pokemongo invasion is unstoppable by fung global retail ... · 3 july 27, 2016 deborah weinswig,...

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DEBORAHWEINSWIG,MANAGINGDIRECTOR,FUNGGLOBALRETAIL&[email protected]:917.655.6790HK:852.6119.1779CN:86.186.1420.3016Copyright©2016TheFungGroup.Allrightsreserved.

D E B O R A H W E I N S W I G

M a n a g i n g D i r e c t o r , F u n g G l o b a l R e t a i l & T e c h n o l o g y d e b o r a h w e i n s w i g @ f u n g 1 9 3 7 . c o m

U S : 6 4 6 . 8 3 9 . 7 0 1 7 H K : 8 5 2 . 6 1 1 9 . 1 7 7 9

C H N : 8 6 . 1 8 6 . 1 4 2 0 . 3 0 1 6

• Withapeakof26millionactiveplayers,PokémonGois themost successfulmobile game ever in the US,surpassing even Candy Crush Saga at its peak ofpopularity.

• Thegameemploysaugmented-realitytechnology tocombine live video with computer graphics,encouragingplayers togooutsideandexplore theirsurroundingsinordertofindvirtualmonsters.

• Retailers are seeing the additional foot traffic thegame has generated as amixed blessing, as not allplayers are buying in stores, but they can benefitfrom the phenomenon by offering players “Lures”and“PokéStops”andbysupportingteams.

The

Invasion

Is Unstoppable

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The Pokémon Go Invasion Is Unstoppable SUMMARY

PokémonGohasexperiencedwildsuccesssinceitsJuly6launchintheUS,becoming themost successful USmobile game ever, despite someminorglitchesandservercrashes,evensurpassingCandyCrushSagainpopularity.There are opportunities for retailers to participate in this huge culturalphenomenon.Somestoresandmallsarealreadyseeingadditional(wantedand, in some cases, unwanted) store traffic as a result of the game’spopularity, and generating revenue from merchandise, but stores nearPokéStops can see further benefits by setting up “Lures” to bring playersintotheirstores.AndretailerscanoffertheirownPokéStops(whereplayerscangetPokéBalls to increase theirpower)andsponsora team.TheycanalsotiethemselvestoPokémonGoviasocialmedia.

WHATISPOKÉMONGO?Pokémon is a video game, originally released in 1995 for the NintendoGame Boy, in which the player captures and battles tinymonsters calledPokémon, which is a Westernized version of the Japanese phrase for“pocket monster.” The Pokémon Company brings in about $1.5 billion inrevenue annually, and the franchise generated revenues of nearly $58billionthrough2015fromsalesofmorethan200millionvideogameunits.

Game creator Satoshi Tajiri has said he loved video games and insectcollecting,andsocollaboratedwithgamecompanyNintendoandagraphicdesignerontheoriginalPokémon. Inall thegame’spermutationssince itslaunchin1995,therehavebeenatotalof722knownspeciesofPokémon(151 are present in Pokémon Go). The individually named monstersresemblearangeofspecies,fromturtlestopigeonstohumanoids,andthemost famous one is Pikachu, a plump, banana-yellow rodent with rosycheeks.

Game play centers on catching Pokémon and battling others. Players cancatchwild Pokémonusing PokéBalls or defeat them in battle in order togain experience and learn new moves. Players possess a functionaldatabase called a Pokédex, which collects a Pokémon’s data after it hasbeencaptured.

Source:www.vrandfun.com

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WHAT’SNEWINPOKÉMONGO?The newest version of Pokémon Go runs on smartphones, and usesaugmented-reality technology to combine images from a phone’s camerawith computer graphics of the Pokémon figures. The game generatesimagesofthemonstersappearingoncitystreetsandinvariousotherreal-world locations. The gamewas developedby PokémonCo. andNiantic, aspin-offofGoogleparentAlphabet.

While previous versions of Pokémon were video games that ran onhandheld devices or consoles, in themobile version, the player physicallymovesaroundtheneighborhoodtolocatePokémonand“throw”PokéBallsat them to capture them. Players can also participate in battles atPokéGyms, physical locations where players gather to pit their monstersagainstothersandgrowtheirteams.Thegamewasinitiallyreleasedinonlysixcountries—theUS,Australia,NewZealand,Germany,theUKandItaly—andwasrolledoutinanother26countriesonJuly16andinCanadaonJuly17.ThegamefinallybecameavailableinitshomecountryJapanonJuly22andinHongKongonJuly24.

TheAppleAppStoreincludesinstructionsandadescriptionofthegame:

• Venusar, Charizard, Blastoise, Pikachu and many other PokémonhavebeendiscoveredonplanetEarth!

• Now’s your chance to discover and capture the Pokémon allaround you—so get your shoes on, step outside and explore theworld.You’lljoinoneofthethreeteamsandbattlefortheprestigeandownershipofGymswithyourPokémonatyourside.

• Pokémonareout there, and youneed to find them.As youwalkaroundaneighborhood,yoursmartphonewillvibratewhenthere’saPokémonnearby.TakeaimandthrowaPokéBall…You’llhavetostayalert,oritmightgetaway!

• SearchfarandwideforPokémonanditems.• Asyoulevelup,you’llbeabletocatchmorepowerfulPokémonto

completeyourPokédex.Youcanaddtoyourcollectionbyhatchingyour Pokémon Eggs based on the distances you walk. Help yourPokémonevolvebycatchingmanyofthesamekind.

• TakeonGymbattlesanddefendyourGym.• As your Charmander evolves to Chameleon and then Charizard,

youcanbattletogethertodefeataGymandassignyourPokémontodefenditagainstallcomers.

• It’stimetogetmoving—yourreal-lifeadventuresawait!

Players who want to capture monsters more quickly can make in-apppurchases of PokéCoins (100 PokéCoins cost $0.99; 14,500 cost $99.99),whichtheycanexchangeforextraPokéBalls,extralivesandotheritems.

Source:www.elle.com.au

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IMPLICATIONSOFTHEGAME

Pokémon Go has become themost successful USmobile game ever. Thegamepeakedat 26million activeusers in theUSon July 14 (and still hasmore than 20 million users, according to mashable.com), exceeding themorethan20millionplayersCandyCrushSagahadat itspeak.Moreover,iOSusers are spendinganaverageof33minutesadayplaying thegame,compared to an average of 22 minutes on Facebook and 18 minutes onSnapchat (Source: SensorTower). Video game researcher Think GamingestimatesthatPokémonGoiscurrentlybringinginmorethan$1.8millioninrevenueperday,whichtranslatestototalrevenuesofabout$36millionatthetimeofthisreport’swriting.

The rapid, wild success of Pokémon Go has created both positive andnegative outcomes. In contrast to most video games, which are playedwhilesitting,PokémonGoactuallyrequiresplayerstogetupandgetoutofthe house, combining healthy physical activity with entertainment. Someplayers,unaccustomedtophysicalactivity,complainedof legcrampsafterplaying the game for an extended time. In Missouri, criminals allegedlycreated a “LureModule” to bring players to a location where they werethen robbed, and there have also been cases of thieves robbing teens oftheirsmartphonessothatthethievesthemselvescouldplaythegame.

Thesearchformonstershasalsobroughtswarmsofplayersintomallsandretail stores such as Sephora, Forever 21 and H&M. In some cases, theunexpectedcrowdsofnonpayingvisitorshavepromptedretailerstoputupsigns stating that “Pokémon are for paying customers only.” However,retailers that play along by setting up Lures, providing PokéStops,sponsoring teams or tying themselves to the game via social media canincrease their store traffic and potentially capitalize on the Pokémon Gophenomenon.

APokémoneconomyhasalreadybeguntoemergesincethegame’slaunch,withmapsandhelperappssuchasPokeRadarandHelperforPokémonGorising to top rankings inApple’sAppStore.Unfortunately,hacksandappsthathelpplayerscheattosavetimeandeffortinlocatingthestrongestandmostvaluablemonstershavealsobecomewidelyavailable.

Source:SCMP

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DeborahWeinswig,CPAManagingDirectorFungGlobalRetail&TechnologyNewYork:917.655.6790HongKong:852.6119.1779China:[email protected],CFA

SeniorAnalystHONGKONG:10thFloor,LiFungTower888CheungShaWanRoad,KowloonHongKongTel:85223002470LONDON:242–246MaryleboneRoadLondon,NW16JQUnitedKingdomTel:44(0)2076168988NEWYORK:1359Broadway,9thFloorNewYork,NY10018Tel:6468397017

pokemongo invasion is unstoppable by fung global retail ... · 3 july 27, 2016 deborah weinswig,...

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