Pikachu and friends are back in the new adaptation of the card-trading game. Photo: iStock
Do you remember the Pokémon Go from a couple of years ago?
Pokémon’s new mobile game has taken the world by storm with over 60 million downloads as the latest incarnation of the hit Nintendo-owned franchise.
Since its launch on October 30, the Pokémon Trading Card Game has become an immediate hit, generating an estimated $180 million in revenue in just six weeks.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is a virtual version of the collectable card game that has captivated schoolyards since the late 1990s.
Developed by The Pokémon Company, a Nintendo subsidiary, it combines opening “boosters” – the equivalent of sealed card packs -with collecting creatures and online battles.
“Pokémon TCG Pocket is showing one of the strongest performances of any mobile game of all time,” Sam Aune, an analyst at digital market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, told AFP.
Developed by the Japanese games studio Creatures Inc., Pokémon TCG Pocket ranks second among mobile games measured by the first-month revenue, surpassed only by another Pokémon franchise title, Pokémon Go.
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Pokémon Go, the global phenomenon of 2016, generated over $200 million in its first month and drove millions of players outdoors to hunt for virtual creatures which appeared on their mobile phone screens.
As well as creating vast online revenues, the new surge in interest in Pikachu and his fellow cast of characters is spilling over into the offline world.
Market research firm Circana’s toy expert, Frederique Tutt said sales of physical cards are rising – and the game is back in fashion among school children.
“It brings players back into the Pokémon brand. And physical cards remain the heart of the brand, something collectors want to own for playing and trading.”
From “Gwent” in The Witcher III to “Hearthstone” from the Warcraft universe, card games have carved out a special place in the hearts of gamers.
On social media, players have been sharing videos of themselves unveiling new cards or participating in tournaments, with the hashtag #PokemonTCG amassing over 1.5 million posts on TikTok.
While Pokémon TCG Pocket is free to download, players are encouraged to spend money in-app to acquire more cards.
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