Pokémon UNITE landed in the App Store and Google Play this week after debuting on Nintendo's Switch in July. The title immediately took over the top rank in the U.S. App Store, dethroning TikTok for three days straight (and counting).
There's nothing really interesting to look at because it just landed at number one, but if we switch lists to the top-grossing list, things get a bit more interesting.
Hint, it's not the #1 grossing game. Or even close.
Right now, Pokémon UNITE is 44th in the games top grossing category and 79th overall in the U.S. App Store. It's held both of these ranks since yesterday, and we estimate that translates into somewhere between $300K and $450K of net revenue in the U.S. App Store since launch.
Not a lot, but also not little. Why? When the title launched on the Switch, users could buy power-ups that boost their in-game abilities. Some might call that cheating, but for the makers, it meant cash!
No one likes cheaters though, so for the mobile release, producer Masaaki Hoshino specifically stated that the release would level the playing field, which I take to mean players will be able to win without having to open their wallets right away, and that means its revenue will take time to build up.
As much as I want to see high revenue growth, I much prefer this strategy which will give long-term sustainability. What do you think?
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