Pokémon Go is rapidly losing the interest of players. The mobile game based on Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise started out with a bang as days after the initial release users were spending more time on average on Pokémon Go than on Facebook and Snapchat. However, according to Axiom Capital Management, the huge popularity that generated $14 million in just four days was a bubble that is petering out. Daily active users, downloads, engagement and time spent playing have all past their peaks and are trending downward.
This is more bad news for Pokémon Go, coming in after their stock fell 17% after Nintendo released a statement that the company did not make the mobile game and its success would not have a major impact on its profits. But while this may not bode well for this app, investors for other applications such as Snapchat and Facebook are relieved. According to Bloomberg‘s report, these investors were concerned that the playstyle of Pokémon Go–which requires the player to have the app open to play rather than letting it run in the background–would take away from time spent on other mobile apps. However, news of the decline in player interest is giving these investors some comfort.
If these downward trends continue for Pokémon Go, it could spell trouble for not only the future of this game, but the future of mobile augmented reality apps in general. Google search trends have shown that interest in augmented reality has had a sharp decline following the initial boom from Pokémon Go while search requests for virtual reality have been relatively high and stable. At the moment it’s unknown whether the launch of the Pokémon Go Plus accessory launching this September will be a boost to the app’s viability or if it will be too little too late after its release was delayed from the end of July.
