,

> The number of people you saw playing at the beginning was way more than was sustainable Was it? A lot of people were really enthusiasts. Groups were created, friendships were made. Portable battery chargers were purchased. New phones were acquired. A lot of people still play old pokemon games. A lot of people play new pokemon games. There was no excuse to how Niantics managed their community early on. Don't even get me started on the bait and switch of the original trailer.

dave5104 9y ago
I think it was unsustainable. Especially depending on how you're defining "enthusiasts." If we're talking about enthusiasts who still actively play the latest and greatest Pokemon games, Pokemon Sun and Moon only sold about 15 million units last year when it came out. (Probably a couple million more have sold since, but I can't find any up to date numbers.) To still have 50 million more active users than units sold of the latest core franchise game I think is pretty good. As for the nostalgic enthusiasts that you're probably thinking of more, I would still think that those who play the old games are much fewer and farther in between. I'd be surprised if there were still 650 million people picking up old Pokemon games. Pokemon Go was a nostalgic fad that everyone and their mother (and some grandmothers) decided to pick up because it was the cool new thing. Not saying that Niantic didn't drop the ball early on--they did. But even if they were on the top of their game, I still don't think of the 650 million downloads that they were going to be able to retain a majority of those users.
- dylz 9y ago
  It is difficult to compare a game that costs $70 + a game console that costs $200-300 with installing a free to download app off the store on an existing device in terms of purchase numbers/MAU.

2 ms·

> The number of people you saw playing at the beginning was way more than was sustainable Was it? A lot of people were really enthusiasts. Groups were created,

by Raphmedia 9y ago

dave5104 9y ago
I think it was unsustainable. Especially depending on how you're defining "enthusiasts." If we're talking about enthusiasts who still actively play the latest and greatest Pokemon games, Pokemon Sun and Moon only sold about 15 million units last year when it came out. (Probably a couple million more have sold since, but I can't find any up to date numbers.) To still have 50 million more active users than units sold of the latest core franchise game I think is pretty good. As for the nostalgic enthusiasts that you're probably thinking of more, I would still think that those who play the old games are much fewer and farther in between. I'd be surprised if there were still 650 million people picking up old Pokemon games. Pokemon Go was a nostalgic fad that everyone and their mother (and some grandmothers) decided to pick up because it was the cool new thing. Not saying that Niantic didn't drop the ball early on--they did. But even if they were on the top of their game, I still don't think of the 650 million downloads that they were going to be able to retain a majority of those users.
- dylz 9y ago
  It is difficult to compare a game that costs $70 + a game console that costs $200-300 with installing a free to download app off the store on an existing device in terms of purchase numbers/MAU.