Pokémon GO is turning out to be an absolute juggernaut for Nintendo.
While the land that created the idea of Pocket Monsters still has to wait patiently for the release of Pokémon Go, people in other parts of the world have already downloaded the augmented reality game and are playing it…a lot. With so many people playing the game, it definitely makes for some great stories, and here are four of our favorites from just this past week.
1. Pokémon GO success causes Nintendo stock to increase by 25 percent
Nintendo shareholders are likely over the moon with the performance of Nintendo Co., Ltd. The success of the company’s new mobile app, which currently sits on top of both the iPhone and Android download charts, has bolstered the confidence of investors and helped push the stock to a nine-month high.
2. Pokémon GO already supplanting hugely popular apps
On Android phones, the latest monster catching craze has already been installed by over five percent of the user base. According to SimilarWeb, that number dwarfs the install base of the matchmaking app Tinder. This tells us that more people are willing to find and befriend virtual pocket monsters than navigate the treacherous world of hooking up. The daily usage stats of Pokémon GO have almost equaled that of Twitter, meaning people are now as likely to be finding Magikarp in weird places as they are to share a snapshot of the artisanal pickle that came with their falafel wrap.
3. Pokémon GO is helping out some people who are dealing with mental health issues
There are a ton of great stories that are being shared about people suffering from anxiety that are leaving their house in order to explore their surroundings and catch more Pokémon.
#PokemonGO is going to do wonders for my mental health, providing me with purpose and reason to go outside at last.
— Drew Dale Rebooting...🖤💜❤️💉💻✨ 🇪🇺 (@drwdal) July 6, 2016
https://twitter.com/osskov/status/751461002743410688Pokemon Go is literally making people with depression and anxiety and agoraphobia leave the house and explore the world and socialise.
— jason? (@jasonjarmoosh) July 8, 2016
Japanese mental health experts might be quietly hoping that Pokémon GO will help with their growing number of shut-in, or hikikomori, as they’re called in Japan.
4. Everyone likes to play
Which leads us to our last story. Pokémon GO is developing into such a social game that people are gathering around places to play, which naturally gets them interacting with other players. This can happen at any hour of the day as illustrated by this story:
https://twitter.com/e1n/status/751487351617007617For those who can’t read the small text in the tweet, a 40-year-old Pokémon GO player decided to go for a walk at 3 a.m. and happened to run into two young black men in a park who directed him towards an Onyx Pokémon nearby. As they were chatting, a police officer came over in order to break up any illegal shenanigans that might have been occurring at this late night meet-up. After a bit of explaining as to what was really going on, though, the officer also downloaded the game and asked them how to play.
It’s quite possible that Pokémon GO is going to change the world, and if our everyday lives turn into a Pokémon game, it’ll come with its pluses and minuses.
Yesterday a man walking his dog said to us, "Are you catching Pokemon? It really is quite the sensation!" He was literally an NPC.
— Jordan Gibson (@gibsonagogo) July 11, 2016
For those of you still waiting for the game’s release, you’ll have to be patient, but for those that are living the Poké-dream, stay safe out there, Poké-maniacs!
Source: Jin, Yurukyara, Yahoo! Japan
Top image: Pokémon GO official website
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