If you think Pokémon’s legacy is done and dusted with nothing more to offer, you might want to revisit that theory. Sales of the recently launched Pokémon TCG Pocket have skyrocketed to break all records, earning The Pokémon Company over $3 million per day over its debut weekend. The game was released globally on October 30, 2024, bringing the original card trading experience to smartphones.
The Pokémon mobile game’s success is unprecedented, outperforming the previous Pokémon Go mobile game by a large margin despite the older title having cemented itself as a turning point in the IP’s history. With over 10 million downloads within days of its release, Pokémon TCG Pocket’s $12 million launch sales numbers are staggering.
Image: Trainer’s Pokémon Return to Pokémon TCG | Official Pokémon Worlds Reveal
Pokémon TCG Pocket Sales Hit $12 Million Within 4 Days
Let’s chart out Pokémon TCG Pocket’s success. According to Sensor Tower, the game is said to have generated $1.9 million in revenue on its release day, and this progressively stacked up to $12 million in the next three days. The app was downloaded 1.2 million times on launch, and within 48 hours on the market, it was said to have crossed the 10 million threshold.
Wow. Completely awestruck here. 😳
Thank you to everyone who helped #PokemonTCGPocket reach over 10 million downloads! We’re incredibly grateful and hope everyone continues to enjoy the game. There are more great things to come!
🌐 https://t.co/pWNREzTPb3 pic.twitter.com/LdmHCkB40e
— Pokémon TCG Pocket (@PokemonTCGP) November 2, 2024
The Pokémon TCG mobile launch revenue data has been assimilated primarily by app store analytics firm Appmagic via MobileGamer, and it revealed that a large chunk of the estimated earnings comes from players in Japan—45% of it, to be precise. The next biggest market for the game is the US, where 25% of the revenue originates, followed by Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, New Zealand, and France.
In comparison, Pokémon Go is currently making $1 million every day. Now it may be too early to tell if the new card game app will be able to match Pokémon Go’s long-term success, but it is definitely on the right path to make it happen.
iOS Purchases Account for a Significant Portion of the Game’s Revenue
The simultaneous release on both iOS and Android has worked in the game’s favor. Both platforms are more closely matched in terms of downloads, with 4.2 million installs on Google Play and 3.3 million on iOS, but the revenue numbers are entirely different.
iOS users are spending more enthusiastically on the game, accounting for $10.5 million of the $12 million earned to date. Developed by Creatures Inc. and DeNA, the Pokémon TCG Pocket $12 million launch suggests that both Pokémon and the card deck genre of gaming are well and truly alive.
What’s the Reason Behind the Pokémon Mobile Game’s Success?
It’s impossible to discredit the role of nostalgia in Pokémon TCG Pocket’s success. The game provides users with an opportunity to reminisce about their days of opening packs and collecting physical cards, without the hassle of storing the cards themselves. While this does detract from the experience to a degree, the in-game mechanics and brand-new format offer up a new way of embracing old habits.
The ramping up of the revenue on launch has also been linked to the addition of the second in-game store paired with the Wonder Pick event, which provided gamers with more avenues and reasons to spend money to start building their card collection.
The $9.99 Pokémon TCG Pocket Premium Pass, a paid section of the game, is also available with a free trial for two weeks. While the trial-period free pass is temporary, users are more likely to see that as an opportunity to spend on other in-game purchases and continue to use the paid version once the free trial ends.
The addiction is real… 🤣#PokemonTCGPocket pic.twitter.com/DqZfYMYOYQ
— Kelosaurus (@kelosaurusTTV) October 31, 2024
There may be a slump in sales after fans get over the initial excitement of seeing the card-collecting format and return to their other games of actually playing and interacting with their Pokémon, so in-game events will have to do a lot of heavy lifting to keep the interest alive. The battle mechanism, while still primitive compared to other games, also adds a more immersive experience to the app beyond just collecting rare cards. So the game has a lot of potential to draw in gamers who might have otherwise skipped the game.
Pokémon has always been about “catching them all,” and the success of the new game appears to reiterate how successful a game based on this strategy can be.