Pokémon Go

[garbon]

As we keep discussing it in various threads.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jul/25/pokemon-go-nintendo-shares-tokyo-stock-exchange-niantic

Nintendo shares plummet after it points out it doesn't make Pokémon Go

Nintendo's share price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange has plummeted 17% in one day, apparently due to investors belatedly discovering that the company doesn't actually make Pokémon Go, the latest mobile gaming phenomenon.

The company is still buoyant, though: Since the game launched in mid-July, Nintendo's share price has more than doubled.

The cause of Monday's decline was seemingly a statement put out by Nintendo after the close of trading on Friday, the day Pokémon Go was finally released in Japan.

The statement pointed out that, despite the long-running association of Nintendo with Pokémon – an association which seems to have driven investors' movements – it neither makes, nor owns, Pokémon Go. That fact was never hidden by any of the companies involved, and has been noted in some reports on Pokémon Go, but the fact seems to have taken investors by surprise.

Nintendo's statement clarified that Pokémon Go "is developed and distributed by Niantic, Inc", an independent company spun off from Google in August 2015. Both Google and Nintendo hold stakes in Niantic. It added that Nintendo owns 32% of the voting power within the Pokémon Company, which itself will receive "a licensing fee and compensation for collaboration in development and operations".

Because of those facts, Nintendo concluded, "the income reflected on the company's consolidated business results is limited". It will make more direct income from Pokémon Go Plus, a peripheral due to be released this summer which will allow partial interaction with the game without the need to turn on the phone, but that income too is already reflected in the company's predictions for the 2016–17 financial year.

Taken as a whole, the statement is clear: Nintendo's not getting rich from Pokémon Go anytime soon.

But while the direct income streams are limited, there are still reasons for investor positivity in the company following Pokémon Go's success. Nintendo has already released one smartphone game directly, Miitomo, but its longstanding refusal to allow its largest properties to leave its own hardware ecosystem has left shareholders concerned. The Wii U holds a distant third place in the home console market, and while the New 3DS is the leading portable console, it is dwarfed by the size of the mobile phone gaming market.

Even if Nintendo doesn't take much cash home from Pokémon Go, the game's success could convince the company to put more efforts into its home-grown smartphone development. If it does, that could signal a longer term reversal in the company's fortunes than any one game could ever provide.

The company is already moving forward with another partnership, with Japanese mobile developer DeNA, which will provide it with a more direct income stream from mobile games. The first two games from that partnership will be based on the company's b-tier franchises Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem

[celedhring]

Seriously, the first thing you encounter when you load up the app is the logo of the company that makes the game. 

[Grey Fox]

Investors are idiots.

[Valmy]

It is rather amazing one would center ones investment strategy over one product and not even be aware who makes the product

Anyway I took David out Pokehunting last night and once again surrealness took hold. He went up to basically everybody who had a cell phone and asked them if they were playing Pokemon Go. Even boomer ladies in their 60s. And strangely...he was right every time. Old granny hippies are playing this thing. What the hell?

[Monoriu]

Not interested.  Primarily because I have no idea about Pokemon.  I have never watched any and I have no clue what the story is about. 

[garbon]

Not interested.  Primarily because I have no idea about Pokemon.  I have never watched any and I have no clue what the story is about. 

It is really complicated.

[Tamas]

I understand the novelty factor which did captivate me for about 2 full minutes, but I fail to see an actual game here.

[Valmy]

Not interested.  Primarily because I have no idea about Pokemon.  I have never watched any and I have no clue what the story is about. 

I have never watched the show either. Um you catch little cute monsters and evolve them into big ferocious looking monsters. So far as I can tell that is the story

[garbon]

I understand the novelty factor which did captivate me for about 2 full minutes, but I fail to see an actual game here.

Yes, I wonder if it'll die off once nostalgia wears through unless they inject it with new features (a key being real time battles with people near you).

[Richard Hakluyt]

Not interested.  Primarily because I have no idea about Pokemon.  I have never watched any and I have no clue what the story is about. 

I have never watched the show either. Um you catch little cute monsters and evolve them into big ferocious looking monsters. So far as I can tell that is the story

Surely there are also battles with other pokemon owners?

[Valmy]

Surely there are also battles with other pokemon owners?

Yes. You go to various gyms where you fight them and there are three teams you can join. But that seems to mainly exist for you to get crushed by people with far more spare time than a five year old whoses dad takes him out for a few hours a couple times a week.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Need to get in some sort of little league I guess.

[Valmy]

Need to get in some sort of little league I guess.

Oh we will fight eventually if this game holds his attention span long enough but you need to have a Pokemon powered up to at least 1000 CP, whatever CP stands for, or so to be competitive it seems like. We still have a ways to go. We fought once with our 400 CP Pokemon and we seemed to lose pretty fast and I was not really certain what was going on.

[mongers]

I predict a full blown public re-branding exercise that Nintendo et al wouldn't want; pokemon Go suicides, pokemon Go car accidents, PG grade drop off, PG romances, PG kidnappings, PG bullying, PG child lost in woods, PG walk of cliff, PG housefire un-noticed, PG politics, PG paedophiles, etc.

[Jacob]

Need to get in some sort of little league I guess.

Oh we will fight eventually if this game holds his attention span long enough but you need to have a Pokemon powered up to at least 1000 CP, whatever CP stands for, or so to be competitive it seems like. We still have a ways to go. We fought once with our 400 CP Pokemon and we seemed to lose pretty fast and I was not really certain what was going on.

CP = Combat Power.

You can still win against higher level enemies because you have a lineup of six pokemon to bring to the battle. Basically, you wear down the weakest pokemon with your line up (or the two or three weakest ones, if you're strong enough); then you revive and heal your beaten pokemons and go at it again. I took down an enemy held gym with three pokemons at lvl ~500, lvl ~750,  ~1150 with my lvl 700 and five CP ~200 using that technique.

It's best to do so not at a high traffic area (because other people will get in on it and mess up your attack), at least not unless there's a bunch of you.