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Pokemon Go tops App Store's 'Free' and 'Top Grossing' charts

The game leads in downloads and microtransactions... but for how long?

David Craddock

July 7, 2016 4:53 PM

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Pikachu! I choose you!

So shouted millions of children and rapidly aging adolescents (hey, including me) who downloaded Pokémon Go, the latest AR game from Ingress developer Niantic with support from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. As of this writing, the game is sitting at the coveted number-one spot in the App Store's Free Apps and Top Grossing charts (via Think Gaming) despite a few server hiccups that kept players from finding and enslaving cute little fantasy critters.

Top Grossing refers to the amount of money generated by an app, even a free one—meaning microtransactions, and Pokémon Go is rotten with them. Niantic's game leads with $1.6 million in revenue as of this writing and is pulling in more than heavy hitters like Candy Crush Saga and Clash Royale.

If you're unfamiliar with how Pokémon Go and Ingress function, both games have you walking around the real world and waiting for a notification alerting you to the presence of an in-game entity—in this case, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, or one of hundreds of other Pokémon. You see them by looking through your camera, spotting them in locations such as your hallway, along the street, and quite possibly in your toilet. (Image courtesy of Mashable.)

Pokémon Go will continue to trend at the top of store charts over the coming weekend at least. The salient question is, how long will its dominance continue? The outcome is likely to be the result of pitting Pokémon's enduring popularity against the App Store's inherent capriciousness. Pokémon Go is a hot-ticket item today. Only time will tell how it fares tomorrow's next big thing.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.