Niantic CEO John Hanke said recently that people playing Pokémon Go had walked around 2.8 billion miles or 4.6 billion kilometers while playing the popular smartphone game. If this statement is true, then this mobile app might have achieved the impossible task of making the United States a little bit fitter, says Forbes.
Pokemon Go can make you fitter
Pokemon Go is the fastest app to reach 500 million installs, indicating its popularity. In addition, 2.8 billion miles burns around 340 billion calories, so people who use fitness apps can try Pokemon Go; it’s fun and could help you get fitter. Also burning 3,500 calories kills about one pound, so with other things being the same, people could have lost around 97 million pounds, the report notes.
This may or not be accurate, but what really matters is that one popular augmented reality game which is liked by almost everyone playing it has possibly done more than years of well-meaning propaganda from schools, health authorities and the government to get people off their beds or couches, out of their homes and on their feet to search for Pokemon.
One more milestone
Since its debut, the mobile game Pokemon Go has achieved several records, such as being the fastest to reach 50 million installs on Google Play and the most-downloaded app in its first week ever, and now, there is one more. It is the first game ever to hit $500 million in revenue. This popular smartphone game has surpassed $500 million in global consumer spending across Android and iOS, according to App Annie.
The firm reports that the mobile game hit the milestone in just over 60 days. In early August, App Annie reported that Pokémon Go was on track to exceed $350 million in revenue to date. In comparison, Clash of Clans and Puzzle & Dragons took 400 days, while Candy Crush Saga took over 200 days to earn the same amount of money. Also App Annie revealed that the game is on track to reach 1 billion in revenue by the end of this year.
The report also indicated that in-app revenue is not the only source of income for Pokemon Go. Niantic, the company that built the tech that powers the game, is partnering with brands for in-app promotions and exposure as well. For instance, McDonald’s Japan became the first sponsored location for the game, turning the 3,000 McDonald stores in Japan into Pokémon Go gyms.
