The most talked about summer app, Pokémon Go, makes 3 million dollars a day and 1.1 billion dollars a year. The creators of the game, Niantic, are estimating it will be worth up to 180 billion dollars.
The game is free on the app store, so most of their money is made from the players’ in app purchases. The rest is added up by ad revenue.
It’s time-consuming having to train a Pokémon at the gym in order to level up, which is why most people spend their money on coins, resulting in leveling up faster. Most Spartans, however, decide to save their money and take the challenge.
“Spending money on it defeats the purpose of the game to be the very best,” said sophomore Julie Freeman.
Pokémon Go was released on July 6 and quickly gained attention over social media.

The app is connected to a phones GPS, which allows the player to reach major distances to catch any Pokémon, anywhere. Before players can go out and start catching Pokémon, they are required to join a team. There are three teams to pick from: Valor, Mystic, and Instinct. Except for the color, none of the choices have anything special that differentiates it from the other. Players then pick which Pokémon out of three they’d like to start with, and are then on their way to becoming the very best.
“I chose Valor because I liked the color [red] and most of my friends were on that team,” said senior Rodrigo Aviles.
After reaching a max level, players can evolve their Pokémon with the attempt of making them stronger and better. Until you evolve your Pokémon, it’s important that you train it at a local gym. Gyms are found at local parks nearby and restaurants.
Pokémon automatically have candy, to receive more, players get the option of hatching an egg or turning in a Pokemon to Professor Willow. Each Pokémon has its own candy capacity level at which it evolves at, depending on how rare it is. A Rattata, which is very common, only needs 25 pieces of candy, while a Pikachu, which is far rarer, requires 50 candies.
“Evolving Pokémon is exciting, especially if it is a new Pokémon because I get extra CP,” said Freeman.
Niantic has recently released a new “buddy” system, which now allows players to select a Pokémon who they want to receive candy. You’re required to walk a certain distance with your Pokémon until you can actually receive the candy. Of course, the rarer the Pokémon, the longer the walk. This is a plus to the game because it can help players evolve that Charmander into a Charmeleon much faster while also helping you stay active.
The app can be very addicting and is being played by all ages. Everyone seems to be interested in catching them all.
“The variety of Pokémon makes the game fun to play,” said senior Nick Townsend.