It’s too early to tell if it will enjoy long-term success, but at least so far, Pokemon Go is doing well.
Having just launched in the United States, the game (and its many microtransactions) has already risen to the top slot on the iPhone’s Top Free and Top Grossing charts.
The latter accomplishment is the more important one, as it tracks the amount of money generated by every app. That means it’s currently making more than hugely successful games like Mobile Strike, Game of War, Clash Royale, Candy Crush Saga, and Clash of Clans, all of which occupy spots in the top 10.
Those games have proven to have staying power, and it’ll be key to see whether Pokemon Go has any. Miitomo, Nintendo’s first mobile app, started strong but never made it this high up the charts, and it quickly lost many of its users.
Pokemon Go wasn’t made by Nintendo and is more of a game than Miitomo, but it does show the potential power a franchise almost exclusively associated with Nintendo platforms can have on mobile. Five games from the company are due out by March 2017, including two based on Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing.
No doubt as a result of the game’s success, Pokemon Go has been experiencing some technical issues today. Its servers have been unavailable for some users, preventing them from playing. For more, check out our roundup of everything you need to know.